Why Park Run?

First up what is parkrun? Good question, put simply it is a community organised non-profit weekly timed 5km running/walking event held in various locations all around the world laid out on what is deemed safe and suitable terrain, such as the paths around a park. You can head to the parkrun website for more info.

I ran back to finish with Charley (pictured), Beau and their mates on the weekend.

Bathurst is lucky enough to have a group of hard working volunteers take on the challenge to form a committee and organise an event to take place in Bathurst each week of the year. Awesome news for every single person in town on a Saturday at 8am in my view, but even more awesome news for those involved in the running community and most importantly for my family. I have only praise for those who have committed to the set-up and running of the event each week, I hope to be able to offer my time as often as I can in the future too.

The word parkrun pretty much spells out what it is all about

People.

Parkrun is about community and building bonds between all members of our community, no matter what age, gender, experience or culture we all can run and having an event like this allows us to share this simple pleasure.

Active.

This is a chance to move in a non-judgmental, supportive environment. There are no awards just a chance for runners to turn up and move however they like for 5km each week. A key to developing an active culture within the community.

Running. 
As a coach and performance orientated runner I get the opportunity to use the event each week in a constructive manner. In my coaching I can connect with my athletes and provide my knowledge and skill to those seeking advice in a meaningful manner. As a runner this provides me a regular test within my training plan in a more competitive environment.

Kids. 
My kids can participate in the event each week with my wife and I and also with their friends. Both boys had a ball last week and the challenge of improving each week is definitely there for them. They are really looking forward to turning up each week and having more fun running.

Regular. 
Consistency is key to success in any aspect of life; running is a great example of this. You get out what you put in and having a weekly event to measure your progress against will allow each runner to achieve his or her own individual and unique goals. As a coach having my athletes able to use an event like this is awesome.

A good chance to test yourself each week.

Unrestricted. 
You can do it, so can your kids, your Nan or Pop and even your dog (on a lead of course). Mums and Dads can run with a pram and you don’t have to run the whole way you can walk if that’s what you want to do. Just register and print your bar code, stick to the path and complete the 5km course and you’ll get a time.  Or if you are keen to get involved on a different level you could always volunteer and be involved in an awesome community that way.

Nothing to pay. 
It’s free! and accessible. Sport can be expensive and very time consuming but parkrun offers an affordable and time effective option for everyone to get involved in. See it as a chance to better your best or a chance to start from scratch but see it as an opportunity to participate.

Parkrun Bathurst occurs each week @ 8am in Bicentennial Park at the river end of William St. I encourage everyone to come along for a run or volunteer where you can.

Photo Credit

Western Advocate 

Go Ihsigame

My Next Adventure

This blog originally was meant to have a cool Inov8 video showing running over iced up rocks, snowed under trails and mountains fit for skiing rather than running. But upon reflection my next big adventure is not Snow Trail in September, it's the lead up to the event, all the training and preparation that needs to occur in order to perform at the level that I expect.

The level I have been falling well short of lately.

Yep my feelings towards September are that of excitement, eagerness and intrigue. I am super keen to take part in a snow race and it being at Falls Creek in the Aussie Alps is freaking rad. But I am also keen if not keener to put to bed the endless flow of ups and downs I have been suffering since 2014. 

I won't go back too far, looking more at the last little while but I figure if I'm going to run well again and get that buzz, we all know that feeling of a PB or a solid race, then I have to be completely frank and honest with myself, holding nothing back in review.

1) I took things for granted: my commitment hasn't been perfect. Don't get me wrong I train hard, sacrifice and so on but excellence requires total commitment, it requires total belief and it requires immersing yourself in the moment to achieve what is desired.

2) I became too focused on the events rather than the training required to do them: in short I wanted the cake without baking it first. Yes events are fun, the expo's, friends, celebrations, etc. but it's in the preparation where the real character is developed. I have the mind for this now and while my results are a ways off what I'd like I have also eliminated the DNF from my results sheet of late. I have been working on the mental aspect of my training and with more time and energy expended in preparation before the event the I would hope finishes will turn into solid results.

3) The fundamentals were being glossed over: I need to get back to basics. My running is getting back towards the simple philosophy of developing overall efficiency. Nothing beats time on feet and I probably spent a little too much time worrying about strength work, sacrificing running. I am still including strength in my program but my focus is improving my running for now and the max deadlift is being benched for the time being.

4) My schedule was a mess: routine is key to success. Due to circumstances in work and life in general that were not always within my control, I too easily adjusted things here and there, doing this run today not tomorrow or shaving 10min so I could squeeze it in after lunch. This approach to training will get me through races, but it won't give me the competitive edge on race day. I always tell my athletes to believe in the process, it's time for me to have patience and faith that the consistency of sticking with a training program will return results. I have seen this with my clients and now its my turn to put this into practice to get back to my best.

My year so far has been a great learning curve and I feel that looking towards the back end of 2016 I can implement the required changes to be running more consistently. I don't want a good performance followed by a bad one, I want a steady flow of solid running and from that I will move into races performing well, knowing what to expect of my body. I have been very unpredictable in my big events thus far in 2016, both Buffalo and UTA had good moments that were derailed by clear conditioning issues leading to substandard performances. I expect better of myself than this but I got what I deserved and now it's time to act rather than let things continue to flow along.

I need to be more hungry, motivated, determined, focused and competitive with my myself. It's time to have a break from racing, focus on quality training and get things right, not for anyone else but for myself. I need to be true to myself and with a winter of training ahead it is time to get excited about just running again.

Below is a photo journey of my last few months.

Buffalo Stampede 2016 - The Skymarathon money shot by Steve Harris.
I'd love to feel great racing up the big walk one day.

STS Manly Dam - things were looking far better....

than at Knapsack a few weeks later!

Orange Volcanic Mtn Challenge 2016 - another performance well off my best
but it's always good to get on the trails around Mt Canobolas again and
 as usual I wasn't disappointed.

Bathurst Half Marathon 2016 - my slowest half since Mudgee in 2012 but a rad shot
showing the joy of getting a high five from dad. I was just as happy post high five too.

Buffalo Stampede - finishing on Mt Buffalo was made a bit sweeter by having my family there
to share the moment. I struggled getting up the mountain but the gallery loop was a race highlight.

Ultra Trail Australia 2016 - another not so good result but
a finish and rad weekend away in the mountains.
Photo Bomb Credit - Kerry Suter.

Lithgow King of the Mountain 2016 - 3 wins on the trot, although a win my performance was sub-standard after
coming back from injury just 9 days earlier. As you can see the Force is Strong in my Boys.

“Just” The Short Course

“Just” The Short Course

No doubt we have all heard this answer when asking what race are you doing today?

I’ll start with a question. Why is it an issue for a runner to choose the shorter option at a trail event that offers a variety of competitive distances?

STS Manly Dam Jan 2016
 2nd Medium Course

We are lucky these days to have the opportunity to be involved in several events on both road and trail that offer a range of distances giving runners more options to choose from. My reflection is that in the past I have been more likely to run the longest (or second longest) option available having only run two competitive 5km races, many of the early STS 10km races back when it was the longest option on offer (no official road 10km though) and a handful of half marathons. I have probably ran in close to as many marathons or ultra’s as I have below marathon distance in my 3 years of running! Is this slightly crazy?!?!

Over the weekend I felt, after discussing it with coach Dave, the 12km at STS was best for me with where I am at in my training. The longer option was tempting but I didn’t need to run the extra 9 or 10km just because I could. People afterwards remarked (surprisingly) that I had dropped down to the shorter option… why? I thought.

The reasons why someone might choose and why I chose to run a race that is not the longest on offer might be:

-       They don’t want to recover for as long. I needed to get back into training straight away and couldn’t afford the additional recovery time needed (yes you need to recover even in ultra running).

-       The higher intensity effort offers a different feeling for the runner. I needed to test my threshold and speed and a race seemed like a great opportunity.

-       They may be practicing aspects of their racing in the shorter event. I wanted to see how my climbing at intensity was before my upcoming mountain races to specifically direct my training for this type of running.

-       They might want to run 5 or 10km or 6  or 8, whatever the distance is instead of the long course. The STS events are all competitive these days in my view and no matter what distance I race I will be tested so I wanted to test myself in a shorter event.

-       People may want to socialise before and after the event. I wanted to catch up with people after the race and normally after the long course I can’t for the need to leave or having been out for so long already (yes I have a life out of running too).

So why are we pushing to run the longest we can in a trail event? Is it becoming a culture within trail running?

The UTA has 4 options and I am not decided on what length I will race at the moment. I will make the choice closer to the date based on my fitness and situation. At Buffalo I am running the Skymarathon and I haven’t actually locked in an ultra for 2016 yet, nor am I about to. I am approaching my racing in a more minimal way with the intention of performing to my potential each time. I am sure I will continue to run ultras and the long events into the future but I am also going to run the vertical km or 5km races too.

Do we feel pressured to run long too often?

Yes, I feel we do. “Others do so I must” or “because he/she can so why can’t I?” People are far more open to see what others are doing in their running with blogs, social media, Strava, running groups, clubs and so on. This will inevitably lead to a sub pressure to keep up along with the risk of injury, poor performance, adrenal fatigue or burn out. One thing I am certain about as a coach when I discuss racing with my clients, I always suggest what is best for them based on their goals, their fitness and their program, nothing else. They then can chose what race they do but hopefully with a better understanding of what they need or require. This is and has to be individual for each person.

So perhaps into the future the need to be more supportive of why people are running and not what event they are running in will become the focus. And yes there is nothing tougher than slogging out an ultra, but it is also bloody hard going holding threshold for 30, 40 or 60 minutes. So get out and run whether it is short, long or medium in distance but do it because you want to not because everyone else is or expects you to!

2015 - Getting Real About the Year I Had

Knsapsack 3hr - Driven and focused.

Picture this: A running kit set out ready for a runner that more often than not would have to pack it into a bag for a shorter lunchtime run at work or away in the drawer because the morning session was missed all together. Or a foot that was so painful for the first 15min of every day, that it was feared before bed at night and on top of this hopping out of the car and simply applying force to stand up was a challenge.

Perhaps though, the planned and carefully executed first four months of the year that had led me to the best running shape I’ve been in would have indicated that the first two sentences would have related to someone else, not me! But they didn’t, it was the battle I was facing for the vast majority of 2015 and at times I was keeping these feelings very close to my chest.

Numbers, goals, races and trends were the focus. I was over analysing my stats tracking forward to race specific goals for the year and according to these figures I was on for a good year. That didn’t happen and a combination of injury, illness, over reaching, stress management, over planning and a lack of accountability eventually took it’s toll and my year went opposite to the plan. DNFs, DNSs, missing PBs by massive amounts, a decreased training load, failed sessions and a drop in motivation/commitment was becoming the norm as well as a loss in the desire to race.

I struggled throughout the back end of the year with injury, that was no secret but I kept my feelings towards my running internal, fearing for some reason that if I spoke about it would be reality, that maybe if I ignored the feelings they’d go away. They did not.

Bathrust Half - celebrating numbers rather
than my actual performance

Throughout the year my coaching role at UP Coaching had expanded and I had been coaching client’s on a weekly basis in 2015. Brendan has been very supportive of me in this role and while I haven’t made as many training days or session’s as I’d like, my clients have been working well in their individual programs. I had a good year coaching, learning a great deal, and successfully assisting clients achieving goals while building my programming theory to suit a variety of runners from all walks of life. Coaching is and will continue to be a part of my running journey and at UP Coaching I believe I can continue to assist my clients as I am constantly reviewing my coaching principles and beliefs aiming to continue to grow as a coach.

Of late I have slowly but surely became more driven to run for fun as opposed to Strava, result sheets or training logs. The need for big numbers started to replace the need for key sessions and runs to either build me physically or satisfy me emotionally and spiritually. I refocused my thoughts to why I run and dropped the desire to have the highest log, fastest average pace or most climb in a week, that all is bullshit anyway.

Hounslow - the starting point for my refocus late in the year.

Numbers don’t resonate much with me anymore, they have their role to play but they do not dictate my running like they did. I am trying to be more intrinsic with my running and drive from within rather than from an external force. I do not want to look for praise or attention with my running, I simply want the desire to drive myself to the performance I am capable of and be satisfied with that. I want my running to be a positive outlet and constructive aspect of my life, fulfilling me by feeding my competitive nature as well as my natural instinct to explore.

TVT at Kosci NP - Favourite run
of the year.

Recently I have read books rather than journals, ran in places rather than races and put less thought into my running than over the last 18 months. wards the end of the year I had a chat with Brendan about my position as a coach and athlete. We had a good talk about the need for me to have someone looking over my running and I felt the need to separate my running and coaching to ensure both were reaching their potential and he was supportive of my feelings. I have been working with Dave, Ben and Tiger at RunCrew since late November and the focus is now 6 Foot, no thoughts required just run each session and rest then recover for the next, a perfect formula. I now have the accountability and placed the responsibility of my programming with someone else for the year ahead and I feel great about it in so many ways.

I was lucky to be supported by many great people in 2016, most importantly Kel my wife (who has had her own battles on top of putting up with mine), my boys Charley and Beau and our families. Without the support of these people I would have completely melted myself by the end of the year. I am also part of a genuine and for the most part honest community of people, runners who run for fun and enjoyment, competition and achievement and come from all different backgrounds each adding their own individualism to the mix. I also should mention Blair here as throughout the year when we had planned to train together he kept me honest and consistent  which is what I lacked from April on, he had a great year himself and deserved every result he achieved.

Colour Run Fun

Inov-8 Australia/Barefootinc. Hammer Nutrition, Mountain Sports and Sydney Trail Series have all been very supportive of me throughout 2015. I am fortunate the gear I use and races I compete in are willing to support me and I remain grateful for what they do for me as an ambassador of their product. I try to remain authentic and partial when looking at races and gear and will only ever present my view not someone else’s.

I look forward to another adventure filled year in 2016. Already we are 11 days down and I have been thinking long and hard about this blog, since very early in December in fact. I have started, stopped, rewritten, avoided writing and procrastinated in the process, ironic it seems as that’s what my running had done since April. I am clear of mind, realistic, full of belief and newly motivated for the next 12 months of my life and the balance of family, work and running.

I know this because my house is tidy, my kit are not staying laid out in the morning and the front door step has a little collection of Inov-8 kicks building up each week.

STS Kamay - trying but not succeeding but still happy. 

Snow drifts and clear trails at Winburndale Reserve
east of Bathurst.

Nambucca Heads - running for fun!

Mt Towac - summiting mid-race.

Hassans Walls - taking time out.