One of the greatest pleasures of coaching athletes to the marathon, is seeing their previous best times for the shorter distances such as the half marathon & 10km, get smashed along the way. Many runners don't believe it until they see it; that training slow to go fast, really works. Many of these runners have spent years smashing themselves week in week out on the track and running hard all the time for small gains, tiredness & injury. Others have simply just run their Long Runs too fast, or not slow enough in their previous marathon attempts. When introduced to the concept of even slower running on their Long Runs to develop the aerobic energy system (combined with quality faster sessions), I am often met with disbelieving looks. However, commitment to the program over time tells another story.
Last Sunday, Sep 4 on Fathers Day, four of my coached Run Well runners enjoyed perfect running conditions for the annual AV Half Marathon event held at Burnley.
This a really nice course, and a strong club event with many runners looking for a PB on this fast course. It's a far cry from your regular Fun Run, with fewer runners, but a high class field that pretty much leaves you for dead right from the start. But importantly, it's being amongst such a field and feeding off the energy of these fine runners that will often bring the best performance out of you. When i first ran in this event last year, i found myself at first slightly in awe, but then rising to the occasion as I could see & feel the relaxed energy of the front runners and those that passed me so effortlessly. This observation taken on board helped me to my own PB in a time that I never thought possible, let along 6 weeks out from the Melbourne Marathon.
Our Run Well runners who are on their way to the New York marathon in under 8 weeks time, had a great hit out all recording their own PB's! Importantly, these new HM times give us a good indication of what we can expect and aim for with the upcoming marathon race and hence their personalised race planning!
Congratulations to ;
Jerome Carlin - 2:50 off his Run Melbourne time just 6 weeks before.
Micheal Cutting - 1:22 quicker than his previous best, and 5 minutes quicker than Run Melb.
Micheal Bishop - a few seconds here or there but given the limited preparation, and that his training & focus is on a 10k PB coming up, a damn good effort to match his PB.
James Clarke - a whopping 14 minutes off his previous best, not to mention his second fastest ever 10km time recorded in the back half of the race. Represents a well executed race plan if you ask me!
Stay tuned for more PB smashing as the our runners hit their peaks and the all important day arrives!
