Porthkerry 5: multi-terrain running race

Mark took part in the Porthkerry 5 this morning, it's a 5 mile off road (multi-terrain) running race held in Porthkerry Park, near Barry.

It's a tough race, all off road and it has some tough, tough hills thrown in at several points in the race, just to spice things up a bit!

Mark used this race as a training race in the run up to his 'A' race of the season (Holland in July as part of the GB off-road triathlon team) and managed a very creditable 7th pace in a very large field of runners - well done Mark!

Mark provides one-to-one running, cycling and triathlon coaching and online training plans, so if you're in Cardiff, Penarth, Barry or Cowbridge and are contemplating getting a coach to guide you through your 2013 season contact Mark (Cardiff, Penarth & Barry) on 07947 010276 or visit the brand new WhittleFit website for more details on the running coaching services that Mark provides.

New WhittleFit website NOW live!

Our sister company, WhittleFit, has just launched their new website, please read their press release below and check out their website.

Welcome to the brand new WhittleFit website!

Our goal is to help guide you on your health and fitness journey. Whether your goal is to get fit, lose weight, stay fit, attempt a challenging endurance event or set a new personal best; WhittleFit are here to help you achieve your goals.

Whether you choose to work with our personal trainers and coaches in person or online, our tools, techniques and progressive training approaches are individually tailored to you, to make you faster, leaner, fitter and stronger in the most time efficient manner. Our methods provide you with the motivation and direction required to achieve the results you require.

WhittleFit specialises in:
Running Coaching
Triathlon Coaching
Cycling Coaching
Personal Training
Outdoor Training
Sports Massage

WhittleFit provide our coaching and training services in the south Wales area. We enjoy training in the natural environment of the Vale of Glamorgan with our outdoor coaching and training sessions, and when not outdoors we can be found at our exclusive personal training and Pilates studio in Penarth, on the outskirts of Cardiff.

If you live further afield or would prefer an online training solution, we offer interactive online coaching for triathlon, running and cycling events and downloadable standalone training plans for fitness, strength and fat loss, as well as triathlon, running and cycling.

Please keep popping back to check out the website, we’ll be updating the site all the time with news, articles, FREE resources and much more!

If you have questions regarding WhittleFit and what we can do for you, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Running technique workshop - Cardiff

How would you like to run faster, with less effort? Well, with our 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 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:


Date: Sunday 19th May 9.30am - 12.30pm

Location: John Bruno Total Training studio, Glebe Street, Penarth
Cost: £40


So if you live in Cardiff, Penarth, Barry, Bridgend, Cowbridge or Llantwit Major and would like to learn how to run more efficiently, faster and with less injuries, register with John Bruno on 07976 769390 or Mark Whittle on 07947010276.

Sports massage for London Marathon

With many sporting events coming up, like the London Marathon, more and more of us are getting out there and putting in some serious running training. This occasionally brings along aches and pains, but have no fear, Mark and Delme are here to help and support you through this process and get you 100% ready for your big race!

Sports massage is designed to assist in correcting problems and imbalances in soft tissue that are caused from repetitive and strenuous physical activity and trauma. The application of sports massage, prior to and after exercise, may enhance performance, aid recovery and prevent injury.

So if you're in the Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Barry, Penarth, Cowbridge or Bridgend and need some sports massage, check us out at Vale Sports Therapy.

Product Review: Sufferfest Indoor Cycling Videos

By now hopefully you'll know that Delme and I both love endurance sports, especially running and triathlon (swim/bike/run). And as both of us are time-crunched due to family, work, sports and social commitments, we need to find methods of fitness training that are effective and that we can actually fit into everyday life. Well, as far as our cycling training is concerned, this is it!

The Sufferfest group of training videos are intended for cyclists, triathletes and fitness enthusiasts who want to get seriously fit, but are limited for time. However, I warn you now - they are not easy! In fact they are designed to seriously kick your butt; they are evil! But they work!

So what are they exactly? They are downloadable videos for you to use on your indoor bike trainer (known as a turbo trainer in the cycling and triathlon world), spelling out the exact intensity and time interval required for that section of the training session, all set against the backdrop of some amazing pro cycling race footage and some great music tracks.

So in essence each Sufferfest video is based on a specific workout (like flat out sprints, short intervals, climbs, time trials efforts, even 20 minute race simulations), and tells you how hard to go and for how long, and during that interval the footage shows you what you should be doing (so if you should be sprinting, you'll see some amazing sprint footage). How simple is that? Even I can follow it!

The 2 videos I bought are "Revolver" and "Downward Spiral", each being 45 minutes and 60 minutes respectively. Revolver is billed as simple, brutal, uncomplicated and it doesn't disappoint. The main set is 1 minute intervals, with 1 minute recovery, it is tough, tough, tough, as you have very little time to recover before hitting the next interval. This is a great training session when you are very short on time and just want to get your ass kicked! Downward Spiral is 60 minutes of maximum intensity intervals, which gradually decrease in duration, with decreasing recovery intervals. This intense session even has you chasing Tom Boonen during his solo breakaway in Paris-Roubaix! Another great training session.

For me these training videos are a very welcome change to staring at a concrete wall in your garage, listening to music or watching a movie and have been a stable part of my triathlon training for a long time, in fact they were integral for me in qualifying for Team GB last year for the European Triathlon Long Distance Triathlon Championships. The combination of the intervals, the awesome cycling footage and the pounding, motivating soundtrack just makes it so much easier to train harder!

The Sufferfest videos are incredibly cheap too, I bought mine last year for less than £10 each ($12.99) and I'm really surprised they haven't increased in price yet. For your $12.99 you get a downloadable video that will see you through many a tough training winter, or even when you just need a kick up the butt to reinvigorate your training! You can check out the full range of training videos at the Sufferfest website, I would definitely recommend trying out one of their videos, but only if you're ready to work hard!!! Did I mention they are evil? Enjoy!

Running PB for one of our clients

One of our local runners, Victoria, managed to claim an amazing PB (personal best) at the Cardiff ParkRun (5K) this morning! She had a great run, particularly as she's in the middle of marathon training so is not really doing too much speed work at the moment.

Victoria gave us a great testimonial a few weeks back (thank you!), but the improvement we've been seeing is purely down to her hard work and her consistency in training. I'm positive she's going to achieve all her goals this year!

So if you're a runner in Cardiff, Penarth, Barry or Cowbridge and are contemplating running a 5K, 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 Mark (Cardiff, Penarth & Barry) on 07947 010276.

Product Review: Trigger Point Performance Therapy starter kit

I've been using the Grid for a while now, but lately I've been using the Trigger Point Performance Therapy Starter Kit with the aim of reducing areas of tension in the key areas that influence movement quality, especially for running (in the lower limbs, that's mainly the calf (gastrocnemius & soleus) and the glutes (piriformis). So what does that mean? Basically, it means reducing the length/tension relationship in the muscle, thus making the muscle more pliable or elastic (releasing the tension).

I've found that the Trigger Point Performance Therapy Starter Kit is the best package to start with, it allows you to self massage and manage various aches and pains of the body, particularly for us multi-sport athletes who always seem to suffer from aches and pains in the feet, achilles tendon, calf and glutes. For me personally, my achilles and calf muscles have never felt better!

This kit is definitely worth checking out, I know I'll be looking at their other sets soon, particularly the one which includes the kit for the quads and hamstrings (they call it the quad-baller). Check out the main Trigger Point Performance Therapy website for more information on the whole range of products and some great videos on how to use them effectively.

Hidden injuries and how to avoid them

Sometimes when you are feeling great about your training, you appear to be injury free, and you are looking forward to achieving new heights in performance, your muscles may actually be in a state of chaos. No hobbling, or even niggling pain will necessarily reveal this chaotic state, and only a disappointing performance in a key competition will show that something has gone seriously wrong. The poor performance will be an indication that your training has injured your muscles significantly – and yet kept you in the dark about the nature of the problem.

How can athletes be unaware of the damage they are doing to themselves during training? Unfortunately, some muscle problems can exist below an athletes “radar screen”; they may significantly interfere with muscle function and yet produce few or no symptoms that something is wrong.

For example, think about what happens to an Ironman triathlete or a marathon runner after completing their event. A week after the event is over, the athlete usually feels great, with no pain, stiffness or swelling to announce that anything is wrong with their muscles (unlike the day after a race, when their discomfort is usually intense). However, if the athletes muscles were biopsied and the cells examined under a microscope, many problems would be apparent. Recent research from Harvard reveals that portions of some muscles would be missing, other cells would be swollen, muscle membranes would be ruptured, blood vessels would be damaged and glycogen levels would be low. Yet, despite this, the athlete would be “feeling fine”.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take an Ironman event or a marathon to induce such muscle damage. If a significant increase in training is undertaken over a prolonged period, then this will produce a similar effect. Causing such damage is not a trivial thing. For one thing, it is simply not possible for muscles to perform at optimal levels when muscle glycogen levels are low, energy producing mitochondria are damaged and contractile proteins within muscle cells are disrupted. For another, these kinds of problems can not be cleared up overnight. The research from Harvard suggests that it may take three months for muscles to be restored after such damage, and complete restoration may occur only if an athlete trains lightly or not at all.

As an athlete, what should you do to achieve your greatest possible improvement in fitness without doing damage to your muscular system? First, you should make sure that your training program contains adequate recovery time; at least one day off each week and at least one week of light training for every three weeks of strenuous training. Recovery periods allow your muscles to “catch up” on key repair processes, which are often retarded by the relentless pace of high frequency, high volume training.

Second, you should attempt to emphasise quality over quantity in your training. High intensity training is the most potent producer of fitness, and pathological changes in muscle cells appear to be much more closely related to training volume rather than training speed. Research shows that when a comparison is made between what happened to runners muscles following a marathon and a 25km race, they found the muscle damage to be much more extensive after the marathon, even though the 25km competition was completed at a much faster pace.

Third, you should engage in functional strength training two to three times a week. Such strength training should revolve around movements which actually mimic the biomechanics of your chosen sport, so that you will be less likely to get frayed around the edges as a result of your training and competition (compared with weak muscles, strong muscles are damaged much less by the forces created during exertion).

Finally, you should devise a performance test with which you can assess your progress over time. For running, this could be a 6 minute test on the track, for cycling it could be a 10km time trial and for swimming it could be an 800 metre all out effort, and so on. Such tests can be performed every 4 to 6 weeks or so during training, and if you are feeling good but you test results are getting worse rather than better, chances are good that there are muscle problems “below your radar”. The solution is not to work harder and damage your muscles further; the optimal strategy is usually to significantly reduce training volume, maintain fitness with an occasional intense workout, and thus give your muscles a chance to recover from all the abuse you have put them through. For most athletes whose performances have headed south, such periods of lighter training will help to wipe away any muscular chaos and get performance capacity on an upward slope again.

So if you're a runner, triathlete or endurance athlete and would like some advice on training concepts, training plans or injury prevention check out our Vale Sports Therapy website or contact 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.

Magor Marsh 10K

Yesterday Mark raced the Magor Marsh 10K near Newport, about 15 miles from Cardiff. This race was part of Mark's training schedule in the lead up to a Half Marathon race that he's doing in September, so he knew he wouldn't be peaking for this 10K race but still would race it as hard as he could.

Over 220 people turned up for the race as it's renowned for being a flat, fast course. The race turned out to be a little slower than everyone had hoped (it was quite windy) but Mark still managed to come home in 13th position. Not quite a personal best time, but Mark was happy with his race, especially as it was not a priority race for him.

If you're a runner in Cardiff, Penarth, Barry or Cowbridge 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.

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.

Running Seminar: Run & Become Cardiff

Yesterday I attended an evening running seminar at Run & Become Cardiff. The "Aspire and Achieve" evening was aimed at offering FREE professional advice from experienced sports physio's, running coaches, nutrtionists and personal trainers.

In attendance was:
Myself: running coach
John Bruno: personal trainer & master pilates instructor
Karen Pearce: chartered physiotherapist
Caren Richards: nutritionist

The 2 hour seminar was well received by all in attendance, with many questions and some great dialogue from the varied audience.

If you're a runner in Cardiff, Penarth, Barry or Cowbridge and are contemplating training for 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 Mark on 07947 010276.

TRX training for runners and triathletes

Runners and triathletes are usually very busy people, trying to juggle training with work, family and social commitments.  And as such, core (and strength) training is often overlooked, in the hope that simply doing the swimming, biking and running sessions will suffice. This is where many people miss out. By simply adding in some core stability sessions it increases strength, stamina and endurance, allowing you to train and race faster, and helps to keep injuries at bay.

The TRX is a great tool for this. The TRX is a Suspension Training tool that allows you to leverage your own bodyweight to improve your strength, balance, stamina and flexibility all at once. With TRX bodyweight training, your entire core is activated as a stabilizer in every TRX exercise that you perform.

Check out the video below of professional triathlete Chris Lieto and his coach Matt Dixon demonstrating some of the key TRX exercises that Chris uses to develop his core strength for triathlon.

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! 

Want to do a triathlon? Don't know what one is?

Our resident running and triathlon coach, Mark Whittle, has been competing at triathlons for over 10 years, but it seems that our other member of Vale Sports Therapy, Delme Bennett, has got the bug too! This year Delme has completed 2 sprint triathlons of his own and has a few more pencilled into his calendar! Watch this space for his race reports.

So what’s a triathlon and specifically, what’s a sprint triathlon? A sprint (or novice) triathlon is a short distance triathlon, which is ideal for the beginner athlete, comprising of a swim, a bike and then a run (all in succession, with no breaks!). Sprint triathlons can vary in distance, but typically a sprint triathlon consists of a 400-750m swim, a 20km bike and a 5km run, well within the capabilities of most active people (with some focused training).

So what training do you need to do to complete your first triathlon? It depends on your current fitness levels; however, you must feel comfortable about being able to complete each discipline (swim, bike and run) on its own, before stringing them together one after the other. So you must be happy that come race day you have enough fitness to be able to complete the 400-750m swim without too much trouble, be able to bike for 20km and be able to complete a 5km run without dying! As a triathlon uses many different muscles and different energy systems, varied training is required in the three disciplines; however with some focus most people are able to train to complete their first triathlon.

How about equipment? For your first triathlon, you really only need the minimum of equipment; some swim wear and goggles, basic biking gear (bike, helmet and clothing) and running gear (trainers and clothing); and that’s it. You don’t need to invest loads of money on your first race, I think most people probably own the majority of the required equipment, or at least can borrow some from friends and family to train with and use on race day.

On the day of the race you will usually be asked to arrive nice and early to register/check-in, at this point you’ll receive your race number (if you hadn’t already received it in the post) and some final instructions regarding the race itself. Now it’s time to set up your transition area, this is where you rack your bike and lay out your cycling helmet, running trainers, etc ready to change into when transitioning from one stage to the next stage of the race.

Now you’ve set up your transition area, you’re ready to race! The swim is up first, depending on the race the start will either be a mass start (everyone starts together) or a wave start (small groups start at the same time), so make sure you know what time your start is (it might be different from your friends start time). Once out of the swim you’ll make your way to the transition area, here you’ll change into your bike gear (helmet on!) and set off on the bike course (usually very well marshalled and signposted, but make sure you have an idea of the route before starting the race). At the end of the bike course you’ll return to the transition area, jump off your bike, change into your running gear and set off for the final leg of the race. This is usually the hardest part of the race as you’ve already swam and biked for maybe up to an hour, so you’ll be pretty fatigued before setting off on the run. No matter, you’re nearly done, but don’t forget to smile for the camera (there’s usually a photographer at the finish line).

That’s it, race over. You’ve just completed your first sprint triathlon!

If you need any triathlon coaching advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Mark or Delme via our Vale Sports Therapy website, we're more than happy to help.

New for 2012!

2012 is going to be an exciting year for Vale Sports Therapy!

Not only are we going to continue to offer a first class sports massage service and our Learn To Run workshop to the Vale of Glamorgan, we're going to be bringing exciting new services to Cowbridge, Bridgend, Barry, Cardiff and Penarth!

In 2012 we're going to be adding sports coaching and fitness training plans to our repertoire, including running plans (10k, half marathon and marathon), triathlon coaching (including individual Ironman Wales training plans), cycling coaching (including fitness testing to calculate training zones) and core conditioning training.

If you want to boost your 2012 racing season need help with your training, contact Mark on 07947010276 for more information.

Running training plans coming soon!

Do you need help with your running training? Do you have a big race coming up? Need some advice? Well, you've come to the right place.

Mark Whittle will be providing running training plans very soon. Mark will write you a personalised running plan, that fits in with your lifestyle (family, work, hobbies, etc) to help you achieve your goals. Whether it be to complete your first ever 5k or run the London Marathon in a new PB time, Mark can help you!

Mark also offers advice on running technique and general fitness (strengthening, toning, conditioning, etc) as well as race day advice (what pace to run, nutritional strategies, equipment, etc). For more information, contact Mark on 07947010276 or email him at valesportstherapy@yahoo.co.uk.

Cardiff half marathon

I had 3 or 4 people running the Cardiff half marathon yesterday and I'm pleased to say they all had a great day! Admittedly they're all novices, so improvements are perhaps expected, but working with novices makes it so exciting. They're all short on time due to work and family commitments but work hard with the limited time they have to train, and it showed today. I'm really proud of all them, very well done guys!

European Long Distance Triathlon Champs

Well, here it is, the race report from the European Long Distance Triathlon Champs that was held on Sunday in Finland:

We arrived early (we, being the 4 RAF guys who had made the team) and had lots of time to recce the swim, bike and run courses. The swim looked very long, the bike looked pretty flat (and boring) whilst the run looked like the only interesting part of the race, sweeping around the lake through a slightly wooded area with gravel trails. We attended the race registration and race brief and to be honest, the organisation wasn’t great, this definitely wasn’t a WTC event!

Back to the race, morning arrived and we had a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading off to the transition area. The location of this race was actually very good, with an athletics stadium being used for T1/T2 which was only 5 minutes walk from our hotel, with the lake being adjacent to the stadium. After putting all our nutrition onto our bikes we headed down to the start area. The elite men and women went off first, with the age group men going next (us) and the age group women to follow.

We all jumped into the water and after a minute or two, the horn went and we were off. With less than 200 men in our wave start, there wasn’t the usual biff you get at the start of an Ironman race, I quickly found some open space and headed the 300m or so to the first turn buoy. After this turn, we essentially had to swim in a big rectangle finishing down a canal next to the stadium. The out leg seemed to take forever! I managed to find some feet to sit on for a while and settled in to a pace that I thought I could hold for 4k. We eventually got to the far turn bouy (maybe 1.8k into the swim leg), turned, swam another 200-300m and turned again for the return and final leg. We were now swimming into a bit of current and the sun was rising in front of us which made navigation a little difficult.

I was starting to feel a little tired now. The current was sapping my energy and the navigation meant sighting was harder, fortunately someone swam up to me, so I jumped on his feet and trusted he was sighting correctly. It seemed his sighting was spot on as we arrived at the mouth of the canal in fairly quick time, I knew it was another 300m or so to go, so decided to stay with my new friend and let him direct me into the exit point. It got a bit congested here and I got a smack round the head for my troubles, but all in all it was an uneventful swim – just what I was hoping for. I stood up, checked my watch and saw 1:06. I was particularly pleased with this as I was expecting to see 1:10 – 1:15. Good start!

Quickly into transition the wetsuit was off and I was ready to exit T2. As I grabbed my bike Marc P (an RAF team mate) came into T1, I was quite happy about this as I expected Marc to beat me out of the water, but as he is a better biker I knew he would catch me quite soon. Anyway, out on the bike I went, I settled into the aero position and started pushing on, knowing Marc would be chasing me hard! Once I settled down I started thinking about my nutrition, I looked down at my Speedfil bottle (fits on the down tube, with a tube coming up to bike cockpit) and realised it was half empty! It was leaking! Things like this can put you right off your game, but there’s no point in worrying about it. I knew I had plenty of nutrition on me and I could always pick up some more from the aid stations as my cast iron stomach can cope with most types of sports drinks and gels.

The bike was 6 laps of 20k (well, it was a little shorter than 20k as they cut off a little part of the course for safety reasons), and it was a bit boring. We biked out of town, onto some fast roads, then onto a motorway for a mile or so, then climbed up a long shallow climb, back down the motorway and into town again. Coupled with that a few dead-turns (which really slowed you down!) and quite a bit of wind, it was not the most exciting of routes.

Marc came past me at the end of the first lap (as expected), so I estimated he was putting about 1:30 into me on each lap. I was ok with that as I knew my run was strong enough to pull that back later on in the day. The laps ticked away, and apart from some Spanish pro’s and some Finnish age groupers drafting, it was a very clean bike race. I came towards T2 quite glad the bike leg was over, I checked my watch and saw a bike split of about 3:26, I was ok with that. It wasn’t great, but it was ok, and I had my strongest leg to come!

The run was 4 laps of 7.5k, so it would be easy to gauge your pace and spot other age groupers and see where they were in the race compared to you on each lap. I set out on the first lap with the intention of going easy. As I was approaching the first turn point (at 3.75k) I was very surprised that I hadn’t caught anyone! This wasn’t normal. Was everyone else really running that fast? Was I running slow? Too slow? I put this to the back of my mind and continued on.

As it turned out I shouldn’t have worried as I caught 9 people in the next 3.75k (including my team mate Marc). The pace felt easy and I completed the first lap in about 33 minutes. Now it got a little confusing, as there were quite a lot of people on the run course, you didn’t know if they were on their first lap or third lap. It didn’t really matter though, as I continued to run at my own pace, I felt good and people were coming back to me fairly quickly. The laps ticked away and I continued to sip my energy gels whilst taking water and coke from the aid stations, everything was going to plan.

I was now coming towards the end of the third lap and I could feel myself slowing down. It wasn’t quite the Ironman-shuffle, but I was definitely slowing. I started the fourth and final lap knowing that if I ran the last 7.5k in 40 minutes I would break 7 hours for the race. This was now my motivation. I didn’t care who I was passing (I stopping counting after passing 25 people), I just wanted to keep pushing on to break the 7 hour barrier. I got the final turn point and worked out I had 20 minutes to do the last leg in, this would be a tough ask. I was now very tired. I had walked the last 2 aid stations, taking on lots of water and coke, so to get back to the stadium and do a lap of the athletics track and finish in 7 hours was going to be hard, hard work.

I pushed on, I was now hurting. I wasn’t out of breath at all, just tired and my muscles didn’t want to respond to my brain telling them to move – faster! I could now see the stadium and hear the crowds. I guessed I had about another 5 or 6 minutes of pain to endure. Surely I could do that? Could I?

I was pushing again, pain filled my legs and lungs but its amazing how the crowds drive you on. I entered the stadium and saw 2 Finnish athletes in front of me. I had about 350m to go and there was no way I was going to let them beat me! I pushed again, passed the first guy, reached the second guy, he tried to react but he was spent, I was past him and driving on to the finish line. I looked at my watch with about 50m to go, I knew I was under 7 hours, it was instant relief! With the Finns behind me and 7 hours in the bag, I could coast to the finish line savouring the atmosphere.

I’ll blog more later about my post race feelings, my crazy taper strategy and my views on the whole GB representation, but needless to say, I was very pleased with my race. I came 11th in my age group and went sub 7 hours, I’ll take that! Many thanks to my family, friends, coach and sponsors for all your support, I know it’s a cliché, but without all your help I would never have made it to Finland to represent my country. That means a lot to me, so I thank you all.

Product review:Newton Momentus trail shoe

I reviewed the Newton Gravity trainer back in September last year and I must admit, I have become a huge fan! So when I received the Newton Momentus trail shoe, I was very excited. And as you can see from the picture, the colour of the trainer is simply stunning (well, in my eyes anyway!).

The Momentus is the first shoe in the Newton range that is designed for off-road. There have been some complaints in the past about the other models in the range, stating that they weren't hard wearing enough to use on tracks and trails, well, this is the answer. Even though it is billed as a trail/offroad shoe, I think that is a little misleading, the reason I say that is because it is great on the road too. Most Newtons have an upper with an open mesh (great for ventilation), therefore they aren't great for colder days, but these are a real good outdoor hard wearing shoe, offering greater traction and durability over some of the others in the range.

Without getting too technical, the Newton range offers a more natural running style by having a very small heel to toe drop (making them effectively flat), the drop on the Momentus is about 3% (some of the more performance Newton's are nearer 1.3%), with most other brands having a far greater drop. This low heel to toe drop makes the shoe almost flat (i.e. natural), therefore is closer to a more natural running style, i.e. barefoot.

What's the deal with those crazy lugs? Again, I won't go into too much of the science, but suffice to say they are there for a reason. The raised lugs (ridges on the forefoot) act independently from each other, compressing into a rubber membrane on impact, this effectively reduces impact shock by up to 44%. The lugs then return that stored energy (a bit like a coiled spring) which reduces fatigue and allows for reduced occurrence of injury.

Bottom line is, I love 'em! I am very much into the whole natural running philosophy and these shoes definitely help you transition to a more natural running style. I want people to run faster, more efficiently and with less injuries, and in my opinion, the Newton Momentus will definitely help with that.