One grey and dank morning back in November 2020 I broke my hip coming off my bike avoiding a head on collision with a car. I was in a lot of pain, in shock and afraid. I was riding alone, but quickly joined by supportive cyclists and the driver of the car who I had … Continue reading My lessons from rehabilitation
As a female runner and coach of women (not exclusively) I want to encourage a better understanding of our monthly cycle and how we can maximize it in our training and racing. Let’s start with a quick recap of the female cycle and a reminder of terminology. The number of days for each phase is personal … Continue reading Maximizing training around the female cycle
Running, whilst not up there on the injury rankings like rugby, or horse riding, is still a high impact sport therefore sadly injury is common. A British Journal of Sports Medicine indicated that 75% of runner’s get injured each year[1]. In particular, training for a marathon or half marathon is hard on your body and … Continue reading Injury prevention and cure
I was asked by the Guardian to give my top five tips for acing your first race of 2020. Read on to find out more; Train smart. It doesn’t have to be all about the mileage, key to successful training is ensuring varied intensities and distances in your weekly programme. A good basic formula is … Continue reading Top tips for acing your first race in 2020
You may just have got into the ballot or gained a charity place for a Spring marathon such as the London Marathon, Brighton Marathon or Paris Marathon and have questions about your training. I thought I’d share commonly asked questions and my responses. When should I start training for a Spring Marathon? Classically runners train … Continue reading Coach’s Q and A – Marathon training
At the last track session ahead of the London Marathon at my running club the atmosphere was one of nervous anxiety and a few cases of self-diagnosed ‘mara-noia’ (marathon related paranoia) as over 30 runners were preparing to run 26.2. I was intrigued to learn about the variety of approaches to nutrition during tapering. As … Continue reading Tapering diet – fact or fiction?
Why it is that we do certain speedwork sessions as runners? You may be part of a club or group where you grind out your weekly track and speed sessions, but wonder other than a virtuous feeling, what running 200m repeatedly vs running 5 x 1km actually gives you in terms of training benefit? Here … Continue reading Science behind the sessions
During a recent cross country race I found myself second to an athlete who historically has performed better than me across many distances. I hadn’t entered the race expecting to be in contention of winning, but as it progressed I drew closer to her and over a technical section I actually had a lead. I’ve … Continue reading Mind over matter – How much of running is in your head?
I’m fortunate to have had a good couple of weeks of racing and I have been reflecting on why this is. Hopefully here are some takeaways for other runners. Training As background my weekly training consists of the following; 3 x runs a week – speedwork on the track ranging from 200’s to 2km reps, … Continue reading Focusing on the positives – taking stock when you are running well
Ahead of Sir Mo’s last high profile track race (5,000m on 12th August 2017) at the World Championships in London can he now be recognised in Brendan Foster’s[1] words as ‘The greatest distance runner of all time’? How has Mo achieved this accolade and how can we as recreational runners learn from the master? Defining … Continue reading Is Sir Mo Farah ‘The greatest distance runner of all time’?
Running Coach South Oxfordshire 