Having thought hard and long over the last two to three years as to why my race times have dramatically dropped and slowed down since my peak running years, it may sound really simple and what you would expect, but it is definitely down to my weight, 100 percent. You may think, well that’s a bit obvious but for me, I never truly saw it like this but I can say that now, the penny has well and truly dropped (about time haha).
Me being me and the type of person I am, I have been overthinking and over analysing everything from my performances, the two years I had off the marathon distance, the year off running I had between 2017 and 2018, my running technique, my tactics and even to the point of being self critical. I have questioned my desire, heart, determination and I have questioned many times whether my legs have ‘gone’ athletically. I have even questioned whether I am simply past it due to all the amount of miles on the clock having played over 900 competitive games of football since I was 17 years old, well over 1,000 games since the age of 8, all the other sports and fitness I’ve been involved in since a very young age and the fact I’ve been running half marathons since I was 22 years old. Maybe everything finally caught up with my legs? Maybe running marathons and half marathons through painful injuries have taken something from my legs?
Well, let me tell you, these inner thoughts have eaten up at me inside mentally in terms of my sports and fitness over the last few years. Now that I kind of accepted that I’m no longer in a position to run those times that I was 4 years ago, I have taken a step back and now it all makes sense.
It is simply - ‘WEIGHT’
Running and Race Weight:
I am now convinced that the main reason that I feel is the factor in that I’m not running anywhere near as fast I was a few years back is definitely due to my race weight over the last 3 years. When I look back at my best times, my PB’s and my best performances, my race weight was always on point and consistent.
According to my best marathon times and most of my PB’s, my optimal race weight and my peak race weight for me performing at my best was and is between 9 stone and 9.5 stone.
OPTIMAL RACE WEIGHT:
9 stone to 9.5 stone
Since 2016, when I last ran a Good For Age marathon time and a PB time of 2:14:13 over the 20 mile distance, I have put on much more weight. Over the last few years, although I am very fit, explosive and try keep myself strong, I fluctuate between 10 stone 5 and just under 11 stone. It doesn’t sound like much but in running a stone and a half to 2 stone makes a big difference in levels of performance. You’re carrying extra weight than what your legs are designed for or trained for and it takes it out of you much quicker in the shorter distances but especially in the long distances. You don’t feel bouncy on your feet, you don’t feel as light as a feather, you can feel sluggish and almost rigid at times in races. Sometimes I have in the past being too muscular bound up top which can make you feel stiff and not as agile but that was when I was younger and went through periods of intense weight training, where as now the extra weight is mainly body fat with a combination of some muscle mass.
Most of the weight has been down to a big shift in my lifestyle, the way I live, the way I eat compared with during my peak years and yeah, probably age a little bit as well. For me, a big factor is that for the last 3-4 years I am now working in jobs where I am sat on a computer chair all day and this means that my metabolism is not the same and my posture has probably changed too. When I was at my physical peak, I was working in retail, in the warehouse, lifting heavy crates etc and constantly on the move, I was burning calories all day long and burning body fat. At times my job was a workout and top that with all the dedication to the gym, weights, core strength, football, consistent training and running, my body fat was very low.
In the last 2-3 years I’ve gone through periods where I’ve given myself mini training camps, I’ve rejoined gyms, I’ve done a lot of fitness work to keep myself ticking over but it has all been very sporadic, which means it’s hard to see real results in terms of weight loss when you’re not sticking to the same method and consistently. To be honest, now, at this current point in my life, I am content with that. I don’t really have anything to prove, I’ve been there, done it, worn the t-shirt and have all the PB’s, medals and trophies to be happy and content. The one time I did lose a lot of weight quickly was last summer building up to my holiday to Greece with Katie. As extra motivation, I entered a virtual cycling challenge where I had to complete a certain amount of miles on the indoor bike within the month and due to the consistency, I lost a whopping 9 pounds in a month, so it can be done if I really want to or stuck to a particular method.
I do believe that if I trained and specialised in my running again at some point in the future, then maybe I can shed a stone or so and get back to optimal running performance one day? I’m certainly not ruling it out. It’s no coincidence that I weighed bang on 9 stone for two years when I ran my two sub 3 hour marathon times aged 29 and 30. Yes, age and getting older can play a factor but ultimately if you stay at a consistent optimal weight, your body and legs are doing less work and the results will show as long as you do also train consistently and have that inner desire to push through pain barriers when required to.
At this time though I have to admit that running is now probably third in my pecking order for my sports priorities. For five years between 2012 and 2016 it overtook football for much of the year and became my number one sport but until then, athletics and running was always second fiddle to football and sometimes my gym and weights would overtake running. Right now and over the last year or so, it’s been football then my fitness and core strength training with running a straggling third.
Running:
My running since I was training for the Abbey Dash 10K last autumn has been on and off if I am completely honest. Since Christmas and New Year I have been getting out most weeks on one or two 5K runs and have been based around pushing myself in them and ensuring I am out of breath heavily and gaining something for them. Now that the Leeds Half Marathon is about 10 weeks away, I decided I needed to get a half marathon distance under my belt to give myself a head start.
So the training run today was off the cuff really, which probably isn’t always the best idea but for me, it’s not too bad, I can get away with it as I have been running regular half marathons since I was 22 years old in 2007, so my muscle memory kicks in pretty fast. My body knows it has been there before and I love challenging myself mentally to give myself a mental edge. In my mind if I now I can run 13 or 14 miles off the cuff and get through the tough moments then mentally I’ve already won the battle of the distance. I did that today and I always make them as tough as possible. I wasn’t worrying about my time, it was a case of getting through the hard moments with flying colours. I’ve got nothing to worry about now. I can now concentrate on getting regular short runs in working on more speed pacing and I’ll fit in one or two more half marathon runs before the big day.
I do need to buy some new running trainers though. I left my Nike running trainers at my mates house last year and have forgotten to get them back from him. I have a pair of Adidas Boost but they give me blisters, so I had to wear my Nike training trainers which aren’t designed for running longer distances so I do have a few blisters coming on now, I will buy some new runners in the next week or so I reckon, some nice and light trainers. There are some Asics Gel trainers I like the look of when I visited Sports Direct.
Recently, since I started playing in a competitive six a side football league again in 2019 and through to the start of this year, I have realised that although my legs aren’t as explosive, fast and athletic as they were 5 years ago, I still have a lot left and can more than compete against competitive players who are in their early to mid to late 20s and coming into their peaks. I still have the explosive speed and good energy but just realise that I’m not anywhere as relentless as I once was. I use my head a lot more now, thinking do I need to make that dashing run down the line, do I need to dribble it here or there? I am much more selective now than a couple of years ago and it’s working. I may have the odd off game but I’ve been very consistent, no one, not even the young speedsters ever beat me for pace, so I must be much fitter and still explosive that I realise and give credit to myself for. I must admit, I love being a 35 year old veteran though and being able to outpace most 20 something year olds that I play against, it’s a great feeling.
One good thing too is I generally drink much less alcohol now than I ever have done which now I’m in my mid 30s is a good thing as hangovers and alcohol definitely effects your body more now than ever. I do think some of my years of wild partying and lack of sleep from my 20s has caught up with me a little bit but as long as I keep myself hydrated and fit regularly I’m all good.
Back to the football team in the 6 a side league, we have also had two good seasons in a row and have a really balanced team. We were promoted as runners up from the Championship league last season and so far this season we have won 2 games of 2 and the opening game of the season, we beat the current Premier Division champions who have been unbeaten for 2 seasons, not bad at all. I have also been on pretty good statistical form, which you can see my stats further down in this blog.
I have recently, (since I got some new weights for my birthday in December) started doing a lot of regular upper body weight training. I am really enjoying it, mainly working on biceps, triceps, neck area, back along with some core strength work and I am really feeling the benefits. I have bulked up quite a bit up top and although I have some body fat over the top due to the way I love eating chocolate and treats here and there, when I have a nice fitted top on, I can see the strength and size I have gained and the shape, I’m just not super toned and ripped that’s all.
My stomach is definitely not ripped like it once was and that is at my age, a job for my diet but I love certain treats and foods and unless I give them up, which I don’t have a desire to at this time in my life, I think the abs will stay well and truly hidden behind. Every now and then they give a little peak but I’m not that bothered these days like I was 4 or 5 years ago, I took pride in having ripped abs. I know all it would take is to remove certain treats from my diet but who cares?
My diet is not particularly bad, it’s actually quite a balanced diet to be fair but I do love my chocolate which is my downfall if I am honest. At the end of the day, as long as I mainly eat in moderation it’s not going to cause me a problem and I with the good amount of training I do, it burns them off anyway.
The Future Months:
I do believe that in the spring and summer months when the weather is not as gloomy and cold I will be back out using my skipping rope again which is great for fat burning. I am also really looking forward to when me and Katie move into our newly purchased home at Highroyds in Menston. We will have 200 acres of land surrounding us and will be only a few miles away from the moorland and the near by Cow and Calf rocks. We are going to take up hiking as a hobby together and power walking or hiking is a great way of burning body fat and calories too. I am very excited about this new hobby. I used to hike with my Grandma Maureen and Grandad John when I was a kid with my sister and loved it. We used to hike around the reservoirs and forests in the countryside. I have also hiked the Yorkshire Three Peaks (23 miles) in 2014 with my former running club Kirkstall Harriers, which was a great experience (even though my IT Band was rubbing like mad).
On top of hiking, I will be continuing my weight training, indoor bike at my new house and boxing pads now and again with my mate Jonny. There will also be many opportunities to go out on some nice trail and road runs in and around Menston which will make my running enjoyable, especially with it being on the edge of the country side. I’m excited. I can see that as I get a little older, recreational sport and fitness may become more appealing to me than competitive sport, which although I will always love competition, it will be nice to just appreciate keeping fit without any pressure and to enjoy the great outdoors.
NEXT UP:
+ Football on Wednesday for my cousin Michael’s team: Big Boiselona in the Goals 6 a side Premier Division
+ Weights session at home on Thursday evening
+ Training run with my cousin Matty on Saturday
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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my insight into my sporting world....
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