Wind Sprints – Leg Cadence

March 9th, 2010

In the second of our video demonstration blogs I’ll look at wind sprints as a way of improving your leg cadence.

More demonstration videos and a full explanation of wind sprints can be found in my article ‘one legged hill running and sprinting‘.

Warm up with an steady run for 10 -15 minutes, do some light mobility work, do not over stretch before the session. Stretch after the session (stretches for triathletes for details)

If you keep the wind sprints short ( about 50m) you can replace an easy run with this session, which is a more efficient usage of your time.

 Key Points:

  • Run at 90% Relax, do not strain
  • Build up speed and slow down gradually, to reduce the chance of injury
  • Lean forward, run on your toes and drive with the arms
  • Bring your heels through as close to your buttock as possible with a high knee lift

Do you suffer from muscle burn and jelly legs?

February 18th, 2010

leg-painI was in Hong Kong recently, with very sore legs, having just ran the East China Half marathon. But I literally felt on top of the world, 35 floors up overlooking the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and Kowloon.

I had to fly there via Tokyo for business and the journey took about 30 hours, (not recommended). I left home in Reading at 9 am last Friday, and finally got to bed in Hong Kong at 2 am Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, at 5am I was up again to travel to the race in the New Territories for an 8am start. Although just aiming for 80 minutes run time, I had had to look after myself on the way to the start line. I had done all the recommended stuff on the flight, wore my 2XU compression tights, drunk plenty of water, walked around the plane and stretched. If I had not I know it would have been an impossible task to run so soon after such a long flight. I love travelling and racing at great venues around the world, so I just put up with the consequences these days. During the race, the views were spectacular; sharp mountain peaks and dark green rugged forested coast line. To my amazement within 400m of the start we turned a corner and ran up a steep hill into a country park. After that point, I did not see another building until the finish, 21km later…this was not the concrete jungle I was expecting.

After the race I went out with a group of the runners, and one of them (an ex footballer), told me how he his legs always burn up just minutes into a run. It doesn’t matter if there is a big hill in the way or not. He said he can either sprint fast or jog very slowly, but nothing in between…it reminded me of similar problem a rugby playing friend of mine told me about last summer. I began thinking; this may be a common problem amongst team sportsmen and women who take up running, cycling or triathlon.

Do you start off training feeling light on your toes, only to be heavy legged, and lose your coordination too quickly?

…and do your muscles burn up and slow you down to a jog, within minutes of starting to train?

If this is you, read my article ‘How do I Stop the Burning Pain in my Legs when I Train

Carl’s Ironman Lanzarote Training Update

February 11th, 2010

As an overview, the following will aim to bring you up to date on my recent training exploits, as well as highlight some of the adjuncts I have also included over the past few weeks in order to maintain an ever increasing training regime; let alone also trying to juggle clinical work, house hunting, family life, wedding plans, and of course that often overlooked requirement…. sleep!

Carl cycling in the snowAnyway, since I last graced the pages of this site, I (like so many) have done my best to battle through the snow, ice and generally bleak weather conditions in a vain attempt at maintaining some form of continuity with my base training – and where dictated to by the inclement weather, improvised using treadmill, mountain bike and turbo.

The most fun of which was probably a proposed 1.5 hour MTB ride home from clinic across the countryside one cold and snowy day a couple of weeks – which in the end took over 2.5 hours and a call for a roadside pick up due to low light and dare I say near frostbite (although our spirits were somewhat lifted after bumping into Reiko – Mike Tree’s wife – who thought it a good idea to capture the moment for prosperity). That said, I soon bounced back and found myself a few days later taking charge of a local public golf course for what amounted to 18 holes of deep snow running – with my colleague (Alex) in hot pursuit…. on his x-country ski’s ;-)

Other than that, my other training sessions would probably appear a little mundane if posed alongside those already noted – other than to say, they have consisted of the usual swim sessions, running intervals and hill work, the Wednesday night track session at TVA and where able, some road biking / turbo based workouts to counter the variable weather conditions.

More recently though, and following a review with my coach (Mike Tree’s) and my colleague (Alex Drummond) last week, my training regime/program has now stepped up a gear to include some heavy intervals sessions (on swim, bike and run), as well as some longer slower sessions to promote a more sustained and specific training regime to match those hours needed to complete an ironman event – although, some of my fellow co-runners at TVA may have argued otherwise after watching me run (relatively slowly) around the track last Wednesday evening. That was of course, until Mike interjected, and informed them I was under strict instructions not to pursue them or increase my heart rate above my Anaerobic Threshold for this particular session.

What’s Anaerobic Threshold I hear you ask. To put it simply, our Anaerobic Threshold is the point at which our body starts to lose its ability to limit the production of lactic acid build up. Hence, when training above our anaerobic threshold, for any extended period to time, we will tend fatigue much more quickly and our intensity cannot be sustained for any real duration.

So, from a training perspective (no matter what distance and or event), our ability to accurately gauge which training zone we are working in, will provide for a much more specific training session and allow us to gain the maximum benefit from every session we undertake – as opposed to blasting every session with maximum effort, on the pretext of… ‘No pain, no gain!’

Consequently, under the guidance of my colleague Alex Drummond, last week saw me undertake a treadmill VO2 test. Whilst this isn’t typically a pleasurable experience, it has helped to provide me with a more specific heart rate and training zone upon which to base my current training program… albeit at the expense of now having to run behind my peers during my track session :(

Thereafter, and to help offset the general stiffness and aching muscles caused from both general training and an increasing amount of time spent in the saddle / hunched over the aero bars, I’ve also initiated a weekly soft tissue massage and stretching session with either Alex, or my other colleague (Arran Nicholson) to help keep me from over stressing my body and breaking prior to the big day… which is just over 100 days away :)

PS – Hope to see you all at the track soon… and or Triathlon Show this coming weekend.
For more information on VO2 + Lactate testing and or information on specific training programs to suit your individual discipline, please contact Drummond Clinic on: 0871 221 9394 or Mike Tree Training on: enquiries@miketrees.com

Global Muscle Stretch

February 8th, 2010

In the last of our current series of Stretches for Triathletes, Carl Holland looks at the Global Muscle Stretch.

Why: This particular stretch/movement pattern incorporates a host of muscle groups throughout our body, so it will typically target/be felt by an individual in areas which are tight and or structurally restrictive for them.

Consequently, this full body stretch and mobility exercise, could help to improve our ability to twist/rotate our body – such as when breathing during front crawl.

global-muscle-stretch-smallStart: Start by laying flat on your back, with your arms stretched out above your head.

Action: Bring your right arm down to shoulder level, before slowly starting to twist/rotate your hips to the left. Now bring your right knee level with your hips, before attempting to straighten your right knee; but remember, you are also aiming to keep as much of your right arm in contact with the ground as possible. (Thereafter, please refer to the ‘key points to remember’ as previously highlighted).

Finish: To exit this position, gradually reverse this set up – ie: bend your right knee, let your legs come together, before slowing returning to lying flat on your back and allowing your right arm to return to its original position above your head and alongside the left arm.

No Heel Striking, Please!

January 29th, 2010

This week’s travelling is playing havoc with my training.

land-lever-liftI have just spent a week in Asia, and never really got over the jet lag. I did all the usual tricks, drinking lots of water and moving my watch straight onto the new time zone, but I think the killer was doing the East China Half Marathon last weekend, only 6 hours after landing in Hong Kong. It took more out of me than I was expecting. Since then I have not managed to find the time to get in a pool all week, and apart from one spinning session I managed to squeeze in at a hotel in Hong Kong, I have not been near the bike. Running has been out of the question as, running on very stiff and sore legs is a short cut to injury. However, although this is a setback on route to the Windsor triathlon, I am keeping a positive mind, and treating it as a recovery week!

This past weekend, I have had to give two running workshops in Tokyo. They were both sponsored by Newton Running, (http://www.newtonrunning.co.uk) which is hugely popular running shoe in Asia, and learning how to run correctly is also in vogue.

In my opinion, I consider correct running form to be landing on the forefoot or mid foot. Flat foot landing is also OK, so long as your centre of gravity of is over the landing foot. “No heal striking, please”. I am passionate about this natural way of running and so always keen to give workshops and conduct training sessions to help teach the concepts.

As a side, I was forced to start forefoot running over 25 years ago, when I developed knee pains, from too much high mileage running on the roads, and most of it was heel striking, back then running guru, Arthur Lydiard was promoting heel striking. Even he changed to forefoot running before his death. The trouble is that  when you land on the heels of your feet your knee is locked and all the shock is transferred to the knee joint, which for me wore out after running over 100 miles a week for about a year!

It took me two years to get over this injury. But with time, a good weight training programme and after many running drills, I was able to run pain free again. To this day, 25 years on, my knees are still pain free, thanks to forefoot running.

The reason for this is because landing on the forefoot, with my centre of gravity over the front of my shoes, my knees are always bent when my foot lands. The shock is not transferred to the knees anymore, but absorbed in the muscles. As a muscle is living tissue and continually repairing and rebuilding itself, I remain pretty much injury free to this day.

One other big point that will help you stay injury free is by not running every day. As a runner I ran every day, now I swim and bike regularly. The body cannot recover from the stress it is put under on a daily basis and so over time it will slowly breakdown, however it seems that the legs can recover from a running session if they are given at least 36 hours between sessions. This translates to about 3 or 4 runs a week. Which is plenty if you are a triathlete also wanting to  improve your swimming and cycling. If not, I would still recommend putting some swimming and cycling into your programme to allow your legs a chance to recover from the pounding they get while you are running.

One leg hill hopping – Plyometric Conditioning

January 19th, 2010

In the first of our video demonstration blogs we’ll look at ‘one legged running’ or ‘one leg hill hopping’ as a way of improving your running. One legged running will help build up your distance-per-stride by strengthening the calf muscles and achilles working on the forefoot drive.

More demonstration videos and a full explanation of one legged running can be found in my article ‘one legged hill running and sprinting‘.

One leg hill hopping can be done up to twice a week and incorporated into a 30-45 minute easy run, just as you would incorporate a fartlek run. Run naturally and on an uphill section just start hopping, only do 5 hops on one leg before changing legs. Repeat and then continue running freely. Your heart rate will rise and it will take a while to recover. Ensure that you are fully recovered before doing another set.

Key Points:

  • Maintain steady running pace between hops, do not stop to rest.
  • Try and think of this as one legged running
  • Drive with the arms, and the leg will follow
  • Never hop on flat sections or down hill

Next time we will look at Wind Sprints for improving cadence.

7 out of 10…Could do better

January 18th, 2010

I have been at my new training regime for about one month now, so like many of you, I am starting to think I should be improving. Today is time for an update of where I am at.

As a pro, I would have sacrificed my socializing, ensured I got to bed early and ate correctly to maximize my recovery, come hell or high water I would never have missed a training session, unless I was ill or injured. So far I have missed about 30% of my sessions due to work, fatigue, lack of motivation or family commitments, so my planned 10 hours a week is averaging around 7 hours.

On the plus side, my diet has been second to none. I had a scare last year with high cholesterol and since then have revisited my eating habits. Now, I am happy cutting out cheese and full fat dairy products, these are replaced by soya.  I have stopped eating junk, no more biscuits and cakes. Once I set my mind to it, I have not been tempted, to eat badly, apart from chocolate. I now allow myself a small amount of it, so long as it is over 70% cocoa…why 70%? Well, recent studies suggest that in small amounts dark chocolate may have certain properties that protect the heart!

I have also stopped drinking alcohol at home, and now only drink with friends in the pub….Drinking alone at home is an bad  habit to pick up easily, an odd glass of wine here and there, a cold beer while watching TV…it all adds up.  By changing my approach to food and drink, I have already dropped from 70kg to 65kg, without actually dieting.

As for the training, I have really struggled with the bike, the snow has meant that apart from my trip to Lanzarote I still have not been out on the road bike in England, I have substituted it all for indoor turbo sessions…which lest face it, (unless you can get a good sound track to ride to or a good Tour de France DVD to motivate you), is mind numbingly boring. One plus, is my indoor trainer has a very good watts meter so I can monitor my power output. This is still lower than it should be, at around 200 watts a session, but as I have lost 5kg of fat already, I know my power to weight ratio has improved.

The track running has been a disaster due to the weather, but I have enjoyed running in the snow, and this has given me some real stamina sessions, offering a great and unexpected base work out.

Swimming has been my favourite training, I am currently working on my timing, which is so important and something I have tended to over look in the past…if I am pushing too hard to think about my stroke,  I slow the pace down. This strategy is paying dividends, yesterday I knocked out my best set in the pool for over 7 years. I did 10 x 200m on 3:30, averaging 2:40 for them all; proving to me that age is not a barrier to fast swimming, it is my technique!

I am writing this at 40,000 feet, somewhere over the North Pole on my way to Japan and Hong Kong. This flying could prove to be my undoing. I will be away for 10 days and have no bike with me. The prospect of a 10m hotel pool does not thrill me. But, consistency is the name of the game, and blanks in the schedule, could be my down fall…

So, one month in, and I can happily say, that my swimming times are ahead of where I thought they would be. Unfortunately the bike is still well below par, but my running is still on target. I think I need a few races to find out just how fit I really am.

Soleus Calf Stretch

January 16th, 2010

In the fifth of our series of Stretches for Triathletes, Carl Holland of the Drummond Clinic looks at the Soleus (calf) Muscle.

Why: Similar to the Gastrocnemius, the Soleus  is a postural muscle situated in the calf area, which in conjunction with the previously mentioned Gastroc and Plantaris muscles blends to become the Achilles Tendon.

However, unlike the Gastrocnemius, the Soleus muscles attachments start below the knee joint and extend to the heel; and therefore this muscle is best stretched with the knee joint flexed / in a slightly bent position.

soleus-calf-stretch-smallStart: Stand on your right leg, with your foot facing forwards (heel on the floor).  With you right knee slightly bent, position you left foot and shin behind your right leg (as noted in the photo).

Action: Whilst keeping your body upright, by allowing your hips to shift forwards you should start to notice an increase in tension / stretch occurring through your lower calf region.  (Thereafter, please refer to the ‘key points to remember’ as previously highlighted).

Finish: Slowly bring yourself back to an upright position, releasing your left leg from behind your right foot – and swap side. 

Note: Whilst it is suggested that you keep your front foot pointing forwards (ie:12 o’clock), alternative rear foot positions (eg: 11 and 1 o’clock) can help to facilitate a slightly different emphasis / stretch on your calf.

The Treadmill: friend or foe?

January 12th, 2010

Treadmill RunningWith the snow turning to slush, and the possibility of muddy fields and waterlogged run routes on the horizon, is the treadmill a viable option to turn to over the next few weeks?

Apart from having to overcome the boredom of running on the spot and a never changing scenery, I find an even bigger problem is that by not moving there is no airflow to moderate my core temperature. In short unless I put a fan in front of me, I heat up too much to enjoy running indoors.

This lack of airflow is a bigger problem than you may realise. As you heat up, you need more blood pushed near the surface of your skin to cool you down. This will then put pressure on the heart, forcing it to beat faster as your leg muscles demand more oxygen. The end result is that your heart rate is higher than it should be at any set speed, which may trick you into thinking you are training more effectively than you are. Or you may worry because your heart rate is higher than usual.

Another problem distorting training, is because it is widely accepted that you need to put a treadmill on a 1 degree gradient to simulate running outdoors. This is because you are not moving anywhere  and so not creating any drag, thus running is easier.

Actually I have also discovered another flaw with the treadmill. It is very easy to get fluctuations in your training depending on how you run.

Because the treadmill is moving and you are not; all the runner has to do is bring their legs back to the start. In order to cope with higher speeds, I have discovered it is easier if I take long bounding strides.  This maximizes my time in the air, and so I am able to cope with the treadmill turning at a higher speed. If I take shorter strides, I struggle more as I have more contact time with the treadmill and so get pushed back further.

Problems aside, I do think it has a place in your training. It is very good for practicing leg speed, and put on a gradient it can also offer very good simulated hill running.

I tend to use it for doing short fast sprints, for leg speed and also on a 6-10% gradient I use it for hill training. I can run 20 minute hill reps on the treadmill! But I do not have any hills of that length near my house!

My two favourite sessions are:

1.  10 x 10 seconds sprinting, with 2 minutes easy running between

and

2 . 6 x 5 minute hill reps with 3 minutes easy running for recovery

Training indoors is very convenient during times of inclement weather, and also if you need to do a hard workout on a dark winters night. However be warned the treadmill is not without its dangers, I have seen people spat off the end them , as they struggle to run at the same pace as their ego!

As with all training, the treadmill has its place, in a balanced programme, but given a choice I would rather be out in the fresh air every time.

Lanzarote IM Logistics and Christmas Training

January 8th, 2010

Mike’s coached athlete Carl Holland provides his first training update as he begins his preparation for Ironman Lanzarote. This week in addition to Christmas training Carl also looks at flight and accommodation issues that need to be considered alongside base training.

First and foremost, happy New Year to one and all who have tuned into peruse my Lanzarote IM athlete’s training blog.

Following on from my last post, my past weeks training has been a little sporadic, but then again, Christmas and New Year celebrations only come but once a year…. thankfully.   That said, my previous cold/chest infection has still been lingering, so I also felt it prudent to keep my training regime relatively low key in order to help my immune system rejuvenate; prior to the build up in training intensity.

However, with only 141 days to go prior to the 2010 Lanzarote Ironman, I can at least report that my mind hasn’t been totally focused on Turkey, Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies.  In fact, aside from managing to survive a number of training sessions leading up to and during the Christmas and New Year festivities, I have also able to complete a number of other timely logistical factors :)

Naturally, for those of you who have competed in endurance events previously, the following logistical factors will be nothing new; but to those of you considering the idea of training for and completing an endurance event overseas, the following may be worth noting. 

ie: Given that the Lanzarote Ironman is… a) based overseas, on an island, b) starts and finishes in the holiday resort of Pueto del Carmen and c) will be host to over 1600 athletes, their families and a number of supporters, we can already note that there are several logistical issues to contend with.

For example:

1. Transport to and from the airport (both in the UK and Lanzarote), and of course flights (not forgetting to also include your bike carriage in the process) – which as I found, due to its island setting made it a little more challenging to schedule; especially given that I wanted to arrive a good 5+ days prior to the event in order to help me acclimatise to my environment, the weather and of course my accommodation.

2. Accommodation: luckily given that I’d holidayed in Lanzarote (Club la Santa) early in 2009, and I’d had the opportunity to spend an evening in a very nice hotel situated in Puerto del Carmen whilst I was there, I thought it wise to stick with what I knew; and following several hours of perusing travel websites, managed to book my flights and my all inclusive accommodation to the very same venue, arriving Tuesday (ie: 5 days) prior to the main event.

3. Fuel: by fuel, I of course mean energy supplements. Now given that the event is sponsored by one of the prominent suppliers of energy supplements and that the event website also lists what fuel / supplements will be available at which points on the course, it also a wise to trial any supplements that you are not familiar with in order to prevent the risk of reacting negatively to them – and thus reduce your overall performance.  Hence, I am now the proud owner of several boxes of gel, energy bars and drinks powder, along with several tubs of recovery powder.  As you will note, I haven’t named the specific brand of fuel, as a sponsorship deal has not as yet to be offered… Come of Powerbar, you know you want to! :)

Thereafter, and now that the New Year is finally upon us, I have also started the process of  becoming more diligent with my overall diet and nutrition plan in preparation for the next 141 days of blood, sweat and tears.

So, with majority of my logistical concerns now out of the way (and hopefully elaborated upon) perhaps I should also provide a quick summary to the past several days physical training.  Specifically, that along with a 5-6 mile steady run on Christmas Day, interspersed with some striding, I also completed a couple of 45 min Turbo sessions using the Computrainer (1 x working on bigger gears and higher watts – 1 x higher cadence) whilst also working on my spincycle.  Additionally, I also managed to achieve a track session consisting of 16 x 400m (averaging 95 seconds, off 150 second intervals) – and a short run, followed by some hopping and wind assisted sprints.  Unfortunately though, the Christmas holidays meant swimming timetables were not as easily accessible. 

Still, given the time of year, the recent extremes in weather and my slowly resolving cold/chest infection, I have finished the Christmas holidays generally happy with both my logistical and physical progress to date… and I’m looking forward to jumping back on my bike for tomorrows session :)