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"Mike's
approach to coaching really brings out the best in your
performance" Chris, Berkshire |
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A New Challenge for Older Athletes
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Ron Hill, born in Accrington, Lancashire,
is synonymous with running and at 63 he is still
setting world records. His past glories read like
a role of honour. He represented Great Britain at
3 consecutive Olympics (Rome, Mexico, and Munich)
and gained gold in the marathon at the 1969 European
Championships and 1970 Commonwealth Games. Ron broke
the world record for running at 10miles, 15miles,
20 miles and 25km distances. He was also the first
Britain to win the Boston marathon. His best time
for the marathon is 2hrs 9min 28.
Most people his age would be looking forward to
a quiet retirement, but Ron knows no boundaries.
His current world record for running everyday, started
on Dec 21st 1964. It now stands at over 37 years
and is still being extended everyday. His reason
for starting was admirable. After a poor showing
at the Tokyo Olympics, he set out on a mission to
make himself the best athlete he could, pushing
his physical capabilities to the limit. At 63 he
still has not reached that limit. His current world
record attempt is to complete a race in 100 countries
by the time he is 70.
Mike Trees started out as a runner, on the roads
around Darlington in County Durham over 30 years
ago. He was inspired by runners such as Ron Hill,
Brendan Foster, Jimmy Alder, and Dave Bedford. With
a best time of 3minutes 45seconds for 1,500m Mike
has always been one of the quickest runners in multi-sport
racing. In 2000 at the age of 38 in the Elite Race
in the Duathlon World Championships he came 18th.
Major achievements in the 90's include winning 3
National Duathlon and 3 National Triathlon Championships
in Japan, as well as the inaugural British Duathlon
Championships in 1991. As well as racing he did
sports research at Tsukuba University and was employed
as a professional triathlon coach during his ten
years in Japan. To date Mike has trained 5 Japanese
national champions. Earlier this year the Trees
family came back to England and now live in Reading.
Ron is contemplating doing a duathlon at a competitive
level in 2004, and since Mike comes from a running
background he is ideally placed to help Ron make
the transition. On the other hand Mike, at 41, aims
to get a top ten finish in the elite category in
the world duathlon championships. At 63 Ron is also
perfectly placed to give Mike tips to help him cope
with his training as he ages.
Ron and Mike have summarised their tips for everyone's
benefit. Ron's comments are particularly relevant
to older athletes trying to keep racing at their
present levels even though their peak years may
be behind them. Mike's points on the other hand
should help runners make a smooth transition to
the sport of duathlon.
Training For the Older Athlete - Ron's Tips
1. It's all in the mind!
Athletes become "veterans" or "masters" at age 40plus.
Age group races are very common in triathlon and
duathlon events, but in the running world, from
age 20 to 40 there is usually just one category,
so for a runner the change to the 'veteran' class
at 40 is a big one. Not just in sport, but in life
the big Four 'O', is usually considered a milestone.
Do not forget 40 is just a number; nothing changes
physically. Mentally some people believe this is
the beginning of the end, but it isn't!
2. Take heart from other veteran athletes
At age 40, I ran a 2:19 marathon in Huntsville,
Alabama and a 2:15 marathon in New Orleans. I was
still using tried and tested training routines from
my younger days, and I was still able to perform
on the world stage. For an up-to-date example take
Paul Evans in the 2001 Great North Run, He was still
able to run 63 minutes for a half-marathon at the
age of 40 and was the fastest British finisher that
day, regardless of age. Further proof that masters
runners are still fast, is that the marathon world
record for a veteran is under 2:11. Closer to home
for most readers is triathlon hero Dave Scott, who
came 2nd at Hawaii Ironman World Championships at
the age of 41. Even today at the age of 47, he is
still a force to be reckoned with.
3. Slow down as slowly as possible
This may sound double Dutch, but as an older athlete
instead of giving in to your age, just adjust your
goals. Slowing down is an inevitable part of life,
but if you rethink your approach to the sport, and
keep setting your self new challenging but attainable
goals you will be able to slow down the loss of
speed.
The maximum amount of oxygen the body can use, is
often expressed as VO2 max. researcher's suggest
that the bodies VO2 max declines by about 1% a year,
after the age of 30. If this is true, then the average
person will have lost about 10% of their VO2 max
by the time they reach 40. Since most athletes could
be much more economical with their usage of energy.
Training the body to use less energy and be more
efficient should help to compensate for the losses
of maximum oxygen usage.
4. Beware of overuse injuries
I thought I was invincible and that my body would
be self-repairing forever, until I had to have a
knee operation at age 47. Although to keep my continous
running streak in tact I still managed two 1 mile
runs the next day. Maybe if I'd had Mike Trees'
advice before this, and had used weights and substituted
some cycling for running it would not have happened.
All of us need enough rest to ensure full recovery
and prevent overuse and this is more so the older
we get.
5. New comers can expect 8-10 years of improvement
at any age
Novices to a sport, can expect to improve at any
age. I believe that coming into a new sport at an
older age, there are still eight to ten years of
improvement, When working on a 'virgin' body it
doesn't matter what age you start. For those of
us who have been runners for a long time the situation
is different. Mike will have to listen to his body
and be willing to adapt his training with time.
This will mean cutting back, when he can't take
the high work loads any more. Although I still train
every day, I too have cut back. From December 1964,
for 26 years I ran twice a day, (but only once on
Sundays,) without missing a run. In 1990, at age
51 I realised that all I was doing was tiring myself
out and so at 26.2 years I cut back to once a day
only.
6. Never think "old"
Look for new challenges. Athletes in their 40's
can still achieve a tremendous amount. For example,
at 46 I decided I wanted to get to a total of 100
marathons. In February 1985 I ran three marathons.
Then between March 24th and April 28th of that same
year, I ran six marathons in just 5 weeks, including
a 2:29 in London. In October of that year I got
to my 100th in Athens covering the original Olympic
course from the town of Marathon.
A new challenge may be another sport, like the duathlon.
I tried one last year using an ancient mountain
bike. The experience was great but the bike ride
let me down badly and also gave me a bad back! I
vowed I would be back but unfortunately I have not
been on the bike since. The reason for this is pressure
of time plus the unsuitability of the roads where
I live for reasonably safe biking. I know I must
make some time in the near future and am certain
it will halt or slow the decline in my running performances.
I look forward to using some of Mike Trees' training
tips.
Helping Runners to Cycle - Mike's Tips
1. Power is the key!
At 10km race pace, runners only use about 20% of
their maximum leg-muscle power. On the other hand,
in a 40km bike time trial cyclists will be demanding
around 60% of the maximum power of their legs, to
keep the pedals turning at race pace. This explains
why runners don't need big muscles to run a fast
10km. For a bike time trial on a flat, non-technical
course, the fastest time will be closely related
to the highest maximum leg power out put. This explains
why top runners can avoid doing power training,
where as cyclists can not. Thus my first tip to
Ron and other runners, is to find a leg press machine
and build up the quadricept and hamstring muscles.
An inclined leg press is time efficient because
it works all the leg muscles in one go. If more
time is available, a full weights programme should
be undertaken 2-3 times a week.
2. Peak performance is related to the quality
of carbohydrates consumed
Ron can run a fast 10km, but how will he hold up
after a 40km bike ride. One problem runners will
face, is that working at a high power out put on
the bike will burn up massive amounts of carbohydrates.
This will cause glycogen depletion in the muscles.
In lay terms, the fuel tank will be running low
by the time the bike ends and this will cause problems
on the second run.
Most runners have done lots of long slow miles,
during their years in the sport and so are usually
very efficient at burning fats for fuel, consequently
they may feel they don't need to take in much energy
during a duathlon. This is a mistake. The bike section
is the perfect time to keep the body topped up with
energy, ready for the second run. I would estimate
at burning about 1,000 calories during a 40km bike
section. The actual amount of fuel needed depends
on many factors such as, size of the athlete, his
speed, the toughness of the course and how many
carbohydrates were consumed before starting. It
is always important to simulate a race in training
to make sure you get your nutritional needs right
on race day. Water soluble carbohydrate gels such
as Carbo Shotz, mixed with water or an isotonic
drink, will satisfy both fluid and nutritional needs.
Novice cyclists should also practise drinking from
water bottles at race speed. Many first timers forget,
or are too frightened to drink. (For more information
on race fuel log on to www.carboshotz.co.uk)
3. Run, Bike, Run, Bike, Run: Training!!
A brick session is the term for back-to-back run
bike training. Brick work is essential for efficient
transition from run to bike and bike to run. The
athletes that I coach in Japan always pride themselves
on the speed they cover the first mile after transition.
Duathletes who have practised transition training
extensively will be at a distinct advantage over
those who have not I recommend doing the following
brick session:
I. Run 4x400m at 10km race pace with only one third
rest. (eg: If you running at 90secs per 400m gives
30secs rest).
II. Bike 6x1km at 10mile time trial pace. (Try to
keep the rest time to one third of work time).
III. Run 4x400m again
IV. Bike 6x1km again
V. Run 4x400m.
The first few 400m's may feel easy but don't be
fooled, the last 4x400m is murder! It is important
to do the transition from run to bike and vice-versa,
as quickly as possible. This simulates race conditions
and will also speed up your transitions.
4. Devote up to 70 percent of your training time
to cycling
Coming from a running background, Ron will need
to do much less running than cycling. I would suggest
he devotes 60 to 70 percent of his time to the bike.
The trouble is runners feel the need to run everyday,
Ron more so than most, because he has not missed
a days training in over 37 years. Even so, I suggest
that he cuts down his running to the absolute minimum
while he builds up the cycling.
5. Replace long runs with long bike rides
To race successfully on low running mileage, means
replacing long easy running and short recovery runs
with bike sessions. Try to limit running to speed
work and stamina training. Luckily the heart and
lungs can not differentiate between running and
cycling. The heart and lungs only know how hard
they are working. This is where cycling can demonstrate
the benefits of so called 'cross-training.' To develop
endurance and promote fat burning, a long run is
quite good, but 2 hours is about the maximum. On
the other hand a 2 hr bike ride is considered quite
short. I recommend a 4 hr bike ride once a week.
The benefits to general endurance and promotion
of the fat burning system will be much greater than
a 2 hour run. It also improves cycling ability.
6. Do speed work on the bike
After a minimum of 10 weeks pushing the leg weights
and building up power. Ron will need to transfer
his power to speed. In Britain we have a tradition
of mid-week time trials on the bike. The distance
is usually 10 miles, with longer races at the weekends.
They present an ideal opportunity to practice going
at faster than duathlon race pace. Initially runners
always seem to suffer on these rides as they are
so much more painful than running at race pace.
When I complained after my first ride, I was bluntly
told, 'You have to learn to love the pain.'
Ron Hill has been a running legend and a hero of
mine ever since I started running. But having met
the man, my respect has grown even more, He is still
young at heart and always ready to take on new challenges.
Meeting him and discussing ideas and philosophies
has increased my enthusiasm to attack new targets
as I reach 40. I hope he keeps on inspiring others,
by his example. Never let age stop you from enjoying
sport.
Why not go beyond the article and have us train
you 1-to-1 to meet and exceed your running and triathlon
goals - contact us.
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