Running with Dr Will

Here’s what your running probably looks like;

You mentally sign up for an event but don’t actually sign up because that’s a bit too much commitment upfront.

Start training… without a plan. Or try some free generic plan from Garmin or whoever.

Pretty much ignore the plan and run everything steady because easy running feels like a waste of time and looks lame on Strava.

If you do decide to do some intervals, you smash the first few and then struggle through the last couple or just give up.

You miss a few days of training because you haven’t committed to a training plan to help you plan ahead, so family, work, travel and life fill the spare time you hoped you’d have for running.

All of your training and race paces from 10km - marathon begin to merge into this small bandwidth because you haven’t been training for fitness or speed. You’ve just been sending it when you had the chance.

Race day finally arrives, and you’re totally unsure if you can achieve the arbitrary finish time you’ve chosen for yourself.

After the race, you know you could have run faster, but you’re not really sure how.

Can you relate? Sweet, then sign-up for my running masterclass to optimise your training https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

🏃‍♂️ Runners, have you heard of the difference between Grey Zone, Zone 3, and Junk Miles? If not, you could be doing more harm than good to your training and performance!

💪 Grey zone training is pushing too hard without the right intensity and can lead to fatigue, injury, and plateau. On the other hand, Zone 3 is the ideal low-dose strength and stamina-building zone.

😲 But beware, zone 3 can quickly turn into grey zone if you push the pace too hard. That's why it's important to find your thresholds (pace, power, heart rate) and set your training zones.

💻 My simple three-step process for setting your running thresholds:

1️⃣ Get a baseline measurement of your running performance with a 30min TT.

2️⃣ Determine your threshold levels based on your average pace/power/HR of the last 20min of your 30min baseline measurement.

3️⃣ Create training zones based on your thresholds. https://link.drwillo.com/calculators

📝 Don't let grey zone training ruin your running journey. Sign up for my free Running Masterclass March 13th https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

Another running event, another heat stroke 💔 As a runner, we all know the feeling of pushing ourselves to our limits, but what happens when our body can't keep up? It's time to talk about the real consequences of overheating and why it's crucial to listen to our bodies.

Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you try, the same thing keeps happening during races? Your body temperature rises, you feel dizzy and disoriented, and you can't seem to shake it off. That's because repeated overheating can have a lasting impact on your body, specifically on the hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus plays a critical role in regulating our body temperature, but overheating can cause inflammation and damage, leading to a decreased ability to regulate temperature effectively. This makes us more vulnerable to heat stroke, even in low ambient temperatures during a race.

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

Can I do it? Last year, Tarawera was cancelled due to covid, which was lucky for me because I trained so hard that I got a sacral stress fracture a couple of weeks before the scheduled race date 😥. 

In 2021, I raced totally underprepared and pushed myself so far beyond my physical capabilities that I collapsed at 95km (yes, 95!). I was carried out of the forest on a stretcher. I legitimately thought I was going to die 😬.

In 2020, I smashed my race eight weeks after becoming a Dad and finished 14th overall in one of the most competitive fields ever seen. 

This year, I have taken all I’ve learnt from the previous three years and applied it to what has been an absolutely quality build-up (touch wood 👉🪵). 

1. Last long run earlier
2. Chill on the speedwork
3. Only two LONG runs within two weeks
4. Heart rate over pace and power
5. Visualisation
6. Easy runs SLOW

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

I doubt it.

I can almost guarantee you are running too fast rather than too slow.

Everyone thinks that performance comes from hard workouts.

In reality, your best performances are predominantly dictated by your aerobic base. Not your ability to run 10x 1min fast.

Running longer than 60min requires the ability to utilise fats maximally, spare carbohydrates, and buffer the acidity of lactate production to maintain maximal running economy for the duration of the event. At no point are you required to run ‘fast’. 

Your aerobic system contributes 98% of the energy required for events lasting 60min or more. Therefore, your most significant potential to get faster lies in building your aerobic base.

The biggest mistake I see runners make is thinking they need to run fast to get fast. 

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

Tapering is always hard. You need to freshen up, but you still have to do some hard workouts so you don't get stale. Otherwise, the race will be too much of a shock to the system. At the same time, you can't thrash yourself, or you'll start the race cooked.

Tapering requires you to be super in tune with how you feel daily to avoid overdoing it.

At the fundamental level, tapering is a progressive reduction in training load. Runners will reduce their intensity, duration, and sometimes frequency to increase their recovery time, leading into key events.

I believe there are four distinct durations for tapering;

Ultramarathon (5hrs+) = last big workout, four weeks

Marathon (2 - 4hrs) = last big workout, three weeks

Half marathon (1 - 2hrs) = last big workout, two weeks

<10km (< 1hr) = last big workout, one week

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

#fasterwithdata #runningcoach #marathontraining #runner #runningscience #trailrunning #ultrarunning #runchat #marathon #ultramarathon #trainingpeaks

Auckland Marathon 2022 was set to be my best marathon. My training had gone perfectly. Probably my best ten-week block of training EVER. I don’t think I missed a workout, and that wasn’t through being super addicted to training. I loved every run and only began to feel tired in my last ‘training’ week before my taper (3-weeks from the race). I felt like I had a system that was working.

After building back from Covid, I did two major blocks of training. Each block was three weeks, with a one-week recovery in between. Each week was about 650 TSS (training stress), 9hrs, 120km, 1000m elevation. I did a midweek threshold workout and a weekend marathon tempo workout each week. The rest of my runs were easy, mainly off-road and hilly.

I specifically made a point to slow my easy runs, which greatly impacted the quality of my workouts and my day-to-day recovery. For reference, most of my easy-aerobic runs were around 4:30-5min/km, 80% LTHR, 80% FTP. Last year, in building up for the Tarawera Ultramarathon, I realised that when my weekly training load is over 100km/wk or 8hrs/wk I can’t run my easy-aerobic runs at the top of my zone 2 (85-88%). Otherwise, I struggle to recover from the big weekend workouts. 

You can follow me on Strava to track my training.

I did four marathon-specific workouts, the biggest being 30km @ target marathon power three weeks out from the race. I ran the last 10km at the top end of my goal power, averaging 3:35min/km and heart rate staying in zone 4 (sub-threshold). I felt great. It gave me a lot of confidence that I could run in the low 2:30s come race day. 

My 2-year-old son gets gastro on Tuesday (race is Sunday), and then my wife gets the bug on Thursday. I felt fairly average from Wednesday but never appeared to have contracted the bug. The day before the race, I felt like a truck had hit me. I told Emma how disappointed I was that I wouldn’t be able to race to my potential. However, that afternoon, I felt 100% times better and thought I had finally experienced that taper-week bounce. Race morning, it was pouring with rain, and I mean torrential rain. I couldn’t find my car key, and then I lost my hotel key. Honestly, it felt like the world didn’t want me to do this race.

I felt so bad the days leading into the race that I made a point to write out non-outcome goals that would make the race a success. Expressing myself, having fun doing what I love, and being proud of my effort were the key goals I put together. Once I had these goals in place, I felt I lot better about running a race in which I may not be able to perform to my physical potential. 

I had my watch on 5km laps with my screen showing lap power, lap pace, real-time HR, and real-time power, which gave me a good average of what I was doing rather than looking too much into each km or mile. I’ll break down my race in each of these 5km segments.

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

I hear the 3hr marathon goal thrown around A LOT. A large pool of runners I work with are 35-45 year old working professionals. They come to me and say, “I want to run sub 3hrs. Is that realistic?” They’re often concerned they might have left it too late. 

Here’s what you need to be able to do for a sub-3hr marathon goal to be realistic.

The first number you need to look at is your threshold pace. You want to have a threshold of around 3:50 - 4min/km (6:10 - 6:26min/mi), which is about a 39min 10km or 1:26min half marathon. If you cannot run a sub 40min 10km, you have next to no chance of running sub 3hrs. 

Your sub-3hr target pace is 4:16min/km (6:52min/mi), which means your 1km/1mi splits will drift between 4:10 - 4:20min/km (6:42 - 6:58min/mi). Unless you’re running on a treadmill, you NEED to be capable of running 4:10min/km (6:42min/mi) without going over your threshold.

Suppose your threshold is slower than 4min/km (6:26min/mi). In that case, you will burn too much muscle carbohydrate, accumulate lactate/acidity, and subsequently build fatigue too quickly, which will have you hitting the wall before the race end.

There’s more than one threshold…

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

Does maximum heart rate influence performance? 

Short answer, no. Cardiac output matters.

Your maximum heart rate has a higher chance of DECREASING as you get fitter. I’ll explain why. 

The term “heart rate” describes the frequency (in beats per minute, BPM) at which the heart is beating at a given point in time. Combined with the stroke volume (the amount of blood ejected from the heart per beat, SV), we get the total quantity of blood being pumped from the heart to circulate around the body per minute (the cardiac output, CO). Blood carries oxygen and fuel to the muscles and removes carbon dioxide as a waste product. At rest, our need for this process is low, so the heart can beat relatively slowly to fulfill requirements. However, during exercise, the demand for blood increases dramatically, and, as the ability for stroke volume to increase is low, this is primarily met by increasing heart rate, making heart rate a good indicator of how hard the body is working to produce metabolic power. Consequently, heart rate has been used by athletes and coaches for several decades to objectively measure exercise intensity and prescribe training.

Through the development of wrist-based HR sensors, many runners have started utilising heart rate in their training, which has led to some dubious ‘experts’ touting bro-science about HR and fitness. Despite heart rates’ advantages over earlier training metrics, such as perceived exertion, heart rate is not a perfect training tool.

One number I see thrown around is maximum heart rate (HRmax). The higher your heart rate the better runner you are or the better you are at pushing yourself. These statements are simply WRONG.

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

#fasterwithdata #runningcoach #marathontraining #runner #runningscience #trailrunning #ultrarunning #runchat #marathon #ultramarathon #trainingpeaks

Have you ever blown up in a race and had to run the last few Kms or Miles about 1min slower than you started? 

YES. Of course you have. We all have!

I will tell you why you blew up and how you can go faster next time. 

You started too hard, bro! 

Why does pacing matter?

As humans, we can only exercise at high workloads for short durations. The higher the workload, the shorter duration.

Typically, scientists and running coaches use our anaerobic (lactate) threshold (LTH) as the benchmark for what is sustainable for about an hour. How far and how long you can exercise above your anaerobic (lactate) threshold is referred to as your anaerobic work capacity (AWC). 

Regardless of whether you’re an elite runner or a mid-pack marathoner, your anaerobic work capacity is LIMITED. I.e. you can’t sprint for 2hrs.

To run faster in your next race, we need to know what our thresholds are so that we can use our training zones for pacing.

The easiest way to find your anaerobic threshold is to go run hard for an hour…. but no one wants to do that. So, the next easiest way is to use your past training data.

Threshold Running Pace = Take your best average running pace for 40-60min from the last 6 months.

Threshold Running Heart Rate = Take your average HR from the last 20min of a 10km or half marathon within the last 6 months.

Threshold Running Power = Complete a 1km and a 5km time trial with at least 3 days in between.

Read the full blog - https://www.drwilloconnor.com/blog

Follow me on Instagram (DMs welcome) - https://www.instagram.com/drwilloconnor

Stalk my training on Strava - https://link.drwillo.com/strava-profile

Links and resources to help your running.

1. Steal my formula for smashing mind-blowing running PBs FOR FREE! https://link.drwillo.com/stealmyformula

2. Buy one of my $59 DONE-FOR-YOU Training Plans. https://link.drwillo.com/leadtrainingplans

3. Head to https://link.drwillo.com/reigniteyourrunning to apply for my group coaching program that hands intermediate runners the advanced level, personalised and scientifically-backed ‘here’s how you do it’ repeatable runner’s road map, so they can master the workout ‘why,’ consistently increase speed and leap towards their next PB in record time.

#fasterwithdata #runningcoach #marathontraining #runner #runningscience #trailrunning #ultrarunning #runchat #marathon #ultramarathon #trainingpeaks