Mark: Whilst we have been focusing on beating GCN at their own game cycling, it turns out
that one of them has been coming after us secretly. Yes, Dan Lloyd from GCN
has been training hard at his running, and he's annoyingly good. Now, you may actually remember
back to when we first launched GTN, Dan actually came to us for some help running a faster 5k.
He has seemingly kept it going and is now targeting a half-marathon. Now, we couldn't
pass up the opportunity of being involved in this, so over the next couple of months
we're going to be tracking his journey, and following him through to his first
half-marathon, but it's not just his journey, we're inviting you guys to get involved too.
We're going to be sharing his tips and his training plan so you can follow along too.
Time to go and catch up with Dan. [music]
Hey, Dan, good to see you. Dan Lloyd: Good afternoon.
Mark: Talk to me about this running and the challenge you've set yourself.
Dan: I just love running. I've already got into it. I know a lot of the cycling community and not
to keep me doing running just judging by Strava comments, but firstly I find it much easier to get
out, you don't have to go for as long, there's not as much getting ready, there's not as much
cleaning up afterwards, but the main thing about it is that with cycling there's a precedence for
me, and I'm never going to hit the numbers and the speeds that I did, whereas running,
I haven't done it much before, so I can go out and set goals and improve on my initial performances.
That motivates me. I like to be able to get better at something, whereas with cycling,
I'm not going to get better anymore. Mark: You're going after a half-marathon,
have you got a time in mind? Dan: I do, yes. I like to make concrete
goals. In my head I've always been thinking, "People always go after a three-hour marathon,
don't they?" I just halved that. I went for an hour and a half, but I have been doing
a fair bit of running recently, not loads of kilometers, but five days a week or so,
and I have started to get reasonably comfy at the four-minute case for sort of six,
seven kilometers at a time. Mark: That's working out sub 75,
so 1-- Sorry, sub 85, so 124-ish. Dan: Yes, so that's-- Let's go an hour and a half,
but I definitely want to get under an hour and a half, but in my head, I will be thinking I want
to hold a four-minute k-pace on the day. Mark: It's the competitive nature coming
through now. Some people's jaws may be hitting the table right now because that's shifting,
that's a good pace. Dan: Thanks, mate.
Mark: Should probably, yes, allude to, and as you mentioned the fact that Dan has got a bit
of running behind him, have you got an event in mind that we're just going to do this?
Dan: It's hard, whatever sport you're doing, you can't really have an event
in mind because you don't know what's going to be on, but I'm quite happy to just set a day,
we'll go out and do the 21ks as fast as I can. Mark: Cool. Now--
Dan: If there's an event, oh, and I'll do it, but there might not be,
but I'm definitely going to do this half-marathon at the end of this 9 or 10 weeks.
Mark: Fantastic. As you've mentioned we've got a nine-week program which I've designed for you,
Dan. We're going to be following on that. I'm actually going to get involved too,
but if you'd like to get involved, then you can find that in the description just down below and,
yes, download that, follow along with us, and it would be awesome if in, say, nine weeks' time,
we're all hitting a half-marathon together, posting our times in the comments below the
videos. As I said, we've got a series of videos coming out so you can track Dan's journey,
but also yourself. Let's get out for a run then. Dan: Yes, let's do it. I'm well up for this. I
went out for a training plan. I've had one for six years, no, eight years.
Mark: Thanks for that run. Now I want to ask you a little bit more about your running.
How do you plan your runs and how far are you typically running when you head out?
Dan: I don't really plan at the moment, which is probably a downfall, but I generally run in the
evenings. I'll just decide around dinner time whether I'm actually going to do one or not.
Recently I've been getting myself out quite a few times a week, five to six times probably
for the last few weeks, and often I'll go out with Jude, my nine-year-old, for the first 3ks,
and he's getting reasonably fast, and dropping back at home, and then after that,
I just decide there and then how much further I'm going to go and how fast I'm going to go.
I'll often think, I'll try and go out four-minute k's now, and sometimes I feel great and I'll carry
on at that pace, another times a lot, I haven't got it today. I did inadvertently do 15ks the
other day because I'd taken Jude's gloves because it was too hot and I lost one, so I retraced all
my steps at the end of the run and ended up with 15ks, and that's probably I've done one other 15k
run before, that's the longest I've ever done. Mark: Let's get going. I was going to jump in
and give you a load of advice about how often you should run, but I'm not actually going to
change because five runs per week is actually a really good starting point, and you'll know from
your cycling days consistency and structure is key, so actually, as you're starting out
you actually want to be running little and often, so you're onto a good start there, but
it's more about what you're doing in each of those runs and the focus of them.
That's something we want to change, and as we get into this program,
you'll find at the start at ramp up and we'll be starting to do one-speed session per week,
a half-marathon pace workout, and one long, easy run.
The other runs around that should just be nice and easy recovery runs to basically not
detract from those focus key sessions. Dan: Not just smash it every time. Now,
I looked at the program, I'm really looking-- I used to love ticking off the boxes on any
training program, and I haven't had that, as I said, for pretty much a decade now,
so I'm really looking forward to that, but yes, half-marathon pace, is that--? I'm looking to go
over four-minute per k, should I go there or a bit slower, or- and what's slow pace as well?
Mark: A good question. Essentially, everyone's obviously half-marathon paces are different,
but what we need to do to work out your pace accurately is work out your threshold. Now,
the best way of doing this for everyone every day, you can do it quite easily from your doorstep,
it's a 30-minute all-out effort. Dan: That's basically my training plan
at the moment, [unintelligible 00:05:58] any of my runs after a week.
Mark: Easy, job done. Take the final 20 minutes of that pace and heart rate and we can work out
your threshold pace, a little bit like the 20-minute FTP test, basically. That will work
out the half-marathon pace but also allow us to work out your zones. That will also help us for
your easy runs, so for easy runs we're looking at zone two, which I'd probably say from having
had a look at your runs you're probably looking at around five minutes per kilometer,
and you really don't want to be going any faster than that because, as I said before,
it starts detracting from your other session. Dan: That cuts Jude out actually, because he's now
down to 4, 45k for 3k, but I also wanted to quiz you about an injury or hopefully not getting
an injury, because obviously, as an ex-cyclist, although I have done some running for a few years
now, we are generally susceptible to picking up injuries because we're not used to the impact of
running, it's using different muscles, et cetera, et cetera, so any tips on how to not get injured,
particularly next nine weeks. Mark: Yes. This is, to be honest,
important for anyone, regardless if they're coming from cycling or not, as you start out
running and with the program, you want to build things up gradually. I've tried to design the
program as best as possible, so it does-- Dan: Take into account my age as well?
Mark: Yes. It incrementally build it up both in terms of the volume,
but also the intensity. I've built up, so the volume starts to come up, and then the
intensity comes in a little bit later on as well. Now, of course, it is important to listen to
your body as well. If you feel any niggles or any twinges, it's best just to back off straight away,
allow things to recover, to settle, maybe do a little bit of loosening mobility work, and it's
far better just take a day off there, rather than trying to almost prolong for days and weeks on
end, then it becomes something more sinister. Dan: Yes, this happened to me years ago in a
park run when I was on a very, very good time, and after two or three k's, I felt something
on my Achilles, but because my time was so good, I was like, "I'm sure it'd be fine,"
and I was out for quite a few weeks. It wasn't actually the Achilles, it was something else,
but I learned my lesson from that. The final question I think from me, nutrition and fueling,
I never take anything out on a run with me. I rarely do more than an hour anyway, so I presume
that's all right since I've had a decent meal at some point beforehand and I'm fairly hydrated,
but I've noticed there are a few longer runs at the weekend on the plan. Do you think,
even if I might get away with not having anything, it's better for me to have something anyway?
Mark: Yes, fueling, nutrition is a big topic in itself. We've got not just during, but also pre
and post. Let's start with the pre. Actually, if you're having a big meal, it's the best advice
you have that at least two, if not three, hours before you head out running. The problem is,
if you head out with all that food in your stomach and do that quite close to the run,
and your body just stops digesting it, moves all its tension to your muscles, and then you end up
with this food sloshing around your stomach. That's when you might end up in trouble.
Dan: Yes, no longer sloshing around. Actually, I've had that quite a bit on runs,
where I'm suddenly desperate to go and often have to go and hope there's nobody around.
Actually, I tweeted about this, and if you're ever questioning whether or not you need to go before
you get on the run, the answer is always, always yes, and somebody replied saying, "Running is a
bit like an old glass ketchup bottle, where if you keep hitting it enough, eventually it
comes out," and that's been my experience. Mark: Yes, no, I do. Might agree with that.
Dan: I'm just running too close to my meal, am I? Mark: Yes, of course, you do.
Dan: Because I did quite often go out straight after dinner.
Mark: I think that probably is your issue, yes. What I tend to do is, I'll perhaps maybe
have something a few hours earlier and then a little snap closer to it because I do feel like
I know I need to eat every hour normally, so anyway. Then during, as you say, anything up to an
hour you're probably fine, unless you are feeling a bit flat and hungry before then. I suggest
having something light, as I've just mentioned, or a gel, or take something with you, like a gel, but
typically I'd say, on runs, you want something that's like- it can be processed quickly, so gels,
that fast release of energy are really good. Then post-run, this is the thing that a lot of people
forget to obviously recovering, getting that food in quickly and refueling, because, actually, if
you don't, that's going to have a knock-on effect to the subsequent days, which, when you're doing
a nine-week training plan, is quite important. Dan: Yes. I did see a video of Heather recently
where she said, "Don't go on your phone straight after you run." That is me as well,
because I wonder, if I did get that KOM on my run today, which I've been aiming for for the
last four weeks, yes, I did. Brilliant. I don't have anything to eat or drink.
Mark: Thanks for that, mate. Oh, I've armed you with a bunch of info. There's a time to start
this nine-week training plan. Now, please, please get involved back home. In fact, I suggest you do.
You can, of course, extend the plan out a little bit further, but I wouldn't really
suggest making any shots because nine weeks is quite short after all.
Dan: Is it? Mark: Yes.
Dan: Okay. I thought nine weeks are quite a long period of time. Before we finish the video anyway,
I had one more question about the plan, because I know the fewer the weeks you have downhill
sprints, which I've never done really, I barely did it when I was riding a bike,
potentially, while I was no good at sprinting, but I presume that [unintelligible 00:11:13].
You just do what it says in the 10. You just sprint up a hill there.
Mark: Absolutely, and I haven't included them every week, so I dropped them periodically,
and they are very short. Now, the idea behind them is to get some power in, to get the muscles
recruited, but also it's actually just getting that intensity in without necessarily having
to run fast, because we were talking earlier about the risk of injury coming from cycling
to running and obviously running fast. There is a higher risk of injury, so
actually, just getting that intensity in on the hills is a really good way of doing that. Also,
one last thing we haven't mentioned is about the recovery, because nine weeks is long enough
that you might want some recovery in there, but not so long. I've included some recovery days.
You know what to do there. Make sure you sit back, relax, recover, absorb that hard work.
Dan: I will. Mark: If you guys out there do find
that you are getting quite tired and fatigued, then do feel free to take one of the week's easy,
and I have actually suggested that in the plan, so do follow along with that. Yes, there we go.
Dan: Great. I'm really looking forward to this. I hope people we do join long for this,
because I've been meaning to do a half-marathon for about six or seven years now and I've
just never. We were going to do about half. Weren't we? Four years ago. Got snowed off.
Mark: I know. Dan: I was quite
fit then and I just haven't done one since. Mark: I'm so pleased we finally got around
to this. I'm so pleased that you have embraced this and the triathlon community so much so. You
haven't even got socks on today. Dan: Oh, you wish.
Mark: [chuckles] Dan: Actually, we
did there. Now, these are just very camouflaged.
They're from the GCN Cycling Club. Mark: Nice. Please do get involved back home.
Don't forget, the plan is below this video in the description, so download that. Yes, we'd love
for loads of you to be posting your times in nine weeks' time. Yes, if you've enjoyed this video,
please do give a like. Give a thumbs up. Don't forget to give us a follow over on social media
and subscribe just down bellow. [00:12:56] [END OF AUDIO]