Salutations to my faithful followers, many of you would have almost given up hope of a second blog but alas nearly a month later, I'm back =) March is flying past at the blink of an eye, with numerous commitments frustrating my blogging desires... However I ran 12km early this evening, the longest since January, which means that I've done exactly 42km of training since the last blog, and you would surely know is coincidentally a FULL MARATHON!! =)
So in response to the sole comment to the previous blog - thanks Elise! didn't know that you'd posted that until you told me! FARTlekking. Yes it's Swedish for 'speed play' and while it sounds very funny, it is simply interval training that improves aerobic capacity - namely sprinting jogging sprinting walking faster slower etc etc. Now all long-distance runners would agree that long distances are unbelievably boring, so fartlekking offers a fresh alternative when regular training is entirely within a runner's comfort zone.
Now I've never properly fartlekked but let me tell you why! There are MANY things I do to break up training.
Different routes (duh) meaning different distances (my runs in the past month were between 3km and 12km), gradients (between pancake-flat and mountain-steep) and surfaces (training on grass or dirt feels so much better than hard surfaces) - also a little secret on that, I put two soles in my shoes since I weigh over 100kg... however unlike most people I have high arches so maybe that may not work for everybody but still it should make a massive difference on the jarring impact to the body from long-distance training - hopefully you can say farewell to knee problems and shin splints!!
Also living near the beach (yes be jealous haha) provides great opportunities to mix up the running surface. Sand is both soft and hard and running barefoot on sand is a beautiful feeling that strengthens the calves and Achilles. My 12km run this evening was along the cliff, down the stairs, along the beach, up the stairs, along the cliffs etc etc, that mixes up the surface and makes me work hard as a run up the stairs two at a time!! I counted eight ascents and eight descents - basically at every access point down to the beach... Just NEVER EVER RUN DOWN STAIRS more than two at a time, eventually you'll roll an ankle and it's just not worth the three or four seconds that you saved each of the other times you zipped gracefully down!
Also I touch the ground with one hand and then the other hand AFL-training style whenever I pass a bus stop, which can be quite frequently along main roads! And when I run on familiar backstreets at night, I run backwards which is a great workout: God forbid anybody see me!! They'd think that I was a nutter!!
And as I mentioned in the last blog, I always time my runs to race the clock against my previous time on the same route, even if only by one minute! Nothing beats post-run endorphins combined with knowing that training has improved my fitness level - SO ADDICTIVE!! =)
Many of you would know that I'm also an avid cyclist, and while I haven't ridden a bike since early Feb (oops!) that stoppage was after riding up Baw Baw, Falls Creek and Buffalo in January! My point is that training across multiple disciplines is an excellent way to develop both strength and endurance - last week I went rockclimbing which does wonders for the forearms and fingers - swimming (yeah I can only swim to avoid drowning) is also a great all-round workout, both muscular and cardio. Currently my favourite cross-training is getting to the end of my run and then heading down to the local primary school and doing a 15-minute circuit: bridge, leg curls, push-ups, chin-ups plus stretching the Achilles and hamstrings (both of which get damn sore after a marathon) - short and sharp but I try and do a couple extra reps than the previous circuit to build up strength. It's perfect at the end of a session because I'm already tired and can really feel the burn!!
So this blog was meant to be all about fartlekking but you must realise that with that much variety there has never been any real need!!
Now there's only seven weeks left until Mothers Day Classic so sign up, get fit and make sure that you're supporting such a worthy cause. And if you don't feel up to 4km or 8km around the Tan on a beautiful autumn morning, you can find the donations link on my blog... I assume one exists! The lovely people at MDC will probably point it out haha ;)
So a question for you, the faithful follower who has read this far: I just rely on my handy stopwatch and then Google Maps post-run to calculate the route distance - what technology do you use to track your time, GPS, gradients, heartbeat etc etc? What's good for somebody use loves running and would like a simple way of keeping track their runs? I might get one if you can convince me!!!
Eagerly awaiting new blog subjects - what do you want to know about me and about running? Livestrong peeps!!
