(logo whooshing)
- Right, well, today we are joined by
Ironman World Championship bike course record holder,
Cam Wurf.
So thanks for joining us today.
- Pleasure. - But it's not the biking
we're going to be chatting about today
because-- - We're not?
- (laughs) Sorry, we're not.
- Oh gosh. (laughs) - 'Cause you recently posted
an incredible time Ironman Italy.
Actually, top 10 fastest time and time in all time, 7:46.
And in doing so, posted a two hour 45 marathon.
So I'm really interested to find out how,
well, you've transformed your running,
you've really progressed with it.
So wonder if you could share some tips with us?
- Absolutely, I'd love to.
I guess, well, tip number one is be patient.
You know, with as opposed to swimming and cycling,
where you can basically rewarded by
just doing a hell of a lot of something
and sort of smashing away and getting better at it.
If the running, you do that, you'll end up hurting yourself.
So you have to be patient, allow the foundation to build
and as that builds you'll start to increase your pace
and, obviously, run further in the same amount of time,
and then start to increase your time and really do that.
- [Mark] So have been able to add distance, intensity?
Is it a mix of both, yeah? - Yeah.
- But the way we did to add the distance and the volume,
to the point where we felt
that I could be competitive at this level,
which, as a rough number, was between 80 and 120k a week.
We weren't really sure where that would fit.
As it turned out it's been around 100 kilometers per week.
In February, for example, I probably rode my bike twice,
as I built up to 100k per week.
Because we realized that
we had to give my running legs maximum attention
to be able to deal with the load, recover from the sessions,
improve and become more resilient before we started adding
the load of the bike back onto them.
- Okay, so you've probably gone
into a second tip for us there.
So it's actually a case of
prioritizing a certain discipline,
if you're really trying to focus on it.
- Particularly on the running.
I think that that's really a key
because the amount of wear and tear
the running has on your body,
compared to the non-weight-bearing swimming and cycling.
So I think the key there is respecting, you know,
what running does to your body.
There's a reason that the world's best marathon runners
train, maybe, 15 hours a week.
Which isn't a lot, you know, when you compare it to
full-time Ironman triathlete,
where you're looking at 25 to 35 to 40.
(gentle upbeat music)
To number three, good footwear.
I never ever run in the same pair of shoes
in consecutive days.
Your shoes cop a bit of a hammering,
like your body does when you run,
and they actually take at least 24 hours,
as a rough rule, to decompress.
- And do you ever change the type of shoe as well?
'Cause that's another thing I've heard people do.
- Yeah, so obviously, for the long runs,
they've got those very specific ones with the carbon plate.
They're actually designed, I'm sorry to burst the bubble,
without making you magically run faster,
but what they are designed to do
is give you more return for your efforts.
So they don't actually break your body down as much.
So you're able to do more training, in theory,
which makes your fitter, which then makes you run better.
So when I do a long run, like today for example,
which was the long run, of course, I wear those shoes.
For the shorter runs I'll wear something
maybe with less support,
which teaches your foot to improve its stability.
The little muscles in your foot.
And then for the track I wear a different pair of shoes,
a firmer pair of shoes.
Those, obviously, those ones
with the carbon plate are quite soft.
I understand, not everyone's got the opportunity to do that,
but at least if you could have two types.
You know, something with a lot of cushioning and support
for your longer runs and then something else
that makes you work a little bit harder
for those other workouts.
So, you know, shorter speed workouts or easier runs.
- [Mark] Yeah, fantastic tip.
'Kay, next tip, if you've got one.
- Yeah, another tip that I've been so grateful
to have such high level of advice,
is don't bother running too fast.
Even my track work,
I don't go much quicker than 320, 330 pace
because that's my realistic threshold level.
Because we've found that, yeah,
once you start pushing a bit more
than that really does take a big toll on the other aspects.
I mean, you've got to think about it as three sports,
it's not just one.
- So again, it's back to that consistency
- Yeah - and thinking about
the bigger picture. - Yeah.
(relaxed music)
Another tip is you do have to appreciate that it does
take a lot out of your body.
So recovery.
You know, your food straight after.
You know, your carbs, your protein to recover.
You've really got to respect the fact that running
is hard on your body.
- Yes, I can see it's something you value
and we've just come in
as you were mid-stretching - Yeah, yeah.
- You've just finished a long run, so what was your prep
or your plan when you came in through the door
after that long run?
- Yeah, I mean, first thing is get some good fluids on board
with some good sugars and so forth.
Have some beet juice.
Get the get the nitrates back in.
And then, yeah, protein bar.
My stomach is always a bit messed up after a run.
I don't try and force food in straightaway
because I feel quite irky for a couple of hours.
- I think that's quite an interesting point.
I think a lot of people are like that.
Particularly after hard sessions
and they avoid eating because of that.
Actually it is important
to get something in. - You need to get
something in, so I tend to use apple juice.
I love apple juice.
- That's a great idea. - Beet juice as well,
which is also got a lot of sugar in it.
And the electrolyte tablets,
always have that and some water.
So just liquids.
If you don't stretch, if you don't eat well,
if you don't take your recovery seriously
you'll carry that fatigue into the next day
and then the next day and it'll amplify
and that's when you can start to break things down
and get yourself injured.
So, yeah, I think the big thing is
you just got to respect how hard it is in your body
and do everything you can to look after yourself.
- Well it is clearly working.
We're very excited to see you race, the following weekend
at Ironman World Championships.
If you've enjoyed today's video,
please do hit that thumbs up button.
If you like to see more from GTN,
click on the globe and subscribe to the channel.
If you'd like to see Cam Wurf's bike,
when we actually compared it against
another uber biker of the sport,
you can see that by clicking just down here.