Why I think your next distance should be speed not distance. Do you agree or not? I'd love to hear more about what your next running goals are. https://youtu.be/wVs5Kpbcpr8

We're in marathon season, and as you know, I've also been training for a distance event. In tomorrow's live session I'll be talking about what distance training has taught me, how I've found the experience, and also, how its changed what my goals are now - and also, about what I view to be most important to me from a running perspective. I hope you can join me. To join, go to calendar, and you'll find the zoom link in the event for tomorrow.

This time next week I’ll be in Arran. Probably nervous. Probably wishing I’d trained more. Probably checking everyone else out and deciding they look fitter and more capable of me. And wondering if I’ll be last! But I’ll also be feeling excited. Enjoying the energy the atmosphere and being secretly proud of myself for putting myself through something that has taken me well out of my comfort zone. I have a last run tomorrow. Mostly to practice running with poles - which I definitely have left too late. Then I’m going into full recovery mode. No formal workouts, just keeping everything moving. Stretching, mobility, foam rolling, and the massage gun. I want my muscles to feel Loose and supple - whereas right now my legs are pretty heavy. Food wise I’ll be eating my normal diet until 24 hours before and then I’ll be doing a mini carb load. I don’t need to go mad and don’t want to be bloated. On the run itself I’ll be dosing with carbs every 30 mins from the start. I plan to run/walk and will use the walking strategically to allow me to eat some proper food later on. Tim will Meet me at the half way feed station with a protein shake as I’ll be breaking down muscle by then. So that’s my plan. And then I’ve got an exciting new training phase for the summer which I’ll share more about soon. Whilst I’ve enjoyed training for this, the longer runs have felt hard on my body and I’m noticeably weaker in the gym. I’ve also got more body fat. Probably from the change in body composition (muscle breakdown), fewer strength sessions to prioritise recovery for longer runs, and the extra stress of long runs. So I’ve got some rebuilding to do to get my muscle:fat ratio higher again. What about you? If you’re close to your big run, how have you found the training. How are you feeling about it as you get closer? I’d love to know more about what other people are doing this month.

Here's the recording from this week's live session. This is for you if your pace has dropped and you just can't work out how to pick up your speed again. It is tempting as we get erm.... on a bit.. 😂 to gravitate towards longer, slower runs, but there is real value to working on our pace as this type of training creates specific adaptations for our body that we lose as we age - and if you're committed to being able to run, and move like a much younger person for as long as possible - I know I am, then speed work is how you'll achieve it. Happy to answer any questions, just pop it in the comments below. I'll be doing lives every Wednesday at 1pm so keep an eye on what's coming up. Next week I'm going to be talking about running and weight loss. If you have any questions for this session that you'd like me to cover, pop those in the comments too, or DM me if you prefer. https://youtu.be/y98nNg3yl4Y

I hope ever had a lovely Easter and feels like they had a good rest - I certainly did - I’ve not slept that much for months! Tomorrow at 1pm I’m doing a live and I’ll be doing these weekly from now. I’m going to be talking about improving running pace - why we get slower and what it takes to pick up the pace again now. I’ll be doing a q&a session, but if you can’t make the live and have a question you can ask me here and I’ll include it. The recordings will be posted in the classroom after.