My 2014 Salomon Trail Series - Training to run faster

Perfect for learning to run fast!

While I enjoyed the challenge of the Great Ocean Road Marathon and the Salomon ‘medium’ Series last year, I have shifted my focus to the ‘short’ series in this year’s Rapid Ascent 2014 Salomon trail series.

This means a shift in training focus, and I’m really excited by it. In the last few months I’ve been running more and more at the Silvan Reservoir, 10 minutes from home.

Why? It is a trail runner’s playground. Aside from the dozens of fire access and widened walking trails, there are mountain bike and single trail tracks everywhere. Some are 200 – 300m short cuts, others are 2-4k stretchesthat run parallel to the main trails or wind back and forth, doubling back on themselvesas the wind up (or down) the hills.

So, while I’ve enjoyed running these tracks at a leisurely pace, it’s time to get serious on the shorts. What these trails provide is perfect for learning to run faster, to build speed and power. To run more quickly for the 5-7km races at the Salomon Trail Series.

There are 4 or 5 ‘hill’ climbs I plan to include in my new high speed, threshold interval training. Two are just brutal, roughly 20-30% inclines for about 500/600m. These will be my threshold, wind sprint runs that will build stamina and leg strength. The Threshold runs will be just hitting them at a hard pace and running until my lungs or legs give up. The Wind sprints are still a hard run, but more sustainable as the plan is to get to the top. What about the other hills you ask? These are two of my favourite tracks.

Threshold runs up this!

Both are about 800m - 1000m long and they are a steady, gradual climb that double back, have sharp twists and turns, logs to leap and shrubs to duck and weave through. These tracks will be my threshold runs as well, how fast can I get to the top. Likewise, these are where I’m going to run hard and fast downhill. I’ll be learning to run at speed, through the twists and turns and controlling my descent. Last year this is where I held close to the lead pack. This year it will be where I will challenge them. Rapid Ascent have already given us a heads up about the 2014 Salomon Trail Series on our Facebook Page – make sure you include hills in your training.

I’ve also discovered about ½ a dozen trails that wind around the base of the hills. These have incredible twists and turns, undulating ups and downs and surprises around each corner. One is an amazing loop, about 800m long that just twists and turns and heads you back on yourself every 70 – 100m. One word, FUN! (Go on, follow this link, my vid will show you what it's all about!) So, these trails will be the basis of my ‘on the flat’ intervals. Again, I’ll try to run them from point to point as fast as I can. I’ll be learning to run faster through using a quick cadence and fast feet transitions.

I’m hoping to improve my stamina at speed and power through the hills to improve my overall pace. Running on the trails adds the extra element of core body control and the lightning fast reflexes required on technical trails. I want to bring my ‘road’ 5k time down to sub 19, with a dare to dream time of sub 19 over 5 k on the trails at some stage in the series (ok, so as long as it’s not a hill climb course).

I’ll compliment this with an 8-11k easy run on Tuesdays, and 200-500 interval sessions either on the Treadyvals or at the track, weather permitting as we head into winter.

Be sure to check in here and follow the weekly updates on Facebook. I’m starting from a 19:10 for the 5K basis, let’s see where I can hit by the middle of September. As always, I’d love to hear if you’ve changed things up for a new season, or have you a tip you can share with the community?

Cheers, Lachie

A year in reflection - ThisFishCanRun turns 1!

How to start this post? Always the question I ask. This post is a reflection of the 2012/2013 season, or a wrap up of my first year of blogging.

An epic way to wake up - getting out to run this trail!

During the week I was looking back through the blog and some of my earlier contacts with barefootinc.com.au to see where I have come from as a runner and where I hope to go in the future.

This is what I found:

12 months ago I started writing as thisfish and I set myself some goals that I hoped to achieve:

·        To finish in the top 10% of each of the races I entered.

·        To hopefully place in the top 10 of a race.

·        To work towards bringing my 5k time down to break the 20 minute barrier.

·        To work towards bringing my 10k time down to break the 40 minute barrier and

·        Run a sub 1:30 – 90 minute ½ marathon.

So, how successful was I in meeting my goals?

In the races I entered this year, I was successful in achieving a top 10% finish in all of them except for three. In the 2013 Two Bays run I finished 180^th, a massive effort in my first real trail run. In April I entered the Geelong Half Marathon after a week of illness and finished in the top 50% and a month later I took 8 minutes off my 2011 Puffing Billy ‘The Great Train Race’ time and finished in the top 13%.

It looks like thisfish is flying...

Was I able to obtain a top 10 finish? Yes,in the Marysville 10km race in November I finished 5^th, my first taste of success. Throughout the Rapid Ascent Salomon series I went from strength to strength and managed two top 20 finishes, one that saw me place 9^th in my division and another that placed me 12^th. To then finish the series in 7^th place  overall was an amazing feeling, and I’m already thinking about how I can push for a top 5, if not a podium placing in next year’s series. I was a little behind the leaders who ran some incredible times, but with a little luck and the right determination I might just be able to take that next step.

Did I break the 20 minute barrier over 5kms? Yes, in training I have achieved that three times, but it’s only official on my phone (and mapmyrun account) and on the Garmin watch. Perhaps I might have to find a nice local 5km event and see what I can do on the right day.

Breaking the 40 minute 10km? No not yet but I can feel it happening soon.

One thing I will take away this year is learning to run faster through my initial experimentation with breathing techniques and timing, and then taking it to another level with my Pose coaching experience with Sally.

I can now say that I do know how to run fast. In my weekly training I can regularly hit 3:25-3:35 minute/km during my interval sessions. Yes, it takes considerable effort and focus on technique to get to that speed, but I can do it in a fairly relaxed and comfortable form with just a little in reserve, rather than the all-out exertion it required in the past. What I am now learning to do and training my body to do is to push these out to 1.1k, then 1.2 k to build my endurance with less recovery running or rest in between, with the ideal outcome stretching these out to a 5k streak. I also love my regular track work sessions.

Time to follow this advice!

My goals for 2014 are to again finish in the top 10% of each of my races, and I’m going to really push the desire to look for a few genuine top 10 finishes in the trail racing scene, hopefully finding a podium finish somewhere along the line. I’ve re-entered the Two Bays 28km run in January and will rerun the Salomon Series in 2014, as well as looking to enter the Rollercoaster run and a few of the Trails+ 10k events.

I've also put in my application for 'Team inov-8'

So, thanks for reading over the past year and I’m really looking forward to seeing what next year brings and hearing about how all of you guys are going as well. 

Would you mind sharing your goals with our running community? Comment here on the Thisfishcanrun Facebook thread. 

Cheers and happy goal meeting for 2013/14!

Lachie

Be like thisfish and get your gear from Wiggle! Yes, it supports this blog :)

How to run faster - How I am running faster

The on going runners challenge, how do I run faster? What is the secret to running faster? 

This is my new goal for the coming Aussie winter into spring season and I hope I can let you into a little secret. 

My last run was: 

1km @ 4:01 into an easy 1k @ 6:10 followed by 1km @3:54. 

At the top of the 'hill' I had a 300m walk to recover before returning home:

1km @ 3:23 into an easy km @5:25 and powering home for the last 1 km @ 3:34.

How am I running faster?

In my previous post on 'Finding my speed' I told you of of my discussion with Peter, who was running 2:20 marathons in his early 20s. One of his tips for how to run faster was to find a good long, gently descending hill and see how fast you can run down it. Sounds silly, but it is so true. Now to see how to get faster.

Running down hill is how I am running faster. Sure you that know gravity  naturally pulls you down the hill, but you have to make the effort to use that hill and lift your tempo and effort levels to actually start running faster. Think about it. It's easy to run down a gentle hill. It takes no effort. Now, go out there and lift your tempo, increase your stride length and start to push your heart rate. You'll soon find that you are running faster than you thought possible. 

The key is to finding the right hill. I am lucky that I live by the Lillydale - Warburton rail trail - a 40ish km hard gravel track that follows the old rail line. 

To go towards Lillydale I have a great 3.5km section. It starts flat for 300m then has a gradual 3-4% incline for almost 3km before flattening out just at the end. To learn how to run faster I had to run up the hill before I could run down. 

Previously I'd been able to hit 3:30, 3:15 and a short blast at 3:00 min/km on the treadmill. Fair enough I had to maintain the speed, but it's not real world now is it? 

To run faster you also need to be able to breathe. Again, in my previous speed post I talked about the 3-2 inhale exhale ratio and the 2-1 ratio when you are reaching your limits. Simply learn to control your breathing - that's how to run faster.

Oh, and you also need to drive your legs forward and up, engage your hammies and use them to help drive your speed. That's running coach stuff, but the breathing and hill speed you can do. 

So, how am I running faster? 

Yesterday I did that 3km out and 3km back run. 

Fast km 1: My first km was the flat before graduating to the steepest section of the hill. I quickly fell into the 3-2 breathing and picked up the pace. 
My breathing really picked up as I had to push the speed up the hill. At about 600m I made the change into the 2-1 breathing as I really found it difficult. Using this method allowed me to push forward wheras in the past I would have been out of breath and pulled up. At the GPS beep - 4:01min I eased up into a jog.  

The easy jog felt ridiculously slow at 6min km time but the recovery is just as, if not more important. 

Fast km 2: At the next beep I took off again. I increased the pace and again got into a 3-2 breathing rythm as I climbed the hill. As my cadence picked up and my stride lengthened my breathing quicked and I had to change to 2-1 to maintain my efforts. It would have been easy to stop but to get endurance you have to push through the pain barrier. By the end I was really breathing hard and the 2-1 ratio just kept me going. Fortunately the trail levelled off for the last 200m and the watched beeped at 3:54.

I allowed a 200m walk to the end of the trail and 200m back for recovery before steeling myself and heading off again.

Fast km 3: I very quikly settled into a fast run and glancing at the watch I was doing 20 kmh, or 3:00 pace! Exciting but I had to sustain it for a km. This is where running down hill is how I am running faster. I had to really work hard on my breathing, and the tempo allowed me to breath 3-2, as my legs were turning over quickly. After 500m I felt I was slowing but it was important to hold my form and push forward. I conciously had to drive forward with my knees and run upright with a slight lean but I was able to hold my nerve and the gps beeped at 3:23! 

An easy jog followed and I was really thankful for it. My breathing slowed and I felt my legs recover slightly.

Fast km 4: 1km to go! Again I focused on my form, driving the knees up and forward, strong and steady 3-2 breathing as I used the last 400m of the down hill to develop the pace. At 500m it flattened out and I was doing all the work. My 2-1 breathing took over and I could feel the heart thumping. Holding my nerve and breathing strong and as deep as I dared with the 2-1 ratio as I could to match my strides, I pushed hard on the last 200m on a slight incline. Beep beep beep, 3:34!

If you told me a month ago that I could run this fast I would have scoffed at you. No way. Now I know the secret of how to run faster:

3:2 breathing to match each stride, 2:1 when the going gets tough and your legs and cadence is faster. 

Use down hills to build your speed - get the feel for going fast and push yourself to maintain the speed. Gravity helps, but if you ease off, you are not running faster, just running at an OK speed with less effort.

Passive recovery is essential! (But my goal is to build in less recovery and more active work).

From here I want to push the length of my fast sections a little longer each time. While I can build speed and power during training and learn to maintain it, when it comes to race day I should be able to drop the pace a fraction to be more comfortable yet still run faster than I was previously running.

Get out there and give it a try. I'd love to hear your feedback on how you improved.


Cheers and get faster! 

Lachie

Run faster with ThisFish and barefootinc.com.au Remember, 10% discount with 'fish 10'

Finding my speed - how do I run faster?

Ah, the joy of a good run! Today I could no longer hold back, I had to run. 

It's been 8 days since the Geelong Half (my reality check race here) and I am feeling much better. I had itchy feet so couldn't resist a quick run. 

It was also a great way to speed test the inov-8 Bare X-Lite 150 shoes (my review here). 

On my last Dandy Runners run (my enjoyable runs) I was chatting with Peter and got talking about how fast I can run. I happily do 4:15s of a good day. 'How fast can you go?' was his question. To be honest, I don't know. Now I do. 

After a 7 minute warm up on the bike I hit the tready. I was aiming for:

400m @ 4:30 then 60 sec rest (All mins to the km)

400m @ 4:15 then 60 sec rest

400m @ 4:00 then 60 sec rest

400m @ 3:45 then 60 sec rest

400m @ 3:30 then 60 sec rest

400m @ 3:15 then 60 sec rest

and 400m @3:00 then hopefully be still standing!

I also wanted to try out the 3-2 breathing to footstrike that I had read about in the April Runners World.

Essentially it is inhale for 3 strides and then exhale for 2. The theory is that you are stronger when inhaling and the 3-2 ratio means that you land on alternate steps for each exhale. Landing on alternate steps minimizes the risk or repetitive stress injury to a set side. It was time to learn the correct breathing while running and how fast can I run.

At each of the 4:30--4:00 minute reps I felt really comfortable. I was able to breath at a comfortable rate and really managed my breathing rate - alternating the exhale on the left and right each time. It felt good and I felt strong. 

At 3:45 I had to increase my tempo and my breathing rate naturally went with it. I was breathing more quickly but did not feel under stress. I felt as though I could manage this pace for a longer distance - perhaps 3-5km but that was not the purpose of this test. 

At 3:30 I felt I needed to stretch my stride a little and again my tempo and leg speed had to be upped. The inov-8 Bare X-Lite 150s felt great. I was running fast and they were responding. At this point Leigh from Refine Training told me to run more on my fronts as I was landing more heavily on the tready, a sign that I was starting to push it a little? Or was I more focused on matching my breathing rate to my foot strike?

3:15 was manageable for the 400m. I could just keep the 3-2 breathing ratio but I'm not sure I was getting good deep breaths. I may need to experiment with the 2-1 Inhale exhale ratio next time. 

3:00, this pace really pushed me. I let my breathing focus go and just did what felt natural. I really had to push my leg speed way up there and extend my stride. I felt I was able to keep my natural form and felt lighter on my feet but I was happy to run 300m and back it off before I did any damage. 

I finished with 400m @ 4:30 pace (it felt like a stroll in the park) before an easy 5 minutes on the bike. 

What did I achieve today? Well, I can answer Peters question now. I can run at 3:15 minute kms for perhaps a km. I feel as though I could run 3:30s for 3-5km if I get the right breathing pattern, a flat road/track and a nice tail wind. 

Where to from here? I want to find the right balance between power and speed, recovery and a weekly long run. I want to be a faster 10km runner for the Winter Trail series races that are about to start.

How will I do it? I need to talk to the right people, but I feel I can do a weekly 8-10km tempo run incorporating 3:30s to 4:15s and either active (walking) or complete rest sections. It will be quality, not quantity. These runs will be city block to city block at the 3:30s - 4:00s pace, then a 4:15 block, back to 3:30s followed by complete rest or walking recovery - teaching the body to learn to run fast and make it the norm.

Once a week my circuit class will incorporate HITs on the treadmill doing 400-600m blocks at sub 4min pace with quality rest and recovery periods. I will be building the pace and distance in a pyramid style to work towards my anaerobic/aerobic limits - learning to run faster.

I'll be hitting the Dandenong Ranges for a weekly 10-20km long run, which will be a mix of hard and fast hills, long slow hills, flat fast sections and flat, slow sections. 

My aim is to be faster over 10km. I want to break 40min on a flat and be consistently faster on the trails. 

Keep following to find out how I go...