Cold wet fish, body fat % and a cunning plan

*Warning- there are some boring calculations in this blog entry! 

Hey folks!

It’s the 27^th January which means I now have just under 8 months to run 10km in under 35 minutes before my 40^th birthday on 14^th September. Or if I really want to scare myself I can look at it in weeks….. 33 left!

My current performances are WAY OFF where they need to be, and highlights how much of a challenge this goal really is. A few months ago I naively thought I could combine both running and cycling and still hit this goal. What was I thinking? Sometimes you just need a reality check to slap you across the face like a cold wet fish.

The soaking wet fish which caught me flush in the flabby chops was our local Helsby half marathon last weekend. I ran a time of 1:29:10 which is an average pace of 06:45 per mile. To put this in perspective in 2014 I ran the same race in 01:16:04s which is an average pace of 05:49 per mile. In other words close to a whole minute quicker per mile in 2014 compared to this year.

Today I ran a hilly 6 mile race (albeit in very strong winds) in 38:32 which is an average pace of 06:22 per mile. To go under 35 minutes I need to be running pretty much the same distance at 05:38 per mile, which would be a massive reduction of 44 seconds per mile.

Using the excellent Daniels VDOT system which predicts equivalent times for different distances (see the table below) I estimate my VDOT at 53, which means at 10km of 39:20. To hit my goal I need to get to a VDOT of 61. That is quite a considerable jump.

So, the key question is how am I going to knock over 4 minutes off my 10km time in only 33 weeks? Here is my cunning plan:

Diet & weight

I currently weigh 82 kg (at 6’1). That is way too heavy to achieve my goal. My best times in my 20’s were run at under 75kg. I was unbelievably 71kg at one point. People would come up to me and offer me food. Now, I am realistic enough to know that I am 10 years older and unlikely to ever be that light again. However, I am quite sure that I need to be no heavier than 75kg.

The effect of weight on running is enough to drive an eating disorder. It has been shown that you can run 2 seconds per mile quicker for every lb you lose. So if I lost 7kg (15.43 lb) and went down to 75kg I would be running each mile 30 seconds quicker, which would result in 03:06 off my 10km. That would take my current 10km estimate of 39:20 down to 36:14. And that’s assuming the same fitness level.

Last week I had my body fat measured by sport scientist Simon Cushman.

Despite me warning him that he might need his extra-large callipers, I was shocked to discover that my body fat is 12.5%. I was expecting it to be much higher. However, it turns out that I have very little fat on my limbs (thigh, calf, tricep) and so virtually all of it was on my belly. Classic skinny-fat physique! This means that I do have potential to get quite a bit leaner. Being only 12.5% at 82 kg makes me wonder how possible it might be to get down to 75kg. I am wondering whether I might also need some muscle mass loss too. I have put some muscle on my chicken legs over the last 5 years through my cycling.

My plans to shift the weight are quite simple, but easier said than done:

-cut out the crap i.e. crisps, chocolate, biscuits etc

-cut out the beer. If I do occasionally have a drink then have a vodka and lime or a Gin and slim-line tonic.

-eat low(er) carb. For example replace porridge for breakfast with avocados and scrambled egg. Salads for lunch instead of sandwiches etc. This has worked well for me in the past. You do need carbs on higher intensity days but can lower carbs and calories overall on easy running days.

If all of that fails then I will have to become a ‘breatharian’ :-0)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inedia

Training

There are whole books on 10km training so I will keep it brief. I will discuss this topic in more depth in another post. Getting fitter isn’t really rocket science. Key elements are:

• Consistency- I need to run every day
• Volume- I believe I will need to run 50 miles per week minimum. Probably 60 mpw in fact. I might even need to gamble with some 70-80 mile weeks as I get closer to September. Plenty of easy jogging to supplement the harder sessions
• Intensity- 2 sessions per week i.e. a shorter intervals session (e.g. 400m’s) and a longer intervals session (e.g. mile reps)
• Regular racing- get used to pacing, pain management, measurement of progress
• Recovery- massages, stretching, compression socks etc
• Conditioning- press-ups, planks, weights

I am going to speak to Chris Morgan for more specifics. He coached me in 2013/2014 towards a 01:16 half and a 02:46 marathon.

Lifestyle

My greatest barrier over the past 5 years has been my work schedule and in particular the amount of travelling involved. I need to:

-put my runs in my work diary so I know exactly when they are.

-keep running kit in my car so I can always get out for a run.

-stop staying up so late reading so I can get up early and run in the mornings

-I might even have to do a bit less client work this year so I can fit the required training in

Right. Enough talk! Time to put in the work. See you out on the road or at the races! You can follow my training on Strava and I will now post weekly training updates on this blog.