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12 Months to Marathon - Episode 8 - The Quickest Way to Hate Running · 12 Months to Marathon

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to the 12 months to marathon podcast with me, John Hill, the running podcast for the over 35s with Marathon Dreams, episode 8.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Still here in sunny Poland.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm travelling back tomorrow as I record this with my lovely tan, which looks like I've been to Spain or Greece for two weeks.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: When I haven't, I've been to Poland.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely glorious weather.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: The rest of this week's going to be highs of 29-30 degrees.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been pretty good.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: I've had some lovely runs around here, uh, finding out some new places to go and run.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, don't found a track as well, which was a good and a bad thing because I hate running on a track.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I did a decent run on a track and also got wiped out by a particular run on a track, which I'm kind of going to talk about today a little bit.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where I'm at.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still training for high rocks in October.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I have a 10k in a couple of weeks in Worcester, and we'll see how we get on there.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, yeah, it's all going quite well.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I want to talk about this week is well, I suppose it's the quickest way, put intended, to hate running.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and the quickest way to hate running, in my opinion, is to run fast or to run faster than you are comfortable with at the stage of the journey that you're at.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean by that is if you are training for a particular race and you're training to get faster, then you need to do interval training and things like that to push yourself beyond your current potential.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason why you do that to keep it simple, I'm not very technical, I don't like to be too technical.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I I think people need simplicity, is because what you want to do is train your body to tolerate faster paces.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's literally so all these different names like tempo and interval and all this.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is, all you're doing is training your body to cope with faster paces, and one thing I like and I use myself when I particularly when I did my sub three marathon, was said I have to change my easy pace so that when I go back for an easy run, quote unquote, um, I have to make that pace quicker than it currently is so I can condition my body to be okay with faster paces, if that makes sense.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, unless you are training for a specific race where you're trying to get faster, the quickest way to hate running is to run fast, particularly at the start of a journey.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because what happens is people will come out of the traps far too quick, they will lose their breathing, which is the most calming thing you can do, is breathe, and then they will absolutely capitulate on a run, and that puts them off.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen that put people off for for dare I say life sometimes because they don't understand that you have to go out at a pace that's manageable for the distance that you're running at, and if you can't hold the pace you're running at in your first mile, you need to slow down because you are going to ruin your experience of running.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've had a couple of runs this week where I've been caught up in a little bit of bravado where I've thought to myself, wow, you know, I'm I'm sleeping more because I'm technically supposed to be on holiday.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm I'm gonna go out and smash a you know track session, I'm gonna do some 400s.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I did that the other day and I completely wiped out, my breathing was out, my legs were out, it just didn't feel right.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now I went through a bit of mental turmoil there because I expect more of myself, but then the following two days I went for quite a slow run the day after, based on where I'm at, and the day after that, I just ran and hit a particularly good 10k for me, where my splits were within a second from miles two to miles six, they were in a second, which is fantastic.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's something I also teach about splits, that's a different thing for another day.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: But because I slowed down and took a step back and said, How do I enjoy running again?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I took my foot off the gas a little bit and just said, Let's just chill out, we've got time, let's get our conditioning levels up and let's get ourselves sorted.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, as I say that, I feel better just articulating that on this podcast.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you've got to do that, you've got to take a step back and say, What's my real intention here?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: What am I trying to do?
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you just keep running fast all the time, or you think you've got to run fast because you're comparing yourself to people online, I promise you, you're gonna fall out of love with running, and that's what can happen.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I find myself in a position where I'm updating Strava, and I'll be thinking in my head, oh, I've got to put an easy run here because um the people will think, you know, oh god, that's a bit slow for him, and it's ridiculous, and it's absolutely ridiculous, and no one cares.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I did quite a funny post on my Instagram uh the other day as I record this, just saying, you know, how euphoric it is when you realize that all these random strangers don't actually care how fast you're running, because it's not for anybody else, it's for you.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: This process is yours, and you shouldn't ever feel under any pressure to hit any sort of pace.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there is a big difference between who you are as a person and how you perform.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So your performance is separate from you as a person.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're trying to improve your performance, then you should be able to be tough on your performance and eat go easy on yourself.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are trying to run faster for an event, then you need to look at your performance and judge that accordingly.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: But that's got nothing to do with you as a person, or you being a failure, or any of this nonsense, or any of these words that don't really help or serve you well.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, what you need to remember is consistency is the is is everything, okay?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Consistency is everything in everything.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I come from a fitness background, and people are not successful with health and fitness, or let's use the expression getting in shape or losing weight, because that's primarily where I come from, because they don't stick to things, they can point the fingers, they can blame external circumstances, they can blame whatever they want.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is a healthy human being who has gained quite a bit of weight, for example, uh, and needs to lose that weight, just needs to stick to something and see it through.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's the thing.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, and my advice there, if that's a journey that you're on, is give yourself 12 weeks, commit to something for 12 weeks and then assess the results.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Not 12 days, 12 weeks, and you'll know after that period of time whether the thing is going to work or not.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: You won't know after 12 days.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, every impulse inside you as a human being will say, Oh, I'm impatient, I'm impatient, I'm impatient, I need to see results quickly, and that's fine.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: But if that's what you've always done and you've always failed, I suggest that for once you try consistency.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Which leads me nicely into the running thing.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you run too fast in your first mile of a run or your first kilometer, however you judge it, that's gonna make you blow out and that's gonna jeopardise the rest of the run.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it's quite easy to get led into conformity.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say you're at a particular race and you're surrounded by certain people, and I'll always remember a marathon I did many years ago.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: A friend of mine said, watch everybody around you and just be careful because it was downhill at the start, and everyone's gonna come flying out, and you just need to be a little bit careful that you don't as well, because this is a marathon, it's not a sprint, as the old expression goes, and that's true.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, from a practical sense, number one, remember that running fast will put you off running, especially unintentionally, if you don't do it based on a strategic plan, because you will lose control of your breathing.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And distance running is about control.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned splits earlier, it's a separate podcast, it's an ongoing thing, but splits or good splits put you in control of a run, and that will help you on distance running, particularly half marathon marathon.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and breathing plays a big part into that.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if you lose your breathing too early, it's gonna mess up your run, and what will happen is you'll panic and then you'll start questioning yourself, and you won't look at it as a performance thing, you'll take it personally and you'll say things like, I can't do this, and you'll make the biggest mistake that a lot of people make, which I've seen in a fitness game, which is they will say they will make sorry permanent decisions based on temporary situations and emotions, and you can't make permanent decisions based on temporary situations or emotions.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: You have to look at something as it is.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a bad run and you know it's because you came out too quick, when you go out again, slow it down.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: If anybody challenges you or bothers you about it, ignore them.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to do it your own way, you've got to go at your own pace.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna fall in love with this and gonna get better at it, you have to conquer this one thing, you have to understand that your pacing is very important, and particularly at the start of a journey, if you get it wrong, you're going to hate this experience and it will put you off for life.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: And what we don't want to do is we don't want to put you off for life, particularly if you're like me and you're you know you're a runner over 35, and maybe you're getting back into it, or maybe you you've discovered it in middle age.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: The last thing you want is to make it even more painful than it has to be.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't, it can be a very invigorating experience, but it all comes down to balance and it all comes down to how you measure yourself, and you have to measure yourself your right way.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is why running apps like Striver are fantastic, but they can also be a hindrance because I look down my Striver, and the average pace I would say on my Striver is about 10 minute miles.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the average pace in the UK, they reckon for a runner is about 10 minute miles.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so if you're running at 10 minute miles or in and around that, you're average, yeah.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's okay because if you think about the span of people that run, you know, you've got everything from 15 minute miles to six minute miles or whatever it might be, 10 minute miles is okay, but that's comparing yourself to the average.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: You need to compare yourself to you and who you were yesterday, going back to my previous discussions around you are a runner and things like that.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: So to wrap this one up, it's quite simple.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Manage your pace, and the quickest way to hate running is to run fast or faster than you should do based on where you are.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Ignore everybody else, do it your own way.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if your goal is to get better and conquer certain distances, the first question you need to ask when you start a run is can I hold this pace for the length of my run?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: If the answer is no, slow down.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's really as simple as that.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so the quickest way to hate running, run faster than you need to, lose control of your breathing, and then the rest of the run will be a problem.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Get hold of that, get control of that, and the rest of it should be quite simple.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I've learned that from personal experience this week.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I had a couple of bad experiences when I didn't and when I didn't need to, and I had to really have a word of myself, so it's always a lesson, and every day is always a school day.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So there you go.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is episode eight of the 12 months to marathon podcast.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for listening as always.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I do appreciate it.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to like and share the podcast and follow it wherever you get your podcasts from.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: I really, really appreciate that.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Also, hop over to Instagram 12 months to marathon.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can follow me over there for daily running tips.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to get in touch and have a chat about running coaching, if you've got a spring marathon coming up, or if you're looking to PBs any PB any runs in the autumn winter, let me know.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: I would love, I'd love to have a chat to you and see how you get on.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: So don't forget to hook me up over on Instagram uh because we can have a chat over there.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you're not looking for any coaching, it'd be good to connect.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Have a fantastic day and week, and I will look forward to speaking to you all very soon.