Episode 212 - Ben Livesey

Episode 212 - Ben Livesey (British marathon debutant and prospect Ben Livesey Here

I listened to this episode of the podcast 10 years after it was released to see what training or just general information I could glean from it now that I am a more experienced runner and coach, I mean 10 years ago I was obese and eating rubbish. 

Age isn't a barrier
So my first observation was the longevity of some runners, they were talking about how well Galen Rupp is going and this weekend he is hoping to qualify for another Olympics. Just goes to show that age isn't a huge barrier, and for those of us that didn't run when we were younger we could still have many years of improvement and for us "high level" performance ahead. 

Impact of flying / travel and recovery
One of the hosts had to travel and as a result ended up with stiff legs. Just to remind everyone to be careful to their body and sometimes forgo a rigid schedule - as per Percy Cerutty "Rigid schedules… and laid down day by day training routines, find no place in my ideas as to the fitness of things athletically."
This then led onto them to talking about recovery methods, something we should all focus on. Stretching, if it works for you as there is still a debate around this, certainly with post run static stretching, foam rolling and sports massage were also discussed. Remember that improvement comes through your body recovering so don't be afraid to take a rest and recover. 

Goal Setting:
I have a long term goal of sub 16, first things first I am going for sub 17 of course but as my mental training resources have said think big. This came to mind as Martin Yelling, husband of Liz Yelling, was himself an elite running (albeit a few years before 2014) and his goal was aiming to break 16 minutes at parkrun. He had just run 16:21 and looking up his profile he actually never ran faster than that again. Certainly helps add some fear to my goal but equally lots of people do break 16 and I want to keep it at my long term target. 
Training Variety
Various training is discussed.

• Joys of slow off-road running, without watch

• Royal flush progression run, getting faster every mile or km. 

• parkrun 

Prep races - mainly for marathons. Generally size down one. Shorter distance shorter recovery. For marathon can use 20 miles as catered training sessions. Cost + parkrun. Do what you enjoy, can race more so long as aware of recovery. Match to race as best you can. Specificity 

Hansons project I have used their training method before and will review their book and I prefer it to the standard approach many take to running marathons. Most people I know will aim for a 20-22 mile long run but the rest of their week might only be another 20-30 miles. The rule of thumb I have heard is that your long run should be no more than 30% of your total training volume and instead rely on cumulative fatigue. If you are starting a 16 mile long run with 40-50 miles in your legs it is going to be similar to a 22 mile long run but reduce your changes of injury as your body adapts better to the steady increase of multiple runs over a week and month rather than chucking in the odd long run. 

The main interview, I didn't get much out of. He did discuss speed work, doing long runs when you are tired (i.e. following the method above). Can be hard to fit things in around work and life but you fit things in as and when you can and having a supportive and helpful family. Much like I do, but to a higher standard, he was fitting in multiple sessions throughout the day, so commutes, lunchtime, after work etc. So training when you can as best you can.