We all want to run faster. Running fast is awesome. Not 1 hotdog awesome, but 1 000 000 hotdogs awesome. The feeling leaves us smiling and beaming.

Yet running fast leaves us tired, sore and unable to be awesome.

This is why I love what I call “Strides” so much. Strides are in every program I write. And they should be too, if you click the following 3 links you`ll understand:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

They are a legit way to include speed work (and more importantly, form work) into your week without compromising your ability to recover session-to-session. I prefer to run 15seconds hard (not flat out, maintaining form), with a 45second walk. 15-20 reps with a 15min warm-up and 15min cool-down.

As a proud triathlete with a real job, one of the primary concerns in my life is making it session to session without too much accumulated fatigue. Moving well when tired is essential for triathlon, especially Ironman races where the slow puncture effect of fatigue comes into play with the force of a Bakkies Botha tackle around 28km into the run. Strides reinforce moving well when tired. They build positive form routine and routine / repetition is king in the game of IM.

Add 1 session of strides to your week, every week and watch your running speed increase over the weeks.

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Being properly hydrated is not optional and that news is not new news. Indeed, when we are dehydrated in a serious manner, performance goes out the window. The trick is to learn to race hydrated or slightly dehydrated towards the middle and end of the race. How do we do this? It takes practise and pushing the limits in training from time to time to determine what your body feels like and works like when you are consuming specific types or fluids.

Here are some basics I like to follow:

1. Any run over 10km, make sure you have a glass (250ml) of sports drink (you know my choice) before you head out the door.
2. Any run over 15km, make sure you can get some water in along the route somewhere.
3. Any run over 20km, it’s essential to take fluids along and be able to nurse yourself with constant drink along the way.
4. Don’t do a long run with a hangover. Ever. Starting that dehydrated is just bad for your body.
5. Drink to thirst.
6. Don’t down a whole bottle of drink in one go. Sloshy tummies are for dummies.
7. Re-hydrate slowly after races, not downing bottles of sugar water straight over the line.

What do they say about learning in 7`s? I`ll leave you with those 7 simple tips to training optimally hydrated. If we train better, we race better and this is an often overlooked part of your daily training. I know too many people to drink coffee all day and end up bailing from planned workouts in the afternoon because they are dehydrated to start their afternoon sessions.

Have a great week out there and remember…assume nothing. This article was brought to you by Rehidrat Sport, my personal choice in sports drink.

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Man I really enjoyed this video. Especially after a few nights in hotels working with BoE Private Clients to raise the bar in awareness for Pure Planet Racing with some of their top clients in Johannesburg and Durban. I slept very well the first night and the body felt great on a long run the next morning. So much so that I felt I could and should get out for a second run yesterday afternoon. The opportunity to run 2 cities in 1 day was just too much fun for my geeky sports orientated brain to avoid.

Last night, however, I slept particularly badly. A combination of having a few glasses of particularly good Sauvignon Blanc and a 4:15am wake up call had me tossing and turning. Because of the way I feel today, there is no way I could go out and train. I have to skip a session I had planned this afternoon because it would be a waste and my weekend would go out the window. I would be compromising a week of good training rather than getting in a session where I would be faffing and just getting it done.

When in doubt, leave it out, as Andrew Maclean likes to say.

I have made an enquiry with Zeo to see if their sleep coach device is available here in South Africa.

But back to “feel”. I am a numbers junkie at the best of times and at other times, I really don’t want to see the numbers at all. Some days I will analyze the entire ride on the Powertap vs Heart Rate vs Altitude gains, etc. Other days, I leave the Garmin at home for a forest run where the point really is to get purposefully lost and lie under a tree for a while, mid run.

For me, even when riding with the Garmin, I am always trying to be aware of what certain intensities feel like, what 350watts on a 10minute climb feels like in the legs, the lungs, in the mind especially, the emotions that happen around minute 4 when it seems like it will never end. I believe “feel” is one of the major things lost on the amateur guys. They are so obsessed with the numbers that they forget what the number/goal/interval/intensity feels like. When their devices fail (and they do fail from time to time) they are left in the dark and cannot get the combination right and bomb out badly.

As the weekend is approaching, I would like to urge you to give “feel” a go this weekend. Tape up a part of your device and go on feel, referencing it only once or twice in your workout. Work with the body, talk to it (ok, yes, I am mad) and listen to what it’s telling you about how it feels when you push it in a certain way.

Right now though, I am going to feel my way through a cup of coffee and the war on admin continues…

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So a week or so after Xterra Buffelspoort it has been a week about recovery and last weekend it was time to get some larger volume work in and get back into trail running as we slowly approach racing African-X in May. Firstly, here is my file from Xterra, for those who care about these things:

It’s been a big few weeks for my good mate Gringo who has recently taken the reigns at Puma Running South Africa, including a move from Jozi. So a trip around the peninsula on our bikes was a prerequisite to him being welcomed properly. Of course, that needed to be followed by a few Real Beers as a truly Capetonian welcome. If you are new to Cape Town, let me know. I will show you the same hospitality. The ride around the coast here is great. 120km with around 1600m vertical gain on quiet roads with scenery from travel shows as the norm. A great morning and a great reason to live down here.

Another would be the running here and on Sunday I was due for a 20-25km trail run which was supposed to be just a first long run for the year. I found some absolutely incredible horse riding single track next to the Green Belt in Constantia and was in absolute heaven running in the dense forests on dusty singletrack up the hill all the way to Cecilia Forest. All was going well and managed to get all the way across to Constantia Neck and down the hill into an area called De Hel. Ominous I thought. I had no idea.

Two things happened once I was lost in that forest, climbing on my hands and knees under the overgrown vegetation laughing at myself:

1. I came across the big house in the middle. No fence there. 2 big dogs, however. Protective dogs. A bit of a bad scramble up the hill to avoid getting too close to them resulted in the following injury.
2. On my way out, I came across a white woman living in a shack with her dogs in Constantia. By the look of her, she had been there a while. She had table and chairs out with tea area, etc. She is on an empty plot out in a beautiful area. She was NOT happy to see me.

All in all, a great run, however.

In the last 6 weeks I have learned how to hurt again on the bike and run but this has also left me a bit sore in some new places and needing more pre-hab as such. Maintenance of the suppleness which keeps us injury free. After talking with Dan and a few other people. I have invested in the following kit to help me on the way to non-injury. I am told that there will be excruciating pain and I will be sure to let you know how it goes:

Really the idea is to learn about my niggles and how to balance the body out. In the last week I have fallen off my mtb, run away from dogs, had to dig out a toenail (after losing the same toenail in hawaii last year it was starting to grow into the toe bed) and sliced my finger trying to assemble one of my bikes. I am fully aware that the signs are there. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

I`ll be back tomorrow with something more specific. Today is just a quick post on some arb things going down here in my space. Ciao ciao.

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Close your eyes the next time you are running (or at least zone out so you avoid the poles).

Listen to your body.

Hear what it is telling you. It talks to you. Are you listening?

The slightest nuances are signs – of a struggle, or of harmony. Your body will tell you everything you need to know to have the perfect run, each and every time you venture out there. It will tell you which speed you should be running, how hard it wants to breathe today. If you are really in tune, it will even lead you down new roads onto undiscovered routes, heightening the sense of adventure, something it truly loves.

Are you listening?

Perhaps take a step back. Find a quiet space. Turn of all the plugs, the radio, the lights and sit on a soft towel. Close your eyes and breathe. Mentally run through each and every part of your body, checking for signs of fatigue, of tightness in the muscle, of limited movement. Imagine your body in full motion, running effortlessly down your favorite road/path/route, feeling light, like you are floating across the way. Take deep note of what that feels like and remember it when you head out the door next time.

Listen to what your body is telling and remember how it felt when you were floating. Take yourself from one to the other, listening for the signs that are holding you back.

Now go…

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These are my opinions on running shoes, current trends in them as well as the correct process from various A’s to B’s on the questions I get on a weekly basis about running shoes and a few other running things. It’s no surprise. 80% of runners will suffer an injury every year. It’s no secret that there is a shift towards running more like a kid, barefoot or in low profile shoes.

I can start with my story, which is a success, but has taken years to achieve, not months or weeks like most people want. I was a knock kneed kid who wore corrective shoes which over corrected my stance and I am now slightly bandy legged. C’est la vie.

I was a swimmer who ran. For swimming, my feet had to be as flexible as possible. Not grand for running I tell you. I pronated like a 150kg rugby prop with collapsed arches and wore the biggest, heaviest shoes there were for training. I had to wear these because I pronated that badly. I was a heel striker with underdeveloped glutes and ligaments and dropped arches. I ran badly, full stop. I had a big engine from swimming so I hung tough but running hurt me more than anything.

Forward several years to current day. Last night I ran 30km in a neutral racer/trainer which is quite worn out, as it’s the only shoe I now train in. My arches have lifted, I strike midfoot, I am 8kg lighter and I had no pain other than a blister, which has its origin in a wet foot for 9 hours the week before at Transbaviaans in a mtb shoe rubbing the skin soft.

What you don’t see in the fast forward is this:

- 5 years of work to strengthen my feet enough.
- The pain of becoming a midfoot striker as my calves and glutes had to endure weeks of adaptation at a time.

It wasn’t simply a case of switching shoes. I went through the process of getting less and less stable shoes for 4 years, this year switching in January to neutral trainers for the first time, and only in July moving to running in lighter shoes full time.

Here is the FAQ:

1. What shoes should I buy?

The ones that suit your current running style, biomechanics and foot strike. Go see an expert when buying running shoes; don’t rely on other people’s opinion. Make sure the expert makes you run in a few sets and watches your knee flexion, hip movement and foot strike.

Find out if you pronate, are neutral or in rare cases, supernate. Those are the 3 foot strike patterns. If you pronate, dependant on how strong your leg muscles and ligaments are, you will either go for a stability or a motion control shoe.

Motion control is generally reserved for the big guys with bad knees. Stability is what about 70% of runners will need. I started in motion control, moved to stability, then lightweight stability, then neutral, now neutral racer/trainer.

2. Should I try barefoot running?

Sure, if you have run in lightweight trainers for a year. If you don’t run regularly and if you run regularly but in heavy motion control shoes rather go to the gym and work on core, glutes and hip strength.

Then start running barefoot on grass, for short periods of time. Grow this over time as your feet and ligaments and core and glutes get stronger. Move to a racing flat first on the road before even thinking of going barefoot.

Then move into a shoe like those weird toe finger shoes and start on dirt roads, before trail. I am not there yet.

Adaptation period will be months, not weeks. Deciding to run in a racing flat or barefoot out the blue and smashing out runs like that is like deciding you want to give tequila a go for the first time and promptly smashing a bottle on your first go. Just not going to be condusive to “performance” and you will most likely get hurt.

3. How far should I run to start?

Start slow and go long. Simply, take 180 and subtract your age. If you are super fit, add 5 beats. That is the maximum heart rate you should see on any run. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, it’s also around the point where you can’t run with your mouth CLOSED anymore. Run for as long as you can around that intensity to start.

That is your Aerobic Endurance Threshold and will give you maximum fitness and maximum enjoyment out of your running. Less sore muscles, fatigue and injuries.

If you can only run 3 days a week, go long. If you can run 6 days a week, run less time and more frequency. 6 x 30mins a week are so much better than 3 x 1hr runs even if total time is the same.

Most importantly, run for as long as it’s FUN.

4. Should I eat before I run?

My experience says no. If you have to eat, get into the energy gels. Easy on the stomach and a reliable 150 calories will get you through the run no problem. Eat afterwards, in what a friend refers to as “The Golden Zone” which is the first 30min after exercise, where you can eat basically whatever you want; your body will just burn it.

5. How long will my running shoes last?

Roughly 800-1000km if you run light on them and it’s what’s traditionally termed a “training shoe”. If you pound the pavement, 600km for a heavier training shoe. The lighter the shoe, the less mileage. My racers are good for about 250km and then they are KAPUT!

Those are the most common questions I seem to be getting; I hope they answered one of your questions, at least. Now go out there and have some fun…

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Original article here.

I’ve written in the past regarding the benefits of eccentric exercises for rehabilitation of a variety of overuse injuries. I also feel strongly that eccentric leg exercises are very valuable in strength training for runners who may have biomechanical limitations in regard to training volume.

I will commonly reduce training volumes in athletes with these concerns and replace some training with eccentric exercises to increase the durability in the muscles crucial for running. Note that most of these exercises were developed to fix chronic tendinopathy. In this use, returning the limb to neutral by the uninjured limbs is important. This isn’t the case in using the eccentric training for increasing run durability.

My routine includes strengthening the following muscles:

• Hip Abductors (Gluteals): The pelvic drop exercise is completed by standing on a step with the exercised leg, while holding onto a wall or stick if necessary for support. With both knees locked, the opposite, noninvolved pelvis was lowered towards the floor. Then, the suspended leg is lowered even further by bending the supporting leg. Finally, the suspended leg swivels and goes through the swing phase of gait by first swinging forward then backwards while the exercised leg stabilized the body by contracting the gluteus medius on that side.The reference used below describes a different exercise but supports eccentric strengthening for ITB syndrome.
• Knee Extensors (Quadriceps): Place your feet shoulder-width apart on an decline board. Lower yourself while standing on the knee intended for exercise (bend the knee approximately 60 degrees), then raise yourself while standing on the opposite knee. Build up to three sets of 15 repetitions, twice a day. You can add dumbells to increase weight as you progress.
• Calf Muscles (Gastrocsoleus): Stand with all your body weight on the exercised leg. From an upright position and standing with all body weight on the forefoot, with the heel extended off the back of a step, the calf muscle is loaded by having lowering the heel beneath the step. The foot is then brought back to neutral with either the use of both ankles. In rehabbing injured ankles, non-injured leg is used to return to the starting position.

The eccentric strengthening of the muscles allow them to be more resistant to the destruction we see during race efforts and hard running.

I hope you find these helpful.

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References:
1. P Jonsson, H Alfredson. Superior results with eccentric compared to concentric quadriceps training in patients with jumper’s knee: a prospective randomised study. Br J Sports Med 2005;39:847 850 LINK: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1725058/pdf/v039p00847.pdf

2. M A Young, J L Cook, C R Purdam, Z S Kiss and H Alfredson Eccentric decline squat protocol offers superior results at 12 months compared with traditional eccentric protocol for patellar tendinopathy in volleyball players 2005;39;102-105 Br. J. Sports Med.

3. Alfredson, H., Pietila, T., Jonsson, P. & Lorentzon, R. Heavy-load eccentric calf muscle training for the treatment of chronic Achilles tendinosis. Am J Sports Med 1998 May-Jun;26(3):360-6

4. Alfredson, H. & Lorentzon, R. Chronic Achilles tendinosis: recommendations for treatment and prevention. Sports Med. 2000 Feb;29(2):135-46.

5. Fredericson M, Wolf C. Iliotibial band syndrome in runners: innovations in treatment. Sports Med. 2005;35:451–459. 21. Fredericson M, Yamamot

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So I am going to stick my neck out there. I wanted to do something cool, and I guess I don’t care if there are 2 or 200 of us, but I want to create a special bus for the Two Oceans Half Marathon. Bus = group of people running together at a determined pace.

Puma are the headline sponsor for the event, and one of my sponsors too. Their focus this year is to run with JOY, to make running a total JOY, so I am going to put together the Bolt JOY bus. I am swopping my sleek aero outfit and heart rate zones for a day to be a part of the masses who finish around 2 hours for the race. We (possibly just me at this point) will depart en masse from the start, with music, lights and vibes. I will be donning the Bolt arms in the picture here:

We’ll have a dedicated photographer (also probably myself but I promise to work on it), a dedicated refreshment stand at the top of the big hill of the day and some great laughs guaranteed on the day.

Joining the Runners World 2 hour bus, we`ll create what the Two Oceans & Puma’s vibe is all about – that the JOY of running is whats important, not the overall time. Yes, some among us want to race for 2 hours, but we may as well have a laugh along the way, listen to some music, pose with the Bolt Arms (will do my best to get a few more sets organised – mail me if you want to wear them) a few times and cheer on the crowds as we go. 2 hours seems an arb number but its a milestone for a lot of runners.

If you are at all keen on this, please drop me a mail on the contact page HERE to let me know you want to be a part of this.

Now copy the page address from this, and send it out on an email, tweet it, put it in your facebook profiles, and lets get the ball rolling on this.

Let’s experience the JOY of running, have some fun and just generally rock out!

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I had a rather strange morning, going to Stellies to collect a car for my pops (check out his rear fender accessory here) and have 2 quick meetings, one with the honorable Dan Hugo, the other with a client.

After waiting for an hour (first meeting quick and klaar early) my 2nd meeting cancelled on me, wait for it, 15 minutes before the meeting was supposed to commence. Via email nogal, which made the taste that more woolies sour worm-ish.

Nevertheless, I took off towards the SafeHouse2.0, with some running gear in the car, and on the way had a look up at the sky, and made the decision to run early, over lunch today. What a decision.

Shirtless, I ran the trail around Lions Head and Signal Hill. 1 hour 7min today. I kid you not, the view was this good towards Clifton…

It was perfectly still.

Since the weekend, and Ironman Hawai, I have had this image stuck in my head, and its jumped back a few times in actual conversation with people.

This is the image…

Its one of the best images I have seen in ages, and gave me goosebumps when I first saw it. Its two guys, at the TOP of their game, in battle. Some people choose to fight battles with their fists, others with their minds. As a guy who loves Ironman, we choose to fight a loooong fight, in the ocean, then over land on a bike, and finally, we don our running shoes for the marathon.

The two guys in the picture are amazing, humble guys in person, from what Dan tells me about Andreas, and from what I know about Crowie, having met the dude last year. I also saw a tweet about them all being together at a braai tonight, chilling, having a good time. Those same two guys.

In that moment, they would not share a potato if it was the last thing on earth, even if they are friendly. They would not give each other an inch. Its the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, and a big paycheck is on the line, as well as a huge amount of honor and history.

Nobody remembers 2nd place in Kona.

F A C T

Pure competition only lasts as long as the competition is running. Further from that, its rivalry that extends to a personal dislike of that said person. Competition isn’t personal. Thats why I love it.

The image has had me thinking about the choices Pro’s make to give up corporate jobs to be there, IN THE MOMENT, in battle, competition, because that’s why they train, for the love of competition. Its why they race, for the love of competition. Yes, there is the money aspect, but I bet if you asked Tiger Woods if he would be happy being a semi-wealthy guy, instead of a billionaire, if the competitions were the same, I bet he would.

That’s why guys CHOOSE to throw their whole lives into the eggbasket of a small sport, in spite of there being limited cash involved.

Its for the competition, to go Mano e Mano on the playing field.

Its pure…

and I am in love with that feeling. To be right there, in the moment. Nothing else exists.

Could that be me? YES, I believe if I had the financial backing to take 3 years to get there, I could be there. I would have to give up just about everything I know, move countries, expectations, life goals, etc to be that guy, and that is why guys like James Cunnama do it, to be there, in that moment, racing the other guy, with ALL you have got.

Its honorable beyond belief in a society filled with fast solutions. There is no fast solution to get to the top. Something reiterated by Dan today during coffee. The kid is looking lean and mean, and knows the value of hard work, but he knows he still has hours to do, to pay his dues, to get to the top. He too, is taking the life I am talking about here.

I salute you, every single pro out there, in any sport, living the dream of being involved in competition in the moment. You are amazing.

I have a tiny drop of jealousy going about this, but value the life I am carving for myself just as much, because I took the chance to pursue a passion really close to me too, which is storytelling, which I now do for a living, leaving the corporate side for this. I have NO regrets. Life is GOOD.

Its alot of thought for a one hour run, but time did seem to stand still there for that while, running there, in the moment, at lunch time on a Tuesday, above one of the most beautiful coastlines in the whole world.

There is very little I would swop that for…

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So, we have all heard of this amazing girl, right? She is fresh out of school, and the world has jumped to conclusions that she is indeed, secretly, a man. Her remarkable increased performances this year shout of some sort of substance abuse, surely, to the negative, pessimistic people out there. That is how they justify the fact that they would never go above and beyond.

I feel so bad for her. You have the incompetence of ASA (Athletics South Africa), combined with the sheer uselessness of Julius Malema (who today proclaimed that no white people were there to welcome her back to SA whilst Grant from the 12-3pm show on 5FM was there, and that he was not the only wit ou in attendance) and in the middle is this amazing talent, a fresh, 18 year old talent.

Imagine you were world class, from a remote area, and in your final year at school – someone saw you and took you to get the proper training, rehab, prehab, nutrition etc. I bet in a year, a rough diamond would be shaped into an incredible talent. We see it ALL the time with Kenyan runners, swimmers around the age of 16, and indeed, amazing talents in South African rugby who come up at 18/19 and shine straight from the Platteland.

Now imagine your administrative bodies failed you, a egotistical headline seeker “Polititian” grabbed your glory to headline his own plight, and that every person who asked you a question was not what you did differently in training, but if you could please remove your pants so they can see, for themselves, if you are ACTUALLY a woman.

Ok, Caster looks big on TV. I bet if you stood next to her she would be small. maybe 1.6m in heigh, and under 50kg in weight. She is muscular, yes, but I bet with her hair loose, and something girly to wear, there would be no claims.

But will we see an imagine like this?

I doubt it. She doesn’t seem to care. I don’t blame her at all and I would be hugely suprised (and ASA huge emboerissssssed) if anything more comes of this.

I hope she breaks the 800m, 1500m world records time and time again. That she continuously puts the pessimists at bay and that indeed, we all take her on as someone to be proud of as a South African, of all colors.

Leave race out of it, you bafoons. For a light humor moment though, click this link… here.

Julia Malema…. hahahah!

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