The mystical land of goal setting

This week I hope to shed a small shaft of light onto the basics of setting goals in your training and how it can help you to avoid disaster.

In the beginning...
 
Goal setting for runners is experience specific. When you start running your first goal setting may go something like this, "Rob and Sam have just run New York marathon under 4 hours, they are 35! I'm going to run a marathon, I've wanted to tick that off my list." Often these words are uttered by males and females between 25 and 35 years old. This is because many of us are ultra competitive during these years. We may have moved away from excessive weekends of binge drinking and have a slight paunch or "kanga" pouch that we wish we could get rid of. We may also have not yet "tripped" our sensible switch, (which older/experienced runners use regularly), preventing us from voicing crazed ideas as damaging as running a marathon, cycling holidays in the Pyrenees and bungee jumping. Luckily (or unluckily) for some this trip switch never works, hence why 40+ year olds run marathons, jump out of planes and wear lycra in bright colours.

Once we utter the words "I am going to run a marathon" we lay down a marker by which our friends and family will judge us. They may say supportive things such as "why?" or "running is bad for your knees" whilst all the while wishing that they were taking up the challenge. Many will tell you that it is ok if you don't make it, but really it is a right of passage. Once you say those words you are committing yourself to a mission of strain, pain and suffering, and that's just the good part. We often set ourselves ridiculous goals, which stem from a variety of sources from dreams to bets on drunken nights out. Nothing is easy when this is the start of our goal setting, but we can make it a lot easier by working backwards from our ultimate challenge.

Old father time
 
As we get older, more experienced or just more sensible we begin to set goals. In running this would sound like, "I'd like to run Berlin marathon this year in 4 hours. How many weeks do I need to train for? What plan should I follow? Are plimsols suitable to run in?" We may then plan additional races (keenos) to get "race ready" and practice drinking from plastic cups whilst running 13kph. This is the fun side of running. As we develop our experience level we start showing off by adding speedwork and tempo sessions to our training. We talk about anaerobic threshold as though its common parlance and believe electrolyte gels will vastly improve our performance. Our advanced experience level means that when we buy our ludicrously expensive running shoes we now know why we need them and what overpronation actually is. Ultimately as our experience grows we get more specific and realistic with our running and goal setting.

Run sloth run!

I began running during my education as a personal trainer ten years ago. Back then I ran after an odd shaped ball. Yes, I was an egg chaser and I had no idea of pace setting. During my first month of training I dragged myself out of bed and ran with a triathlete friend. I progressed quickly, not because of my natural athletic ability (of which I lack), but because of pure stubborness. This was a gift I inherited in my genes from my Dad, of which I am forever grateful. I went out running 3-4 times a week and hit the gym for the same whilst learning about the muscles I was training. Ironically I was studying the sport injuries section of my course when after 4 weeks of pounding the streets I injured myself. I had run too much too quickly and was suffering from compartment sydnrome. The treatment? REST. That was running over for a little while. But I had the bug.
Had I  set a goal of any sort when I began? No. What had been the outcome for my eagerness and energy? Injury. Did I learn a lesson on goal setting? Sort of. It took a brutal half marathon experience and several marathons to learn how to do it properly. Let's make sure you don't make the same mistakes.


Setting up to succeed

If like many of the aforementioned runners (myself included) you chose a huge goal such as running a marathon, then you need to work backwards. Your long term goal is to run the marathon. You may need to more specific depending on your experience level. For beginners just finishing the marathon is a great achievement. For the more experienced runner it will be a time specific goal, such as finishing in 3 hours 45 minutes.

I would look to use good old fashioned SMART to set out your goals. Literally write them down. When you make that commitment you will start the process of success at your chosen goal. You are actualising on paper what you have in your mind.

Let us imagine that I my mate Barry is a 27 year old male in average shape. He goes to the gym three times a week, but hasn't run consistently since he was at school. He is not vastly overweight and is in good health. He foolishly made a bet with our mates at the pub that he'll run a marathon in 4 hours.

S - Specific - "I want to run" isn't specific enough. "I want to run 26.2 miles in 4 hours" is perfect. It lays out what your end goal is and allows less wriggle room.
M - Measurable - The above goal is measurable. He bet his mates that he will run 26.2 miles in 4 hours. Time and distance, perfect for measuring.
A - Achievable - Ok he was drunk when he made this bet. He hasn't run regularly in at least 10 years (other than for the bus). It could be achievable, if he commits to regular training of 4-5 times running a week.
R- Realistic - As I mentioned alcohol may have skewed Barry's judgement. Perhaps 4.5 hours is more realistic.
T - Time framed - He hasn't said when he will do it. But a year is a perfectly long enough period of time in which to build up gradually to a marathon from beginner status.

This is just for the long term goal. Now that we have a revised goal of Barry running 26.2 miles in 4.5 hours in one year I can work back from there to plan medium and then short term goals for him.

With the long term goal in a years time I would set the medium term goal for 6-8 months time.

I would like Barry to get an experience of running a few races before his big marathon effort. So one of his medium term goals will be a half marathon. Using our SMART tool lets say he should run a half marathon race in 7 months in a time of 2 hours. I also want to ensure he builds up to regular running, so lets say he should be running 5 times a week in 6 months and be able to run at least 3 of those runs for an hour each time. He should be able to run for 90 minutes in one run of the week at this point.

That gives him 6 months to build up his running gradually and progressively increasing his distance, whilst allowing plenty of time for recovery weeks. His short term goals need to be small, achievable and simple. Let us say he should be running 3 times a week for 30 minutes a run by week four. He can run and walk but he has to commit to consistently going out for 30 minutes total time per session. Perfectly achievable as he already goes to the gym for an hour three times a week. By week 8 he should be able to run 30-45 minutes a session for 4 times a week. Again he can run walk these sessions.I will also set a goal of running a 10km event under 75 minutes by week 12.

From there I would have Barry follow a half marathon specific program for 3-4 months and then a marathon specific program for the last 4 months of his year build up. The groundwork at the start and gradual nature of the goal setting allows him plenty of time so that he does't overtrain. It is also beneficial if he gets injured or ill as there is plenty of time to recover and still complete his ultimate goal.

So you can see that it takes a fair bit of planning, but it's not really rocket science! If you follow SMART and write out your goals you can actually question your ideas. It may be beneficial to have a friend ask the questions, you may be more honest with them than yourself. You can use SMART for any goal setting, I've used the marathon as the goal distance. But if you want to run 5, 10km or a half marathon then the process is the same. Set a goal and work backwards. Ultimately you will only let yourself down if you don't plan realistic goals, so take the time to do it now and you will reap the benefits down the line. Like the marathon, setting goals is a process of many small steps. Just be sure to plan them and not do it on the fly!

Until next time.

Happy training,

Tom :)

Brian O'Dea interview

This week I caught up with Brian O'Dea from Achilles run club Sydney to talk about running.

Brian wasn't too keen to be recorded for the podcast, but I hope to persuade him for a follow up interview later in the year.

I have been volunteering at Achilles for about a year and have met a lot of fantastic people there. Brian is one of the key organisers. With his commitment and support the club thrives. There are many others from Achilles that are worthy of this praise (and more). I hope to interview them over the coming weeks.

I would like to show you all how amazing Achilles is and hopefully encourage you to help out in your own community. Achilles is a worldwide organisation, so Google it now and see where you can volunteer.

To the interview....

1.      How long have you been running for?

I used to run cross-country at school. Then I went to sea for 13 years. If I ran during that time, it was in circumstances best not described here.

2.      What got you into running?

We were living in NZ and I was playing in a social-grade soccer team. Most of the training was done in the pub. I realised that I was becoming very unfit by “exercising”. I started running on my own then joined a local running club, Olympic Harriers in Wellington.

3.      What is your preferred race distance?

Half Marathon or 10K, though I have enjoyed most of the 11 marathons I have done.

4.      What's your favourite race memory?

Boston 2010 – a “bucket list” item.

5.      What was your worst running experience?

A Wang Marathon in Sydney in the 80’s. I had been aiming for a sub-3 hour finish. With about 10K to go, the wheels fell off. As I was trudging along feeling wretched, a little old man jumped out in front of me and yelled encouragement along the lines of “Don’t quit! Keep going!” In what was meant to be a stage-whisper, I suggested that he “f*ck off!’ Unfortunately, he heard it, as did about 30 spectators. They started to jeer me and I shuffled a bit faster so that I could round the next corner and leave them behind. Since then, whenever I have struggled in a race, I have remained polite.

6.      Do you have a favourite training run? Tell us about what makes it special.

This is a difficult one. I have lived and run in Australia, NZ and the USA and I have regional favourites. There are common features: scenic, challenging and in good company. Runners can be amusing buggers on a long run.

7.      What are you currently training for?

I am sidelined, having just had an arthroscopy. I was training for the Berlin Marathon in September and have not ruled it out.

8. What is your target for the race?

Now it will be simply to finish under 4 hours.

8.      Do you take any nutrition such as gels, sports drinks or water when you run? If so what do you use and why?

In runs under two hours, I will just drink water – and only when I am thirsty. For longer runs, I will carry a couple of sachets of GU “just in case”. I do take electrolyte drinks in races longer than 10K. In training, I like to condition the body to go without electrolyte drinks or gels when I can. In longer races I do appreciate the lift that they give in the second half of the race.

9.      What shoes are you running in?

In the earlier years, I tended to use Lydiard [an NZ-made shoe no longer available], Brooks and New Balance. I later switched to Asics but they kept changing the design. Now I run in the lighter Adidas range. They are good value and comfortable.

10.  What advice would you give new runners?

Apart from the obvious ”enjoy your running,” I would urge the new runner to set medium and long-term running goals and build up to them sensibly. Setting a single-race goal will often leave the new runner feeling “flat” after he/she achieves it. If the runner likes to read a lot, I would encourage the building of a running library. There is much to learn and enjoy in the pages of running literature. If running becomes part of your lifestyle, it can enrich your life beyond the obvious health benefits. I have been lucky enough to run in about 20 countries and now have a collection of quirky, amusing d exhilarating memories.

11.  Is there a race you've always wanted to do?

The Boston Marathon was always my goal. I am also in awe of those who have run Comrades and The Six-Foot Track.

13. If you had a million dollars to be able to train like an athlete, eat like a God and receive all the support you needed for a once in a lifetime event, what would it be and what time would you expect to run?

With my knee injury, I would still take your million dollars and do the Marathon du Medoc. Once there, I would talk like an athlete and drink like a God [Bacchus].

Thank you Brian! Its great to hear about runner's stories and what each individual does. I look forward to hearing good news on Brian's knee and the Berlin marathon later in the year.

This week's podcast is just a short update on our training for Newcastle marathon. Next week I will have an interview with Andrew Van Der Saag from Achilles Sydney. We have been running a few of our long runs together as he aims for his first marathon at Canberra this year.

Until next week,

Happy training!

Tom : )

Podcast interviews

Just a short update. I hope to have some interesting and exciting interviews for you in the weeks ahead. I hope to interview two legends of running and an upcoming star of the Achilles running club.

Don't forget to send me you topic suggestions at Tom Alfry

Injury and the comeback

This week I spoke with my fiancee about injury and how she has overcome injury to return stronger to her running. You can hear the interview on the media player on the right of this post.

To accompany that interview I thought it would be useful to give some tips for any runners suffering with injury. Whether it is blisters of a strained muscle the quicker you attend the problem the sooner you can return to full training.

R.I.C.E

We all may have learnt the basics of first aid when we played sport as a kid. My experience came from playing rugby and learning the benefit of ice and elevation when we took a big knock. For those that don't know it stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. It is not advised to do all four as this can severely reduce the blood flow to the affected area. The goal is to reduce the amount of swelling that the body naturally produces at the injury site. By reducing the swelling and inflammation the body can still perform its repair process, but will also mean that recovery time is reduced as mobility is maintained around the injury. I always have an ice pack in the freezer in case of injury.

Visit a specialist

Doctors know a lot about medicine. But they don't know everything about sports injuries. Otherwise why would we need sport physios or sport massage therapists? My advice for any injury is to follow R.I.C.E and then seek the most suitable specialist for your injury. It's common sense. If your break your leg whilst out running, you go straight to Emergency. If you are performing a speed session and you feel a sharp strain in a muscle then you follow R.I.C.E and then visit a sports physio or sports massage therapist. There may be times when you are unsure on what to do. Always err on the side of caution and visit the doctor first. Once they have given you the all clear on broken bones and serious medical issues, then you can book into a sport physio. The importance of getting to see a specialist within the first week of an injury can't be exaggerated enough. The quicker you are assessed and treated, the less time you spend away from running and the quicker you can work on mobility, flexibility and strengthening before returning to full training. The added benefit of a specialist is that they can give you a program of exercises or activities to speed your recovery. If they are decent then they should take into account your mental wellbeing. If you are a super keen runner and can't run for four weeks then you will need assurances via a plan of rehabilitation that all will be ok and that you have the best information to keep you focused and positive.

Make a plan

As I said above a good sports physio should give you advice or a plan of rehab to help you through your injury. If however your injury is something smaller such as blisters, chafing or over training (technically not an injury) then you will have to make a plan yourself and act to prevent an injury. On this week's podcast Catherine talks about how she took a week off running because of her blisters from Coastrek. She substituted running for activities that didn't cause further damage to her blisters, whilst allowing them the time they needed for the new skin to toughen. She was quite low in her mood, but because she could still cycle and do yoga she kept some positivity and maintained her fitness. If anything it has helped to freshen her legs before this weekend's 32km long run!
Depending on the injury process you may want to try other activities. Use your time away from running to try out low impact sports such as cycling and swimming. Perhaps even switch to kayaking or a completely different activity to keep you positive and stop you going mad!
There is plenty of advice online from runners that have experience with the insidious things like blisters, chafing etc. It is worth reading over as the small things can become worse if they are not given the adequate time to repair.

Remember why you run

Whether you run competitively or run for enjoyment it is always worth reminding yourself what you are running for. What is your motivation? Is it a 10km personal best or do you just run every other day to relieve stress? Now consider how you'd feel if you couldn't run at all. With that in mind you can help yourself to focus on the long game and not just the immediate moment in time. A small injury might slow you down in the short term and not seem significant enough to warrant rest or attention. But without that attention it could develop into something more serious that prevents you from running altogether. Like the cars we drive and bikes we ride we too need a little service and repair to keep us doing the thing we love.

Ease back in

When you do get back to full strength from injury don't beast yourself! Remember that you may have lost some strength and fitness and your body will need time to get back to your previous fitness level. However if you do this right you may well find that you are stronger because of a good rehab program. I would look to do some manageable distances and small races for fun. Just enjoy being able to run whilst you are building back up towards race fitness.


There are many running forums and blogs where you can meet other runners. Twitter is an excellent way to meet other runners that will have experienced a variety of injuries and thus be able to offer advice. More importantly these runners will be able to offer support to keep you positive through the injury process. Sites like Runner's World or Running Bug are two great places to visit.

Until next week, stay healthy,

Tom :)

Running, running, running!

I've just posted an update on my blog Tomthesloth about the running and trekking I have been doing with Catherine over the last two weekends. But today's post is a little update on my own training for Newcastle marathon on April 6th.

After completing Coastrek on Friday night with team Achilles Cake Walkers 35 we had 3 hours sleep on Saturday morning when we returned home. We chose not to sleep longer so as to make sure we got a regular sleep on Saturday evening. But it felt like I had jetlag for most of the day as my body came to terms with being up all night trekking! However we had a great day of relaxing with our friend Caitlin and eating like machines!

For me the rest was a necessity because on Sunday morning I got up at 6am to head into the city and run with my Achilles friend Andrew. I woke and felt pretty good in my legs after a restorative sleep, so I was confident that the run would go well. However you never know on an 18 mile run how your body will respond. Some days you feel great and have a terrible run and other days when you expect little your body can produce near miracle performances. Fortunately Sunday was one of the latter days and I ended up running quicker than the target pace for the run. The only difficulty was running up hills where I felt as though I had no "oomph", no fast gears to change into. For me a hill is a chance to push and power up the slope, but on this occasion I truly felt like a sloth as I lolloped upwards, just managing to keep my breathing under control as I reached each summit. I also found it difficult to talk throughout the whole run (I know it's shocking, but there is something that works!) despite running at a pace that would normally be very comfortable. None of this was surprising but was a useful guide for future run training.

After a day's rest on Monday I was back into training on Tuesday with speed work again. I had a "lovely" session of 3 mile (1600m) intervals with a target of 6:49 for each one. It was a great run in Centennial Park in the late afternoon, with a cool breeze providing a little respite from the warmth. Having run the 18 miler on Sunday I wasn't sure how my body would go, but with a little self talk beforehand I took on the task and surprised myself. I ran 6:47, 6:40 and 6:42 without any muscles cramping, so it was a good day!

Today I managed to hit the gym for an hour cycle on the spin bike. This was always part of my original marathon plan; to cross train between run sessions, but I haven't been as regular as planned. Never the less I felt pretty strong on the bike and it was enjoyable to forget running and focus on a different activity for a change.

Ultimately all of the training I get under my belt helps to build my confidence in my fitness to run a PB on April 6th. But if I have a crap session I will still let you know about that!

Next week I will have a new post about training when injured, hopefully with an interview from my very own fiancee Catherine!

Until then,

Happy training!

Tom :)

Run Forest! Run!

Speed work, intervals, sprints. Whatever your name for them may be we often despise running fast. Perhaps it's because it is hard work. Or we relish the steady monotonous pace of a longer run where we can think. Whatever the reason for hating these sessions there is no doubt that they are effective.

I love speed work. There I've said it. I am a self confessed speed-aholic. I know that's not a proper word, but my research team have been too busy running repeats to look up the scientific term. For me personally speed work is linked to play, it's much like being a child again and running very fast for a short time for no particular reason. Speed work is the adult version of running like a 6 year old. It's organised and has a purpose, but ultimately it still comes down to running your socks off for a short period of time.

So we all have a good idea of why we don't like speed sessions. But do we know what the benefits are of running them? Well here's a short list of what you could be missing out on:

1. Improved endurance
2. Improved efficiency in stride and arm movement
3. Increased tolerance for physical and mental discomfort. 
4. Greater calorie expenditure
5. Looking like you know what you are doing

"Wow!" you think, I would like some of those benefits. Maybe I have been doing these "intervals" all wrong. How should I be doing it?

Well let me guide you with a few simple lessons.

Lesson one

Don't try and kill yourself in the first two intervals/repeats. Speed work is about running quality repetitions of speed, not going as fast as possible for two reps and then failing the other four because you vomit your breakfast everywhere. If that's what you want then go and do some HITT workouts.

Start simple and try this:

Warm up jog: ten minutes of light jogging to the point of a little sweat on the forehead.

Main sessions: 6 x 20 seconds at a pace around a fast run. Not a sprint, but where you can only speak a few words if running with a friend.

Take 60s walk recovery between intervals to get breath back. Jog lightly for last 15 seconds so that you can accelerate from a rolling start into the speed interval.

Cool down: 5 minute jog, then a 5 minute walk. Light easy stretches for all major muscle groups, holding each stretch for 15-20 seconds each.

NOTE: If you have any heart, lung conditions, have had major surgery in the last 5 years of are recovering from injury, please speak with your doctor/specialist/physio before beginning a speed work program.

Speed work need only be run once a week. Any more will affect quality as it is a high intensity activity that places a lot more strain on your body than a regular easy run. I would aim to do between 5 and 10 repetitions, any more than that and you could be compromising quality and risking injury.

If you are more experienced with running then there are a huge number of different sessions you can do. If you listen to the accompanying speed work podcast you can hear one of the FIRST sessions I do from the Firmin University in the states. Just google FIRST program and follow the 2005 Runners World article link to read more. I personally enjoy Fartlek training and Yasso 800s. Google them and read the detail before trying them out. Well worth a go to advance you through any training plateaus.

A great way of keeping quality is to monitor your interval times. Use your first interval as a baseline for the rest. For example you run your first 400m interval in 2:00. Thereafter you should not run slower than 4 seconds on your first time. So if you run your following intervals in 2:02, 2:01, 2:03 and 2:07 you would stop after the 2:07 interval as it is a good indicator that you've reached your max for that session.

Lesson Two

Just once a week.

Whether you are new or have been running for years there is no need to run more than one speed session a week. You want to be fresh and have a great quality speed work session. Overtraining or injury is more likely with too much speed training.

 On speed days I often feel a little lazy because I am only running for 30 or 40 minutes. For some there may be a temptation to run more. In this area more is not better. If you feel like you need to do more on speed work days then combine complimentary activities such as yoga, swimming or an easy cycle. Forget your boxing class, crossfit session or spin classes on speed training days.

Lesson Three

Enjoy running!

Everyone gets a bit serious after they've been running for some time. They soon focus on distance, speed and personal bests, forsaking the fun and enjoyment that running can bring. Speed sessions allow you a shorter session (all be it harder) where you can run like a kid again and have some healthy competition against friends. Pick a park, somewhere in nature and enjoy running like a kid for 30 minutes!

Until next time,

happy training!

Tom