4 running tips for getting faster!

Recently some runners have been asking me how to get faster, so here are my top 4 running training tips that can take your running to new heights:

1. Run faster
It might sound obvious, but to run faster, you have to run faster! So, instead of simply plodding around in training you have to add some “speed” sessions into the mix. Your fitness and chosen race distance will dictate how far/fast your intervals should be, but simply adding in some shorter faster sessions will transform your running. Tempo/threshold and fartlek run sessions are ideal for this.

2. Get stronger
Strength underpins endurance. To be fast you have to have an element of strength in your training program, there’s no point in having a great "engine" (heart & lungs) if you have a weak "chassis" (body structure). You can add some simple strength exercises into your program without any impact on your normal running program, not only will it increase your speed and running economy but also help prevent overuse injuries.

3. Lose weight
By shedding some body fat your speed will automatically increase. Have you tried running with a rucksack that weighs 5 or 6 pounds? It’s hard work, but losing those extra pounds will make your running much, much easier.

4. Improve your technique
How many runners do you see heel striking, sagging in the mid-section, being tense around the shoulders with arms crossing their body? By moving to a mid-foot strike, holding a nice tight core, relaxing your posture around the neck and shoulders, and driving your arms forward and rearwards will result in a running style that looks light, relaxed, smooth and ultimately quick.

By adding some or all of these tips into your training program you’ll be amazed at how much your running will improve!

In fact, I'll break down these 4 top tips further in future blog posts, just so you know exactly how to take your running to a new level and get faster.

If you're a runner in the Cardiff, Penarth, Barry or Cowbridge area and are contemplating running a 10K, half marathon or full marathon and would like some help with your running training plan, check out our Vale Sports Therapy website or contact coach Mark (Cardiff, Penarth & Barry) on 07947 010276.

Product reviews coming soon!

Coming soon to this blog will be a whole set of product reviews, from nutrition products, to training equipment, to coaching and training plans and even some things you wouldn't think of!!! However, if there's something you'd like me to review, just let me know.

Trigger Point Performance: The Grid

The Grid from Trigger Point Performance Therapy is my toy! OK, it's not a toy, it's a revoluntionarly foam roller, you know the kind of thing, the tube shaped piece of foam that looks like a kids swimming float that runners use on themselves to make them cry!!! Traditionally, foam rollers are used to treat common running issues like iliotibial band syndrome, piriformis syndrome and plantar fasciitis.

As you can see from the photo below, the Grid has a hard hollow shell (so doesn't lose its shape like a traditionally foam roller) covered in a patterned EVA foam, whose patterns provide a different feel on the body depending on the pattern you use. Due to the faster running training I've been doing lately I've been using it a lot on my calves and glutes as these have been very tight of late and the Grid helps to stretch these muscles and ease out the tight spots.

The Grid has a series of DVD's too (which you have to purchase separately) which act as a guide to using the Grid as a tool for core strengthening exercises (whilst massaging you at the same time), with some of them being very similar to pilates exercises. I've been incorporating these exercises into my routine too and have found them very beneficial, I can feel the difference in only a week or so. 

It's portable too, it's a small roller, less than half of the length of traditional rollers, so fits neatly into your bag when travelling (which I'm doing a lot of lately too!). It's a great bit of kit and for £40 I'd say it was a bargain! Check out the main Trigger Point Performance Therapy website for more information on the products and some great videos on how to use them effectively.

Got a desk job? Get out of the office during lunch!

Do you have a desk job and desk bound all day? Feel distracted, overwhelmed and unproductive? The answer is to simply step away from your desk and, if possible, take your lunch break outside, away from the stuffy office environment.

Take a walk. Not only are you getting in some exercise and getting the blood pumping around the body, but the feeling of the outdoors (and hopefully some sun!) seems to ease many worries and gives you an enormous sense of wellbeing.

Studies have shown a marked increase in mood, wellbeing, creativity and productivity with short breaks. So, next time you're stuck in a rut, take a break from the office, take your lunch outdoors and feel the benefits with a turbo-charged afternoon of productivity. Go on, you know you want to!

Train less to get faster!

How would you like to train less and still get fitter, faster and stronger? Well, it’s easier than you think. The number one mistake that self-coached athletes (and some poor coaches) make is that they simply train too much!

Some people believe you should do more training just for trainings sake. Unfortunately this ultimately is their downfall. Training too much has a significant effect on your progress, you’ll stagnate, you’ll feel you should train more because you’re not getting the results you want and head into a downward spiral.

I believe in doing the bare minimal to achieve the results you want.

Why? Because doing anything more than the bare minimum is a severe waste of your time and will probably end up in poorer and poorer results. This might mess with your head and sound counter-intuitive, surely if you can train more, then that’s what you should do?

Absolutely not! It’s called the bare minimum for a reason; it’s the least amount of work you need to do to achieve the results YOU want. You don’t need to do more, just to do more!  

But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that minimum training means easy training. It doesn’t, it just means being smart and doing the training required to achieve YOUR goals. Effective training means stressing the body, resting sufficiently to allow the body to absorb the training stimulus and then doing it all again.

So be smart, follow the bare minimum protocol and you’ll achieve the results you always wanted!

Train smart all! 

Cross training for runners

So, do runners need to do cross-training? The easy answer is no, runners don’t need to do cross-training. However, cross-training does have some very distinct advantages, the main one being able to increase your training “mileage” without pounding the joints that comes with running and avoiding over-use injuries. 

So what cross-training should you do? There are numerous types of cross-training you can do, but the one you choose should complement your running training, add some aerobic/anaerobic conditioning to your program and not open you up to injury (therefore avoid sports that have no relevance to running, like rugby or football, where there is no carry over to running and also opens you up to potential injury through physical contact and the short, sharp changes in direction required in these sports). 

Here are my top 5 cross-training activities (in no particular order):

Cycling:

Road cycling, mountain biking and spin classes all have cross over to running. The beauty of cycling is that it is non-impact (less potential for injury) and uses a similar muscular pattern to running, therefore can supplement your aerobic training in a very time-efficient manner. Also the variety between road, mountain and indoor biking adds different stimulus to your training program which keeps your training exciting. 

Cross-trainer/Elliptical:

The cross-trainer/elliptical machine provides a great low impact, full body workout. The smooth action of the machine aids injury prevention and injury recovery, whilst the addition of being able to use a backwards motion targets slightly different muscle groups, thus hitting the smaller supporting muscles. The programmable nature of the cross-trainer/elliptical machine also allows the user to match the training session to their needs, varying from an easy flat session to a demanding hill repeat session.  

Swimming:

Swimming is a great non-impact exercise, working on your strength, endurance and flexibility. It mainly targets your upper body, but when done correctly it works your legs and core muscles very effectively too. Like the cross-trainer/elliptical machine, swimming is a very good tool for injury prevention and injury recovery.

Aqua-jogging:

Aqua-jogging is another non-impact exercise. For those who aren’t too familiar with aqua-jogging, you put a floatation belt (an aqua-jogger) around your waist and “run” through the water in an upright manner. You should remain tall (do not hunch over) and move your arms and legs forwards and backwards in a running motion. You should try to keep a fairly high cadence (fast arm and leg movements) to propel yourself forwards in the swimming pool, however you can control the effort level to match your training needs. You can keep a steady continuous effort or add in faster high intensity efforts for variety, with little or no chance of injury.

Strength training:

I love strength training for runners. I absolutely believe that strength underpins endurance, there’s no point in having an amazing “engine” (heart and lungs) if you have a weak “chassis” (body structure), therefore exercises that increase running functional strength should be targeted. Now for the science part, most runners (and many coaches) believe that runners should lift a light weight many times to build endurance, however many studies have shown this to be false. The new viewpoint is that the runner should lift heavy weights to build strength; allowing the runner to generate more power or force quickly (into the ground) and also making the runner strong enough to resist over-use injuries.  Some of the exercises to be considered should be squats, deadlifts, lunges, pull ups, presses and rows; and if you’re doing theses exercises correctly, you’ll be working the core muscles at the same time, bonus!

Adding some cross-training into running program can be very beneficial, bringing your running to the next level. But beware that the cross-training doesn’t get in the way or take over from your running. To run fast, you need to run; you need those miles in the bank to build your endurance. Cross-training is great, but use it to complement your running training, not replace it! 

Fartlek running training

A friend asked me the other day what fartlek training was, so here goes. The word fartlek means “speed play” in Swedish and it essentially means running and playing around with the speed and duration of running during your training session.

Fartlek training basically means you run in an unstructured manner with the intention of stressing both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems that means you are training for both speed and endurance in the same session. So you have to run faster efforts (speed and distance of your choice) interspersed with slower recovery efforts (again, speed and distance of your choice)

Apart from challenging both energy systems and working on speed and endurance in one session, fartlek training also has the advantage of being fun and varied (you can change the speed and duration of the interval as you see fit), whilst being appropriate for all phases of training and seasons of the year.

But don’t get me wrong; whilst fartlek training is very good for you (and fun), it is hard work! Don’t underestimate the stress this places on the body.  Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed! 

For more information on running training or running coaching in Penarth, Barry, Cardiff, or anywhere in the Vale of Glamorgan, give Mark a call on 07947010276 or visit Vale Sports Therapy. 

Dinas Powys: Ladies community running group

I thought I'd let you know about a group new ladies running group that's going to start in Dinas Powys this week. Vickie and David Woodsford are starting this run group from scratch, here's their introduction from their running blog:

Welcome to Greenfield Runners. If you know us already then you'll know we are both keen amateur athletes. If you don't know us yet then please come along to our first run and introduce yourself. With the country being gripped by Olympic excitement, what better time to commit to get fit? With this in mind both Dai and I have signed up to a few projects for 2012, but this is definitely our most exciting one. As a relative newbie to this running malarkey I understand well that it is all to easy not to get those trainers on and get out there. It is tricky for ladies in particular to run alone after work both for motivation and safety reasons. So we would like to run with you and get you started.

How will it work? Well, we will meet at our dental practice every Wednesday evening (starting 22/2/12) at 5.30-5.45 pm and we'll go for a run. It really is that simple. We really are committed to helping anyone. There is no-one too slow or too unfit. If you're medically fit to exercise that's the only qualification you need.

There are loads of other benefits too. Every 6 weeks or so we will be having a guest speaker join us after our run. While we have some water and an orange wedge (or more likely a glass of wine and a cake!) an expert in their field will introduce the group to another type of fitness they might like to try. It will be an informal chat and should be a bit of fun that can show our members what facilities are available in our community.

There is no membership fee, no charge for our speakers or refreshments and no formal commitment required. We'd just like you to come along and enjoy yourself. If you'd like to progress onto a goal then we will commit to coming to your first parkrun 5k race and running it with you, if not and you'd just like to come on a Wednesday for a chat and a pootle around Dinas/Penarth then we'd love to see you.

So, if you're from Dinas Powys, Penarth, Sully or Barry and fancy some running training/coaching then why not try this great new ladies running group, you can contact them via their website or their blog below:

http://www.greenfielddentalcare.com/

http://greenfieldrunners.blogspot.com/

Learn To Run workshop

We held the first Learn To Run workshop of 2012 this morning in Cardiff's Run & Become running store.

Our Learn To Run workshop is aimed at beginners and improvers, where we teach the principles and drills of improved running technique with the aim of improving efficiency, reducing injuries and making them faster runners.

A beautiful morning greeted todays runners, the eager participants (from Cowbridge, Cardiff, Penarth and Sully) seemed to bring the weather with them as we were bathed in sunshine during our outdoor sessions.

For more information on our workshops, check out www.personal-trainer-cardiff.com/index.php/personal-trainer-cardiff/personal-trainer-cardiff-learn-to-run

Learn To Run workshop: 19th Feb 2012

Would you like to run faster, with less effort? Well, with the Learn To Run workshop you’ll learn an effective run technique that allows you to run more efficiently, with no injuries and best of all, faster! With these new running skills you’ll enjoy a more active lifestyle and gain great health benefits whilst enjoying the wonderful sport of running.

Personal trainer John Bruno and running coach Mark Whittle have teamed up with Run and Become to present this amazing workshop. The workshop is primarily aimed at beginners and novices, so fitness levels aren’t important; the goal is to teach you the steps, principles and drills for you to become more successful at running.

The next Learn To Run workshop is:
Sunday February 19th 9.30am - 12.30pm
At Run and Become, Cardiff
Cost: £40
To register, please contact: John Bruno 07976 769390

Trigger Point Performance comes to Vale Sports Therapy

Trigger Point Performance Therapy comes to south Wales with Vale Sports Therapy! So what's it all about?

Trigger Point Performance Therapy products allow you to self massage in a safe and effective way, on a daily basis! It's about empowering yourself and using the products to facilitate optimum functioning of soft tissues and help manage aches and pains associated with the muscles that allow the body to move.

The Trigger Point Performance products are specifically designed to support Myofascial Release, which refers to the manual massage technique for stretching the fascia and releasing any "stickiness" between the fascia and the muscles. The goal of which is to provide a more elastic soft tissue that has the capacity to withstand force and generate power.

Whether you're a serious athlete or a weekend warrior, the Trigger Point Therapy products can help to reduce back pain, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, knee pain and more.

The range of Trigger Point Performance kits will be available soon, for information check out the main Trigger Point Therapy website at www.tptherapy.com or our friends at Balance Physiotherapy.

Cardiff win again!

Cardiff City beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 on Saturday with the help of Delme! Delme provided sports massage to Cardiff City before and after the game, helping them prepare and recover well after the game. Cardiff City are now 2nd in the Championship and looking good for another successful season!