This London Marathon Special #marathonspotlight comes from Kyle Greig. Fresh from his latest 100km race in New Zealand, Kyle informs us on training plans and trail running. How to jump over electrical fences and where the best water is found in natural streams. Many thanks to Kyle for this great blog….enjoy, share and good luck to all in London this weekend…..the Hay is in the Barn!!
Marathons completed?
After 22 years of running I decided to do my first marathon at the ripe old age of 29 years. My first marathon was London Marathon in 2016 followed by Loch Ness in that year and the same format in 2017 which brings my total to 4 all beginning with the letter ‘L’!
Technically, I would also argue that an Ultra-Marathon is a marathon so that would mean I have completed 2 x 50km (The Haworth Hobble and the World Trail Running Championship) races and a 100km in New Zealand as part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour.
So…I am going to say 7!
PB Marathon time?
2 hours 25 minutes at London Marathon in 2016.
Favourite marathon and why?
Well…I have only ran in 2 locations and they are both completely different from each other. It has to be London Marathon for 2 reasons; the support from the spectators truly is outstanding (accompanied by my sore legs, I’m sure I had tinnitus for a few days post race) and the course is sooo quick if you are with a good pack of runners.
Worst marathon memory and why?
Again, it has to be London Marathon of last year…After getting my first Great Britain call up, I went into the race thinking I was fit enough to run a low 2 hours 20 minutes. However, I ran a 50km race only 6 weeks before that as part of the trial for the World Ultra Trail Championships and convinced myself that I could still perform well by squeezing in specific marathon training within 3 weeks (minus recovery from the 50km and taper pre marathon).
I reached the half marathon point around the 71 minutes 30 seconds mark, which was exactly what I wanted and then at the 17 mile mark….’BOOM’ the wheels came off! I went from averaging 5.28 minute per mile to 5.55 minute miles to 6.20 minute miles in the last couple of miles…eventually waddling home in 2 hours 29 minutes and 55 seconds.
Although it was a disaster, I learnt so many lessons about my marathon build and the need to be realistic in the goals that I set. On reflection, if I was to run a little more conservative that day, I’m convinced I would have been able to get a small PB as I had the endurance but simply wasn’t able to cope with the initial pace/speed in the first half of my race and that would have been due to the long slightly slower paced runs I was doing…
What tips would you give on constructing a training plan? 80:20, Pfitz, Hal Higdon or other?
I am incredibly lucky to have an incredibly knowledgeable coach, Lewis Walker, who I have been with for around 5 years now. In a nutshell, he has taking my times from 33 minutes to 30 minutes in a 10k, 78 minutes to 68 minutes for a half marathon and to winning my first senior national title at the Scottish Trail championships, a GB vest and coming 26th at the World Championships and 1st Brit home…something I never thought was possible a few years ago.
So…in terms of training, I don’t have any specific ‘go to’ resource but I think you should consider and try out what works for you – that might mean taking snippets from different resources – trying them out and if it doesn’t work for you – try something else. There is so many disciplines in running and each one will mean that your training or training methods will differ whether you are training to complete your first 5km or attempt a PB on your 5th marathon.
That being said, every good training method/programme should always have consistency, decent volume, active recovery and be goal specific. These 4 factors have definitely brought out the best in me.
The major improvements I mentioned came from running 30 miles per week and bumping this up to and consistently running 60 to 90 miles per week. I ease off when I need to and keep my key sessions relative to the distance I was training for.
Funniest Training Moment?
I always end up getting lost on runs. This used to be funny but nobody laughs anymore as I do it so often. Thankfully, I have a Suunto Spartan watch that tells me where to go or how to get back to the start. Anyways, whilst being lost and out on a long run I decided to take a short cut through a field full of cows. I straddled the fence and unbeknown to me I started getting some fairly unpleasant electric shocks in the genital region and ended up looking like a bucking cowboy! It wasn’t funny at the time as it was bloody painful, but it’s funny on reflection.
If you were to give away a running hack what would it be?
- If training for a half or marathon distance, try out a 20 to 60 minute easy run whilst fasted in the morning to train your body to utilize the energy systems more efficiently.
- Do short hill sprints once or twice per week if you don’t do much strength work in the gym.
- If you are going out for a long run and have no friends like me then listen to a running podcast!
Hydration & Nutrition snack of choice on long runs?
I use Hi Five gels when doing long runs and drink water either from a bottle or fresh from a mountain stream avoiding sheep shite and dead animals…LOL.
After a long run, there is nothing better than a nice cold beer.
Shoes – minimal or maximal?
I am a bit of a running shoe whore hoarder so I use both minimal and maximal! Probably a mix really!
Most of my runs are on trail so I will wear a trail neutral shoe such as the Salomon Sense Ride, which has some minimal and maximal features.
When I’m racing and doing a hard/fast session, I like to wear a light and minimal shoe. I used to wear minimal shoes all the time but started getting a lot of achilles pain so I always try to run my easy runs in either a trail or cushioned neutral road shoe.
What is your Mantra a) when running b) when coaching c) Life
I don’t really use Mantra’s (I just go out and run so maybe a Forest Gump Mantra would fit the bill for me!) but if I did it is probably something simple like ‘Train Hard, Win Easy’!
Terrain – trail, track or tarmac?
TRAILS!!! If you don’t run on your trails…you’re missing out bigtime! I do run on road aswell but only if I have to – especially if training for a road race. I also try get on the track to work on my speed and pacing.
Top tip for #project345 ?
Take your taper seriously – reduce volume and still include a couple of shorter fast runs at your marathon pace or slightly faster. The hay is in the barn buddy!
Feel free to follow me and my wife’s blog:
https://wetriandrun.wordpress.com/
My strava:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1791118
Thanks Kyle for a great Marathon Spotlight. It was a great insight into training and running. Some really great information there and thanks for sharing.
Please drop past Kyle and his wife’s ( Debbie) blog above
Thanks for reading
Run Long and Prosper
James
