I’ve deleted (by mistake) the pace calculator. I had originally allowed for some extra time at the start to adjust for the time it takes to cross the line in big races, but this seemed very arbitrary to me when I looked at it again. I will try to rewrite it soon so it works backwards from a target time, and may add mile or five k split times, depending on reaction, if any.
What’s the difference between gentlemen and players? There isn’t a cigarette called gentlemen.
Although I can think of runners who smoke1, it is a truth generally acknowleged that tobacco and exercise do not mix. Dave Headon has been seen enjoying the odd cigar on an night out as did Keith "So Politically Correct it hurts" Collard2,(now with Exeter). John Cox used to smoke. So did Barry Johnston, although when asked by Geran if this was true, he replied "I used to eat them, mate". This is not the usual method of consumption, and may explain a lot.
Sam Moore -- pictured before the start of the Barry 40 -- still clearly enjoys his fags. He also failed to come back to me before the finish line in the last Cardiff Marathon (1992). He was 20th. I was 21st and ever so pissed off.
I think the only sensible thing Dylan Thomas ever said was:
An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you.
However, the sense in that makes up for a lot. The same applies to training. Anyone who trains 10 miles a week more than I do is probably overdoing it. Anyone who trains much less, is just lazy. As I’ve yo-yoed between 80 miles a week and zero, most runners have fallen into one category or the other.
Ron Hill now concedes that he may have done too much. David Bedford almost certainly did. The very good distance runners, like Gebreselaisse, manage around 30k per day, or three times their race distance. Jack Daniels, the American coach, had a trainee who ran 300 miles a week. We can only ask why.
The whole point of training is to push limits. This is different to forgetting that they exist. Barry Johnston can keep up with Phil Cook on a Sunday 20 miler, and had a more consistent winter in 2000-1. But no one, least of all Barry or Phil thought they would be together after the first miles in London. Phil’s record on the country and on the track shows that he is simply quicker. This was clear on the Wednesday track sessions too. There wasn’t a great deal of difference (I predicted 2:27 and 2:37: it was 2:37 and 2:42), but Phil should be capable of 2:20 after a good season - which 2000-1 wasn’t. Top speed is all the difference, and brute mileage can’t close that gap.
One of the crucial points about running is that it raises your heart rate like little else. In both swimming and cycling, the body is partly supported, and reaching maximum heart rate is more difficult. Anyone who starts running has to first of all develop their cardiovscular system. Pace is seldom a problem for the newbie; stamina almost always is.
Long slow distance, a training approach popularised by Arthur Lydiard, the New Zealand coach whose middle distance trainees ran 100 mile weeks, has probably the most comprehensive training effect known for a single regime. It trains the slow twitch fibres in all the muscles used in running, and when these tire after 40 minutes to an hour, the fast twitch fibres, which are usually employed explosively (as in sprinting) are forced to work as well. Bone density is usually increased by any exercise and running is one of the best defences against osteoporosis in later life. The whole cardiovascular system is stressed gradually, resulting in thicker, healthier arteries, larger lungs, and a stronger heart. Lydiard was coaching prior to the celebrity of Timothy Leary and the advent of decimalisation. LSD rather prosaically referred to pounds, shillings, and pence, from the Latin of libri, sestersi, and dinari. (Which is why the pound sign is brought to you by the letter L, and why some runners still refer to the endurance phase of training as ’miles in the bank’.) LSD running has lots of health benefits, and Joe Henderson, editor of Runners’ World in the 1970s, championed it as a training regime for everyone.
Even though middle distance runners started training like marathoners, it’s speed which makes the difference at all levels. Lydiard’s athletes only ran relatively slowly (six minute miling), which is not the same as jogging, and they still did speedwork. Anyone who runs ought to find the time to include some short efforts. These help make the running style more efficient, aid pace judgement, and increase lactate tolerance and leg strength. They’re also a change from routine distance running. For the total beginner, repetitions up hills is probably the simplest session. You run for a designated time, say between 20 and 60 seconds going up, and recover by walking or jogging down.
Taper "This ... involves backing off your milage and speed work so that you are well rested and ready to race."
Glover & Schuder, The New Competitive Runner's Handbook
Not to be confused with "tapir: a large odd-toed ungulate with short flexible proboscis..."
Chambers English Dictionary
1 The guy who beat me in my first marathon had a cig in lieu of a warm down. He turned out to specialise in 24 hour races. Back.
2 Anyone who has experienced Keith's phenomenal recall of Jethro videos can support this description. Back
About us > Where we meet | History | Eccentricities | Cardiff
Last updated 24 March 2007
^Top | Sitemap | About this site | Contact us | Les Croupiers Running Club Home
