Catch a Coach Newsletter

Catch a Coach Newsletter

Catch a Coach newsletter

Welcome to another edition of Catch a Coach, the monthly newsletter from the coaching team at Fairlands Valley Spartans.

We really have got into our stride now in 2012 and January saw loads of running activity, ranging from our Cross Country exploits and 5K races through to marathons!! Whilst many of you are focussing on training build ups to one of the big marathons in April or May, there are many of you that I know who are not. Your objectives may be to run a first 5K, compete in an indoor track competition or run a half marathon. The list is endless!!

Our training programme is designed to help you all out. It is not an individual training schedule so please don’t read it as such. The key is to think about what you are trying to achieve and use the sessions to help support that. This may mean that you do not complete some of the club’s training programme perhaps because of the timing of the sessions or just that they are not suitable. I would, however, hope that this is rare!!! Many of the sessions in the programme can be adapted to suit you as an individual. This may mean adaptations in terms of your pace and/or recovery times, it may mean adaptations in terms of which group you run in on a Tuesday, and so on. The key is that you try and make the most of what is there in the programme to suit your training. The coaching team are here to help you and I saw countless examples of them doing just that during January. Please just have a chat with one of us if you are unsure about any of your training.

I hope you find the newsletter helpful. Remember if you have any questions about the material in it or on the ‘Catch a Coach’ section within the club’s website just CATCH A COACH or send an e-mail to the team at

Cheers

Chris ‘Coach’ Leigh

Contents

  1. What’s coming up – 10 of the best for February
  2. Coach development
  3. Diet and nutrition, some basics
  4. Quote of the month
  5. Meet the team – Andy Neetham
  6. Top tips
  7. What is.....Plantar Fasciitis?
  8. A guide to.....the 30,45, 60 second hill session
  9. Coach’s A to Z of running ...letters A to E

What’s coming up - 10 of the best for February

Here’s our ten of the best for February!

  1. During February the schedule Tuesday sessions see a progression in the length of efforts as we move through the month, starting with a 2mins session and rising to a 5 mins session on the 21st January. The sessions with 4 and 5 min efforts give all runners the chance to practice tempo pacing.The last Tuesday of the month then sees an upward ladder session to check out pacing through a range of effort durations.
  2. On Sunday 19th February we have the last fixture in our cross country league season. This is a great chance to get another set of men’s and ladies teams out and finish with a flourish. Please take a look at all of the details on the XC board of the Forum.
  3. Ever been fartleked? It is not as painful as it sounds!!! The endurance session of the month for February is on Thursday 2nd February. If you haven’t run a fartlek session before then this is one for you to join in. If you have run one before then you know how much fun they are and will come along!! Fartlek (Swedish for speedplay) is a session where there are random length efforts and recoveries. It is suitable for all abilities of runners and the group is led in such a way that runners stay together throughout the session due to the re-grouping phases. If you can run 5 miles continuously then this is the session for you!!
  4. Thursday mornings and Saturdays mornings will be time for the Angels .... Ossie’s Angels. Please take a look at the details on the Forum. The majority of Ossie’s runs are off road and this is a great way to develop your strength, stamina and joints. Whilst the 2011/12 XC season is coming to a climax it is never too early to start to look ahead to the 2012/13 season.Using the runs with the Angels is a great way to start preparing and the routes used are extremely varied.
  5. Another great chance to benchmark your training progress on the 23rd February with our popular 5K handicap event. Look out for details on the Forum and please try and let Paul Holgate know in advance of the event whether you intend to run or not so that the organisation of entries and race start can be as smooth as possible.
  6. During February we have put together a group of sessions on Saturdays at Ridlins that can cater for all running objectives from those preparing for indoor and outdoor track events to those running Spring marathons. Many of the sessions have been designed so that they can easily be flexed to suit your own particular running objectives. For example, the 600m session on Saturday 25th February can be run as a 4 x 600m session for those that are developing speed over shorter distances whilst it can be run as a 8x600m session for those that are working up to longer distances. If you are unsure on the approach you should be taking then please speak to the coach for the session and they will be able to help you. The track isn’t about speedy runners whipping around 400m circuits!!! It is exclusively booked for the club every Saturday between 9:15am and 11am and free to paid up members of the club (other clubs with access to track facilities usually charge a track fee of a few pounds everytime you use the track, so we are extremely lucky with our membership!!) Running regularly at the club’s track sessions will develop your running style as well as your running speed and strength. It is a well structured session that is fun to do!! Come along and see what you have been missing out on!
  7. Sundays will see our ever popular offerings of longer duration runs. The club will continue to support two training groups. The first (Group A) will be for those runners typically running at a pace of up to 10:30 mins/mile over a 10-11 mile route. The second group (Group B) will be for those runners running at a pace of over 10:30 mins/mile.In addition to advertised runs in the range of 6-12 miles during the month, we will also be offering additional mileage for those of you on spring marathon training. Please look out for all of the details on the Sunday runs board.
  8. February sees loads of racing opportunities. In particular in February there is the popular Bramley 10mile and 20mile race (2th February) and the Watford half (5th February), the latter being the County Vets half marathon event. Remember that races are filling up quicker than ever before so plan your events and get your entries in promptly.
  9. Corrr!!! Another core training session with Jamie will be held after training on Tuesday 28th February. This is a great way to develop your core muscle group, highly beneficial for runners to give greater stability and strength, resulting in better running performance and reduced injury risk.
  10. .....and don’t forget Sport Relief!!! The club have the honour of organising the event this year on Sunday 25th March. There are 1 mile, 3 mile and 6 mile events and all abilities are truly catered for at the event. If you haven’t run on the track at Ridlins before then this is a great way to introduce yourself!! Check out all of the details at and/or on the Forum.

Remember: if you are feeling unwell in any way during or after your run please make sure that you speak to a member of your groups coaching team. They need to be aware of this so that they can monitor the situation during training.

If you are feeling unwell before the training session then you are advised not to run.

Coach development
Firstly, a big congratulations to Jo Laing for qualifying at the Coach in Running and Fitness level (CiRF), successfully completing the assessment day in January. Jo now joins Richie Bate and Steve Smithson in holding this qualification within the club.
On 14th January, Liam Herbert and Todd Gray attended the Leadership in Running and Fitness course at Hendon. This now enables Liam and Todd to lead out training sessions at the club, and they are also entitled to an orange vest!! Congratulations to both of them. They had the additional honour and pleasure of being on the same course as Nell McAndrew! You can see the broad grins in the picture and the fact that they have placed themselves as close to her as possible!

During 2012 one of the objectives for the coaching team is to increase the number of coaches that are emergency first aid trained. On 12th February and 13th February respectively Liam Herbert and Roger Biggs will be attending an emergency first aid training course at the University of Hertfordshire (Hatfield). The course covers a wide range of first aid techniques/practices from dealing with athletes that have collapsed to dealing with soft tissue injuries.
On the 12th February Jayne Pinner and Christine Sharman will be attending the Leadership in Running and Fitness course at Hatfield University during the Herts Sports Partnerships Coach Education week.
Last, and not least! Our Chairman, Graham Blackburn, started the CiRF course on 28th and 29th January and will be working through the course materials and developing his logbook over the coming weeks. Please give him your support during the sessions that he coaches and be willing volunteers where that is going to help!!
Interested in joining the coaching team and helping to lead out our training groups?? If you are, please have a chat with Coach Leigh at any of the club’s training sessions or drop him a line at
Diet and Nutrition – some basics
With so many different diets available to us it is easy to chop and change what we eat to try to get a quick fix, which can work in the short term as the body is an amazing machine, but over the long term the Food Standards Agency recommends that we use the ‘Eatwell Plate’ below to ensure we have a balanced diet.
eatwell plate jpg
The plate is divided into the five basic food groups
- Bread, Rice, Potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods
- Fruit and Vegetables
- Milk and dairy foods
- Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non dairy sources of protein
- Foods high in fat and/or sugar
The divisions are the rough percentages of the diet you should consume each day to achieve balance.
Unfortunately just getting the percentages right is not itself sufficient as you also need to consider the volume of what you are eating and drinking.
The term metabolism and energy balance is often used with regard to diet and nutrition and a basic understanding can be useful when considering ‘why am I no longer losing weight’ or ‘why do I run out of energy at the end of a marathon’.Metabolism is the range of internal activities that takes place in our bodies and the amount of energy that is required to drive these at rest is known as our ‘basal metabolic rate’ which is measured in calories. Your BMR is individual, although the general guidelines are 1500 kcal for ladies & 2000 kcal for men, as it is dependent on how much of ‘you’ there is. Other factors are our body weight, how active we are and the ratio of fat-free mass to fat mass (body composition). One thing to remember is that fat-free mass (made up of fluids, bones and muscle tissue) are more metabolically active and therefore burn more calories than fat mass.
So what happens if you get the balance of energy used and calories consumed out of balance?
When food is consumed the body converts it to energy, if there is an excess of energy it is stored as fat weight. The key to losing fat weight is to create an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure.
Energy in > Energy out = weight gain
Energy in < energy out = weight loss
Energy in = energy out = weight maintenance
To lose fat weight a deficit needs to be achieved, a rough guide is to lose a pound of fat you need to burn approximately 3500kcal, which is best achieved by a combination of increased activity & reduced calorie intake.
People can get quite hung up on what to eat and when to eat but if you follow these simple guidelines you can concentrate on the training and getting faster;
Eat predominantly complex carbohydrates
Eat 5-7 portions of fruit and vegetables
Moderate intakes of protein
Restrict intakes of food containing high levels of saturated fat and sugar
Drink at least 2 litres of fluid a day
Reduce salt intake
Foods high in fat and sugar are not essential to a healthy diet (but do taste nice)
Most people learn when to eat by trial and error, keep a diary and try different times to see how it affects performance.
But the most important thing is whatever you do, to have fun doing it and smile a lot!!
Andy Prior
Quote of the month
“It’s at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys”.
Emil Zatopek, Olympic gold medallist at 5K, 10K and marathon
Meet the team
Andy Neetham

Q. When did you join the club?
A. September 2010
Q. Why did you join the club?
A. We had just moved to Knebworth from High Wycombe and were looking for a running club with a good social side.
Q. Why did you join the coaching team?
A. I have twenty years experience of club running, with Barnet & District AC and Reading AC, and am a qualified scuba diving instructor. Those two things made it seem a natural thing to do.
Q. What are you hoping to do through your involvement in the coaching team?
A. Pass on some experience andenthusiasmat the same time as learning some new things myself.
Q. When do we typically see you at training?
A. When I'm not injured! My legs have a lot of miles in them and are not as young as they were!
Q. What are your aims in 2012 for your running and/or coaching?
A. Stay injury free so that I can actually join in with coaching and training. If successful with that I'd like to set a few VPBs (Veteran Personal Bests).
Q. Tell us something about you that other Spartans will not know!
A. I'm a Shetlander so there are not many that can accuse me of being a soft southerner!
Top tips
You can lose up to 30 per cent of your lung capacity if you hunch over when you run. Try keeping your spine straight and tall as you move and lifting up your head as if a string was pulling you up from your crown. Airflow to the lungs will be made easier and you will run stronger as a result.
What is ...... Plantar Fasciitis??
Plantar Fasciitis is a painful condition resulting in pain under the heel. It is often caused by overuse of the plantar fascia or arch tendon of the foot. It is a very common condition and can be difficult to treat if not looked after properly.
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
The Plantar Fascia is a broad, thick band of tissue that runs from under the heel to the front of the foot.
Plantar fasciitis is traditionally thought to be an inflammatory condition. This is now believed to be incorrect due to the absence of inflammatory cells within the fascia. The cause of pain and dysfunction is now thought to be degeneration of the collagen fibres close to the attachment to the calcaneus (heel bone).

What are the signs and symptoms?
-Heel pain, under the heel and usually on the inside at the origin of the attachment of the fascia
-Pain when pressing on the inside of the heel and sometimes along the arch of the foot
-Pain is usually worse first thing in the morning as the fascia tightens up overnight. After a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up
-As the condition gets worse the pain can get worse throughout the day if activity continues
-Stretching the plantar fascia may be painful
-Sometimes there may also be pain along the outside border of the heel. This may occur due to the offloading of the painful side of the heel by walking on the outside border of the foot. It may also be associated with the high impact of landing on the outside of the heel if you have high arched feet.
What causes Plantar Fasciitis?
  • Plantar fasciitis or heel spurs are common in sports which involve running, dancing or jumping. Runners who overpronate (feet rolling in or flattening) are particularly at risk as the biomechanics of the foot pronating causes additional stretching of the plantar fascia.
  • The most common cause of plantar fasciitis is very tight calf muscles which leads to prolonged and / or high velocity pronation of the foot. This in turn produces repetitive over-stretching of the plantar fascia leading to possible inflammation and thickening of the tendon. As the fascia thickens it loses flexibility and strength.
  • Other causes include low arch or high arched feet and other biomechanical abnormalities which should be assessed by a podiatrist / physiotherapist / biomechanist.
  • Excessive walking in footwear which does not provide adequate arch support has been attributed to plantar fasciitis. Footwear for plantar fasciitis - both prevention and treatment - should be flat, lace-up and with good arch support and cushioning.
  • Overweight individuals are more at risk of developing the condition due to the excess weight impacting on the foot.
Treatment
Top View