Sustainable Endurance Training

Day Zero Action Plan: handling a niggle before it gets serious This is your immediate action plan when a niggle or injury sets in with training. Many athletes make the mistake of either doing nothing or trying to do everything. The key is somewhere in the middle. Niggles often need a little rest, a drop in volume, and one or two targeted exercises. There is no need to try every recovery method out there. Save this email for the next time you notice a niggle. (Quick note: Today I am mostly...

One of my athletes came to me complaining of constant hamstring tightness and pain while running fast. We looked at things from all angles (recovery, fuelling, strength, and running). Here’s everything we did to rehab his hamstring: Unfortunately for this athlete it took a few weeks to catch that his hamstring was bugging him. He thought initially it was just tight from sitting too much at work. He tried stretching it out after running but this didn’t change much. Eventually he came to see me...

A common injury for runners and triathletes is the Achilles Tendon. With running and cycling we put a lot of load through the calf complex. Sometimes this can lead to pain in the Achilles. Here’s how I would rehab it as a triathlete: Before we get into the framework, an anatomy reminder. The Achilles tendon is the large common tendon coming from the calf complex and attaches into the heel. It’s made up of the peroneal and gastrocnemius muscle. These muscle groups are responsible for pushing...

Don’t let plantar fasciitis stop you from running (complete week 1 rehab guide) Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common sources of pain in the feet for runners and triathletes. It can set you back for weeks if not taken care of properly. I’m going to give you me week 1 program to get rid of pain (and decide if you need professional help). What is the Plantar Fascia? I’m not going to give you a complete anatomy class but it can be helpful to understand where the plantar fascia is. The...

Your best season ever Part 4: Final race prep Let’s assume for a minute that you have followed all the advice of the last 3 newsletters. You built a foundation of health to train from. You built a base of training specific to your race goals. You dialled in your race-specific prep. The final stage is fine-tuning all this training for your race. The most specific block of your season This final block of your training is where we turn the fitness you built into a race-specific performance. This...

Your Best Season Ever Part 2: Building your base I like to think about training as building a puzzle. Most people start with the edges (this gives structure). What are your goals for the season? Then you could work on the next easiest thing (a bright tree). What are the easiest-to-spot aspects? Slowly you fill in the gaps with what’s left. A bad approach would be to start with a random puzzle piece and work around it. Similar to how some athletes plan their season. Adding in random workouts...