Consistency in running is paramount to success and historical data is a good way to predict the future.

Running success is very rarely an overnight thing. As I have said on many occasions ‘running is an honest sport’ and the more time you run the better you will eventually become. (barring long term injuries ofcourse) This is why the 80/20 method championed by Fitzgerald, Lydiard and Maffetone works so well. 80% of the time at a relaxed pace putting little strain on the body as you aren’t pushing the envelope, so
to speak. The faster you run the more pounding you give your joints and muscles, physics as my Dad use to say. Also running off road on trails is another way to avoid injuries (barring a twisted ankle etc) and also helps with the core as you engage the core and fire muscles you wouldn’t use on a flat, even, straight concrete road/path. With a good trail you need to be mentally on the ball and watch every step, compensating for gradient and surface changes. Trail running is also great fun and you get to meet a more ‘running friendly’ lot than the show pony’s of the asphalt racing world. Although as a show pony myself both communities are friendly and open but the trail runners are extra friendly and open; if that is possible.

Right back to consistency. Darlington half last weekend was my 9th in the last 11 years. I missed one through injury and one when they had a road cycling race and cut off the freeway leaving me and Mike on the wrong side of the road unable to get to the start line, very frustrating! (damn pesky cyclists! ) My times for Darlington have been consistent as detailed below.

2009 1:25
2010 1:24
2011 1:21:12 (9th)
2012 Injured
2013 1:19:45 (9th)
2014 1:17:22 (5th)
2015 1:21:46 (10th)
2016 DNS (due to pesky cyclists)
2017 1:19:16 (6th)
2018 1:19:02 (4th)
2019 1:22:55 (9th)

What does this show me? Unfortunately, I’m slowing down but, after coming back from injury and the race being held on a particularly humid day, by how much is open to debate. Will I ever break 80 minutes again? Probably not but if I can run sub 90 minutes for a few more years I’ll be happy enough. Six top 10 finishes in the last seven years is something I am very proud of but more importantly I’ve had some great running battles with good friends and managed to do so much better than I ever thought possible back in 2009. To be running quicker 10 years late is a sign of consistent training, day in, day out and even today I thought to myself how much I still love running.

So, as you can see,  I can gleam so much from historical results, what you can’t see of course is the memories and Darlington holds some great memories. 2009 I ran with my good friend Brett Coombes after we had run Comrades the year before and were training for Comrades 2010. We ran a controlled race and finished together, albeit I remember Brett left me a 100m’s from the line. I’m still smarting!

In 2010 I ran the whole race with Jon and we crossed the line hand in hand. Sounded like a good idea at the time but luckily no one took a photo! It was also the first time we bumped into my now good friend Mark Lee as he weaved in and out of the bush answering natures calls. Something he still does ten years later! How he was a professional football played in a previous life is beyond me?

2011 and me and Steve ‘Twinkle’ Mckean had a great battle and it was here he got his ‘twinkle’ nickname as he would sneak up behind you when you least expected him to. We pushed each other all the way and I just managed to edge past him and grab my first top 10 finish. Highlight was me swiping the last few drinks at one of the drinks stops leaving him with nothing, all is fair in love and racing twinkle.

Funnily enough I can remember much about 2013 but another top 10 was the end result. 2014 was the year and a big PB for the course. I look at my splits for this run and now can’t comprehend how I ever went that fast. My last 10k is still the fastest I have ever ran that distance. I remember I was closing down on 4 th place and this was a runner who was always so far ahead of me. I think this really was a break out race for me coming after 2013, which was a breakout year of racing. Probably my running peak looking back now.

Unfortunately, after the high of 2013 I had a shocker in 2014 after Darlington. I blew up in the Bunbury marathon, as defending champion, and this put me in a running slump for well over a year. In the early stages of 2015 I started to work with Raf and Darlington ( http://www.therunningcentre.com.au ) was the first race under his tutorage. It didn’t end well, and I went over 80 minutes and ran a shocker. With Raf’s help I rediscovered my love of running by adding distance and pace and this is something I take with me to this day.

2017 and 2018 were both sub 80 minutes and good top 10 finishes and I enjoyed good races with great completion on both occasions. Not at the dizzy heights of 2014 but I was now in my fifties so happy to win my age group and stay competitive.

This year though was slower, and I certainly felt the long lay off with Plantar Fasciitis. It was also humid, so the top 10 finish and a reasonable time was a big tick in the ‘comeback’ box. The only fly in the ointment is the continual increase in the ‘pain’ associated with running these times. The increase in time, albeit minimal, is not exponentially reflected in the increase in the pain of achieving these times. Basically, it hurts a lot more now than it did 10 years ago! I feel this is the reason you start to slow as a runner, age and your mind,  conspire against you and the bearable pain threshold begins to come into play at a pace a lot slower than previous years and races. The pain is the same but the pace is a lot slower. Is it possible to raise the pain threshold? Possibly but it is probably a temporary situation at best. Let’s face it as you get older you eventually have to slow down, it’s just a case of when this happens and how much you slow?

This weekend I have another race, this time a 10k which I won last year ( a very rare occurance and probably my last 10k victory …) running sub 35 minutes. I’ll be happy to run 36.xx minutes on Sunday and if I achieve that it will be mainly down to the Nike Vaporflys 4% flyknits (I’ve mentioned these a few times right? ) Do I think I can go sub 37 minutes ? Not sure, I’d hope so as I’ve not run over 36 minutes for many years, actually 2010 at the WAMC run for gold 10k where I ran a 39:25 coming back from injury. (it felt a lot quicker i remember thinking when I crossed the line that day ! )  I remember that day doing my best impression of a scolded cat and basically hanging on for dear life in the last few kilometres, story of my racing life. This weekend I’m going to make an effort to start slower and finish stronger, maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks?

The table below highlights the effort I have needed to put in to keep reaching my your goals. Is that a problem ? No way, training is fun, racing is fun and writing about running is fun. I lead a charmed life really….

So the point of this post. Keep a track of all your running in either a spreadsheet or Strava (you have got Strava right ? http://www.strava.com ) and use this to predict the future as well as setting realistic goals. Also remember it’s better to be consistent over a long period rather than having peaks and troughs  in your training. Another valuable tip is to cross train as much as possible if you get injured. Swimming, cycling (on an Elliptigo of course http://www.elliptigo.com) or even gym work is better than nothing at all. If you can’t run do anything to get the heart rate pumping, it all helps long term and may make the comeback easier.

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