WhittleFit Blog

Busting Common Endurance Running & Marathon Myths

My clients are a savvy lot. But I still hear a lot of misconception and confusion about endurance running. It's time to bust some myths! Here's the truth...…

The Marathon Training Myth: "You need to run at least 20 miles in training for a marathon or Ironman distance triathlon"

The truth: there's nothing magical about the 20-mile marker.

I get it, running a marathon or doing an Ironman triathlon is a daunting prospect (on that note, have you read my Ironman Frankfurt race report - it's here). It's understandable that people still believe the old advice about running 20, 22 or 24 miles at least once in training.

The truth is somewhat different. I encourage athletes to think beyond distance and time on their feet in training. There are other factors to consider, which may mean you don't need to touch 20 miles in training at all:

Do as much as is necessary for aerobic development. Research shows that 90-120 minutes of running brings about the most mitochondrial growth and is therefore the sweet spot for aerobic development. And this is the main goal of those long runs.
Don't run 20+ miles just because it will boost your confidence. Long runs also make you very tired, and demand a lot of recovery time, both of which could impact your new found confidence.
Train your technique. Form tends to deteriorate towards the end of very long runs. Scale back the long distances and train good running technique every time you run.
Rethink the structure of your training week. Instead of one long run taking up 50% or more of your time and mileage, increase total volume slightly by adding in a greater number of useful sessions like tempo runs.
Try splitting your long run across the weekend: 8-10 miles at marathon race pace on Saturday, then a slow 16-18 miles on Sunday with the final 4-6 miles at marathon race pace.

The Easy Run Myth: "Run faster on easy recovery runs, and you'll get faster more quickly"

The truth: recovery runs are easy for a reason!

The Gear Debate: Electronic Bike Shifting versus Manual Shifting

Electronic gears are becoming more commonplace in road biking and triathlon. But like any new kit development, there are pros and cons. Want to know my opinion? Let's get geeky!

Manual gear shifting has dominated road cycling, and triathlon, for as long as we can remember. There have been major developments (in the early days, there were only two gears!) and shifter/cable positioning has progressed a lot. But now there's a new kid on the block: electronic shifting. How will it change the way we switch gears out on the road?

The history of electronic shifting - This new tech looks set to revolutionise the way we change gear on the bike. Electronic shifting, where little lightweight electric servos replace our traditional gear cables. Mavic has been working on an early version of this technology since the early 1990s, although early efforts failed (as with most exciting new inventions!).

Ironman Frankfurt Race Report

Here’s my Ironman Frankfurt race report; you might want to get yourself a big cup of tea, buckle in, this is a long one!

Ironman Frankfurt was my ‘A’ race of the season, I did a few other smaller races but Frankfurt was my focus, everything I did was geared around racing well there. In the months running up to the race, training was going well, very well in fact, and as a huge bonus I was injury free (always an issue when you pile on the training miles).

A Royal Air Force friend of mine and I decided to drive over to Germany as we thought this would be the most hassle-free option and we could take as much kit as we wanted (extra wheels, spares, helmets, etc). The road trip started well enough, but issues with striking French ferry workers meant delays both at Dover and Calais, but to be honest it wasn’t that bad. After a detour in Brussels (worse traffic than London!), we ended up in a town called Leuven for the night (a very picturesque town), before heading down to Frankfurt the following morning.

Ironman Frankfurt: a quick update

A full and detailed race report will follow shortly, but here's a quick update from my Ironman Frankfurt race. My splits were:

Swim: 1:06:10
T1: 5:10
Bike: 5:21:09
T2: 3:28
Run: 3:44:01

Overall time: 10:19:58

That time lead me to be 41^st in my age group, 210th overall and 6^th Brit.

I’m very pleased with my time, my original goal was to set a new PB time (current PB was 10hr33), but horrendous conditions and a non-wetsuit swim made me adjust my goals. My goal was to finish and not end up in the medical tent, so am well chuffed with a new PB and a time of 10hr19.

Frankfurt was a lovely city, with the race being superbly organised (as you would expect from a German race!), if you fancy a big city race, check this one out!

Is Carbo Loading Necessary For Peak Race Performance?

The concept of "carb loading" for endurance events like marathons and triathlons is ingrained in our sport. But how do you know if you're eating too much for energy and starting to gain fat?

We all know about carb-loading (for some people, it's the most fun aspect of taper week!), but most people go overboard, unwittingly eating far more than their body needs or can even store. What happens? They put on fat, which only serves to slow them down. Here's how to get it right.

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