Harder, Faster, Longer

Want to go harder, faster, longer? If so, you have come to the right place, get ready to receive some advice that will change your running for the better.

1) Believe in yourself

It sounds simple but so many runners needlessly doubt themselves, I include myself in this category. If you have your trainers on and are getting out of the door you’re already doing great. Our bodies were designed to endure incredible physical stress, our minds on the other hand are prone to the odd wobble. For example this weekend at mile 7 of my run I thought I was literally done for but I got a mouthful of water and ended up running miles 7-10 quicker than miles 4-7. It was my mind that was playing tricks on me, my actual body was more than up for the challenge.

2) Get your carbs in

I am not a doctor or a nutritionist but this much I know. A high-carb vegan diet rich in fruits and vegetables of over 3000 calories a day has seen me lose 7kg and this weekend I ran 10 miles in 1:17.23. I am still 10 weeks away from the Edinburgh Marathon and currently my recovery and energy levels are great and the PB’s keep coming my way.

3) Swing your arms

It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing, isn’t that how the song goes? Well anyway, swinging those arms really helps especially when tackling hills. You want to have your arm bent at a 45 degree angle and push them right back it shouldn’t feel forced, just find a rhythm that works for you. I did some work with the amazing Ade at Fit City and I have seen some massive improvements in my times and running form as a result

4) Hydration

Get up drink a litre of water. Before breakfast, before radio 4, make it the first thing you do everyday. Hydration is essential to maintaining a health digestion. A well hydrated runner will start to come into their own in the later stages of the race. I made a mistake of under hydrating in my December Ashford Marathon and I will never do that again. I aim to urinate at least once every 2 hours making sure my urine is clear (I can’t believe I talk about urine in blogs).

5) Smile

Runners smiling at me lifts my spirits and keeps my pace up, runners who saying hello actually make my day. Runners are a special breed; we only really understand each other the very least we can do is smile at each other.

In 10 weeks time I will be running the Edinburgh Marathon, I literally can’t wait now Spring has arrived, I am getting faster, starting to dream about that 3:30 perhaps it is possible. After my 10 miles in 1:17.23 perhaps it isn’t a pipe dream after all.

Let me know your tips for great running. Thanks for reading, you’re all superstars I appreciate all of you very much.

Running inspiration on World Book Day

Today is World Book Day! With the boom in the popularity of running, the advent of YouTube and more satellite sports channels, there are more great running books than ever.

To celebrate World Book Day, I have decided to list a couple of the running books which has inspired me.

Born To Run

No surprise here. The story sees Injury prone runner and journalist Chris McDougall goes in search of an elusive figure in the ultra marathon world Caballo Blanco (White Horse). His journey takes him  the Copper Cannons the home of the worlds greatest long distance runners the Tarahumara. Chris explores the secrets of the Tarahumara, the history of ultra-running and science behind barefoot running. A group of the worlds greatest ultra runners end up in the Copper Cannons taking place in the greatest race the world has ever seen, this book includes vegan ultra running legend Scott Jurek.

Finding Ultra

Rich Roll was 40 years old, unfit, unhappy in his career as a lawyer and a secret alcoholic. After his 40th birthday he decided this was going to change. He embarked on a remarkable journey which sees him adopt a vegan diet and take part in Ultraman, basically IronMan x3, his journey is a remarkable one and essentially reading for anyone wanting to do something extraordinary.

Eat and Run

Scott Jurek is a legend in the ultra marathon world, he won the prestigious Great Western States 100 mile race 7-times in a row and the Badwater ultra marathon through Death Valley twice. He discusses his upbringing and unlikely running journey. Scott went Vegan in 1999 and believes this has played a key role in ability to recover and run harder for longer.

Running with the Kenyans

This book sees British author Adharanand Finn go and train alongside the aspiring runners in Kenya. He reveals their training secrets and he goes on a barefoot running journey of discovery.

What I talk about when I talk about running

A runners classic, Murakami talks about what drives him to run, why running matters to him and how it enables him to write. A brilliant book which will make you look into yourself and explore the reasons you run.

If you decide to buy these books, please do through using the links in the titles above. The money will go to funding the Rich Roll Podcast as I have used his affiliate links.

What are your favourite running books? Drop me a tweet or comment below. Happy reading and running!

How running and a vegan diet changed my life

Sometimes in life you find yourself being a passenger. The easy thing to do is to heed to the advice of Hunter S Thompson and simply; “sit back and enjoy the ride”. It is safe to say we’re all guilty of doing this at times. In this hectic world we exist in it’s easy to let malaise set in and let go of our dreams, career aspirations, relationships and our health. The last one ‘our health’, that was the one for me. I consider myself someone who lives in the present, who is ambitious, finds the courage to speak my mind and stand up for others. I didn’t believe I was a passenger but in that one area ‘my health’, I was cruising in the wrong direction.

Then about a year ago one Sunday the sun was shining and I had recently been discussing wanting to go running again. It had been 6 months since I managed any kind of run and over 2 years since I had managed more than 10 miles in a week. Somehow I made it out the door and set out for a run around a part of Victoria Park, it was a beautiful day I enjoyed that part of the run. I didn’t enjoy the constant stopping, the blisters forming on my feet and the slow speed I was running at. I think I ran about 3.8 miles in somewhere around 39 minutes, before walking the last half a mile home. Not my finest moment, but I had done the hardest thing, I got out there and tried.

“So I did what I do normally do, I made a plan. I am a big fan of plans”.

My plan was that I would run 2/3 times a week and build up to the point where I could run 5k without needing to stop. This took me about 4 weeks and was helped massively by my friend Lauren Garland who came running with me as she prepared for a marathon. I still remember some of those runs around Hackney Downs for the awful wind and rain but Lauren coming round to my flat and getting me out helped me loads, I think I will be forever grateful to you for that Lauren if you are reading this.

“Little things… Little things count”.

I then joined GoodGym and started running more regularly on my own. After a few months a injury struck not surprisingly considering  the extended vacation of over 2 years I had given my body with the exception of casual bike commuting. This led to a spell on the sidelines, I had physio, I read books (Born To Run, Eat and Run, Running with the Kenyans) and I thought about how the previous 3 months had made me feel. And the answer was it had made me feel alive, it made me start to have little dreams. Not the kind of dream where I fantasise about finding an affordable house in Hackney but the kind of dream where I push my body, my mind and my heart to achieve something memorable to me.

“Create memorable experiences, they are worth a thousand material things”.

So what happened next? I slowly recovered from my Achilles injury, I built myself up again, running exclusively 5k’s for my first month back. Just hit that 10 mile base was my mantra.

Last weekend I had came down with 24 hour fever which left me feeling pretty drained it was the first illness of any type I had endured since May 2013. I somehow managed a 3 mile run which was incredibly hard and it meant that I only recorded 11.8 miles last week. I was devastated that after the storming previous week I had fallen some 10 miles short of my Edinburgh Marathon training plan.

Then I realised that is how far I have come in the space of just over a year. I have transformed myself physically and mentally, I feel more ambitious to do good things than ever, I am far more positive person than I was a year ago, I am looking to the future not glancing at the past.

I lost about 7kg, dropping from around 77kg to 70kg today. I eat more than ever, I eat when I want, I never restrict my calories. Honestly a low-fat vegan diet has done wonders for my physical and mental wellbeing. I was a vegetarian before but when I went vegan I realised how much more efficient my body was running on plants, grains and fruits. It was a real revelation. Whatever your diet, I encourage you to eat more plants and lots more fruit, I believe going is a key reason I have improved quickly as a runner.

So yeah, running rocks! Fruit rules and so do you if you made it this far.