THE OUTCOME

So the Brighton Half Marathon is done and dusted! Last Sunday, the 20th, i set off for what was my first ever organised run. It was a good day for running with little wind, no rain (perhaps more importantly!) and cloudy skies.
Eight thousand runners took part and it was strange to me to be running amongst that many people. I kept questioning how fast i was going as i overtook many people but others were overtaking me. However as the mile markers came around and i checked my watch i soon settled into a comfortable pace. In fact i managed the first 10km in a really good time for me at 44 minutes and felt really strong. My head kept running away with ideas that i was going to finish in sub 1.30 if i kept that up!

Of course i didnt keep that pace up and after about 8 miles my right hip flexor started giving me grief, as it always seems to do on any runs of an hour or more. My lungs were fine so i was a bit annoyed that i couldnt run as free as i would have liked.

At the 10 mile marker i picked up the pace again and ran the nice straight route right along the seafront and back into town and the crowds in a good time. It was also strange running through a whole crowd of people cheering but it definitely spurred me on!

I crossed the line in 1.37.30. As is always the case, once i had finished and caught my breath i thought i surely should have been able to cut 2 minutes off that time and finish in 1.35! Always easy to say once you have stopped running! :)

I was happy with that time and really enjoyed taking part. And i think it goes to show that the CrossFit training really does make you 'fit' in all areas. To run 1.37 having only done two 10 mile runs in the previous two weeks goes to show the kind of fitness you can build up with short blast interval training and what carry over this has. Yes, if i had trained specifically for the 13 miles im sure i could have got nearer 1.30 but then would i still be able to clean and jerk and snatch what i can at the moment? Probably not.

Ive got a time to beat next year now. :)

CROSSFIT EXPERIMENT!

I have never been much of a runner if i am honest. It always seemed very boring to me in comparison with other forms of training that i do and so i limited my running to a quick warm up on a treadmill before a weights session or an interval blast of 4 x 400m or such if i did want to get some cardio in. A 5km was appealing but i'd have to really be in the mood to do a 10km. In fact this was the longest i had run in my life at any one point (taking me around 50-55mins).

So towards the end of last year when i signed up for the Brighton Half Marathon (friends persuaded me!) i wasnt sure just how much running training i was going to have to put in. If i was going to do it i wanted to get a good time and not just run it for the sake of it. I was thinking 1hr 30m to 1hr 45m should be achievable.

I didnt want to start running endlessly for hours each week as i was too into my CrossFit and Olympic lifting to give over that much time to pounding the pavements. So i made a plan to experiment. I decided to see how much fitness carry over there was from CrossFit workouts into my running capabilities. I decided i wasnt going to run any further than 5km in the build up to the half.

Since September i have carried on lifting 3 or 4 times a week and have been completing around 4 CrossFit main site WODs (workouts) a week also. Most or the WODs are completed in around 15 minutes but can sometimes range from just 3-4 minutes up to maybe 35 minutes. So we are talking short intense blasts. How would this carry over into half marathon running of over an hour and a half?

Two weeks ago i decided to go for a long run to see how things were progressing. A little late to change things so i had my fingers crossed that i would feel okay! I was very pleased with the results.
I managed 10.5 miles in 1 hour 36mins in driving wind and rain conditions at the seafront. That was the furthest i had ever run in my life and it felt surprisingly normal. When i stopped i could easily have had a normal conversation with someone.

Last weekend i went again in lovely sunny conditions and made 11.7miles in dead on 1hr 30mins. I felt even better this time.

The Brighton Half Marathon is next weekend (20th Feb) and i am now really looking forward to it. It was an interesting experiment to do and it just confirms to me the superb total conditioning that CrossFit workouts give you. By doing fun, short, intense workouts 4 times a week i was able to build up my stamina enough to be considering a 1hr 30 half marathon which i dont think too shabby for someone who doesnt like running! The traditional thinking that in order to build up running ability you have to run miles and miles each week just doesnt seem to be that accurate (and it saves your knees!).

CrossFit gives you a superb all round level of fitness that whilst not making you a world beater in any one discipline it prepares you for being able to take on most challenges that come your way with a high degree of efficiency.

Lets just hope we have some sunshine next sunday! And no, im not tempted to do the full marathon. :)

(My own CrossFit box - CrossFit Connect - will be opening very soon so if you live nearby Hove, East Sussex and want to keep up to date on any news we might have, take a look at:

http://crossfitconnect.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Dave

365 MARATHONS IN 365 DAYS!

Yep, you read that right! A guy from Belgium has just recently completed his 365th marathon in 365 days! With an average time of just over 4 hours he wasnt exactly walking it either!

That takes some serious dedication and like he says in the article it was a full time job to him (and some!) for the last year. I have no idea how he managed to stay so motivated to do it. Amazing feat.

http://tinyurl.com/6dvu75c

CHANGING UP THE REPS

A really important part of weight training that sometimes people forget is to change the number of reps that you do in any given workout. This simple method of tweaking your training can bring very good results and also stop you getting stale and bored. A high percentage of people in most gyms lift 10-12 reps on their weights exercises and do so for years. Time to change it up!

It means that you will be varying the weight that you are lifting too. For example if you always squat 12 reps for around 80kg take the rep range down to 5's and you would probably be capable of lifting near to 100kg. This will spur your body into new adaptations (muscle growth/ strength gains) so when you switch back to 12 reps a few weeks later you will find you should be able to lift more.

An example of this periodisation (the proper name for changing your workouts over a set time period) can be seen below:

Weeks 1-4
4 sets of 12 reps

Weeks 5-8
5 sets of 5 reps

Weeks 9-12
6 sets of 3 reps

As you can see as the reps go down the number of sets go up to ensure maximum recruitment of your muscles. You would then begin at the beginning again on Week 13. Upon returning to 12 reps in week 13 you should find a nice difference in how much you can lift.

This kind of training plan works best with the big lifts such as the squat, deadlift, cleans, bench etc. The powerful lifts (that you should all be doing!) that will really make a difference to your physique.

This is just one example of a scheduled training plan and there are lots of variations to be found on this within the strength and conditioning world.

The first picture above is a good table to help you plan what % of your max weight (your 1 rep max) to use for each desired rep range. For example if you were lifting 5 reps you would use 0.857 of your 1 rep max or 85% etc

The second image or graph abpove shows a different type of periodisation that focusses on muscle growth in Week 1, strength in Week 2 and power in week 3. Rest is then given in week 4. As a monthly schedule this would also work well.

A quick google search and you will find a lot of information about periodisation if you want to read up on it further.