Recently I have been bombarded with
questions about how to run marathons. Some folks want to complete their first whilst others want to run
faster. The latter got me thinking. How much do people who want to run faster
really want to run faster? What is their
‘personal marathon training budget’ and just how much are they prepared to
invest to achieve their ambitious goals?
The best
thing you can do to hit an ambitious goal is to really want it. There’s no point fluffing about with
ambitious targets. They need to be
embraced and set upon with real purpose, passion and intent. Waiver
and your ambitious target will slip away. Engage in pointless chaff and your target disappears. Take positive,
informed action and make difficult but necessary choices and really commit to
your ambitious goal and you’ve a greater chance of turning it into a reality.
If you
want to run faster than before you need to train harder and smarter than
before. You’ve got to train your body
for what you are asking it to do. That
means focused long runs, with sections at target race pace, threshold and
faster running workouts, having a clear race place and nailing your hydration
and nutrition strategy. Serious goals
demand serious preparation not half-hearted attempts with limited gusto, poor
perseverance and lack of deep commitment.
If your
goal is to run faster this year (at a marathon or any other distance for that
matter of fact) it’s all well and good to talk about it and wave your target
about in the wind but when are you going to actually stop the hot air and
actually start with the action?
Questions
to you?
What do you want to achieve?
How much do you really want to achieve
it?
What do you need to do to make this
aspiration a reality?
What are the major barriers / obstacles you face?
What is the immediate action you are
going to take to start on your road to success?
What else can you do to make your dream
run goal achievable?
Martin Yelling used to do a lot more running that he does now. He once sneaked a AAA’s medal over 1500m, finished in the top 10 in the National XC, clocked some sub 30min 10k’s and even won a few races.
Once his legs stopped enjoying the pounding quite so much switched to multisport and won the British elite duathlon championships a couple of times, competed at some scarily fast world championships events, came top 15 at Ironman Switzerland and bagged the big one in Kona.
Now he enjoys running on leafy trails, trying (and failing) to keep up with his wife (2xOlympic marathon runner Liz Yelling), and helping coach runners and triathletes of all standards achieve things they’d previously thought impossible. He also likes trying to paddleboard, eating the same amount as he used to when training very hard and smiling. www.lizyelling.com
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