Mate, I've been following you for a long time, and you’re truly an inspiration. I connect with every video you post because there’s no pretense-just raw honesty about a sport we both love passionately. I’m 56, and I doubt that fire will ever diminish. Your video came at the perfect time for me. Thanks, mate. Mark, a Kiwi living in Japan. Congratulations as well!
It's called Bekele syndrome! All jokes aside, it's a fine line between overtraining and reaching your potential, especially when recovery has to be compromised due to life obligations/outside stress. Easier said than done but being slightly undertrained and consistent is better than pushing beyond your limits and getting sidelined.
I have similar frustrations as I get older (57. CIM today 3:18). The only way forward is to prioritize not getting injured as your training goal. It is a new challenge of finding the way. You can only work on the future the past is gone
Congratulations on being a father now! As you learned, competitive ambitions and injuries do not go well together. Your established ability to run fast and hard is suddenly your foe trying to lure you into "too much too fast". My advice as an "older guy" is to remember that any run is a good run - also the slow miles :-) I hope you find a good balance and avoid any permanent injuries.
Having a 5 year old I can say gets, a little, easier. We went from stroller running to now he wants to run with me which is cool but you will have easier windows to work out especially treadmills and stationary bikes at home. I went 2 years of really sporadic activity and it didn't take that long to get back to where I was. Hang in and enjoy the road.
Nice to hear from you once or twice every year 😂 Congrats !! Like I told you a few years back, father time is hard to deal with. Now that you are a father, officially, it's gonna be even harder. I suggest you dial back on your millage and enjoy some bike rides instead.
Do you do consistent heavy weightlifting? Do you work a lot of zone 1? How many hard days do you have a week? Man it is great seeing your video again. You have such a strong storytelling ability. I'd love to see your videos about the changes in life. Life flies man.
Hammy issues are the worst. Just enough effect your stride and annoy you constantly and limit your miles but not enough to force you to stop. I tried time off and it never helped really. Ran through it for 2 years. Think I had to run through to build up a running body, it was a weak link. Finally running pain free for last 6 months and it feels weird...lol.
I think it's GREAT you are Biking to and fro to work. The only thing I'm concerned about - is I'm hoping your route doesn't put you in close proximity to moving cars. I know in my area, {Dallas-Fort Worth} using a bike to get around can be extremely dangerous. There will be areas where you can use trails, but then other areas you're out there with the cars. AND in my area, there are not very many bike racks, so on the times I was using my bike like you are, you have to lock your bike to a tree or a telephone pole. My indoor track however does actually have a bike rack. Concerning your running - one thing is very clear: you have proven yourself as a runner. Running 1:15 for the half with very little training is pretty dang good. Now if I were your coach, {I once was a volunteer HS boys distance coach in Kentucky - a LONG time ago - LOL} I would try to steer you away from the marathon. You have already ran a few really good marathon clockings and you can be very proud of what you accomplished. Instead I would try to steer you to just race 800 meters to half marathon. Just concentrate on building speed and keep running mileage LOW. {you are already keeping your aerobic base by biking and swimming} Now in the future, if you clock a sub 1:07 half marathon, THEN take a stab at a marathon to get the OT standard. If you get the standard, then you'll be invited to the OT marathon. But in the meantime, to avoid destroying yourself, just see if you can go sub 67 in the half. Just try to enjoy the journey. Personally I think you could crack 1:07 in the half if you focused on the half. You've already run 1:13 right ?? {if my memory is correct} The reason of course I emphasize 1:07 for the half, is because that's pretty much the minimum clocking from a physical standpoint needed to run an OT marathon standard. All each of us can do, is use the cards we've been dealt. You already admitted your body does not do well with high running mileage. OK, fine - but your other card you have been dealt is you definitely HAVE running talent - WAY better than average. OK, so get in your base with Biking and swimming - OBVIOUSLY it's WORKING. On the running side just stick to LOW mileage but at higher speeds. Throw some strength training in the mix and of course monitor your nutrition, and I think great things can happen for you. That's my 3 cents worth LOL.
Wow what an epically long comment. Parker Valby proves you can be a solid runner with unconventional training! I definitely need to research that more. Thanks for the advice. I have run a bunch of 1:13 halves with one outlier 1:10:30 on a BQ legal but 800ft net downhill course haha. I think sprint tris are in my future among other things.
@@cicirunner Yea I just saw that Parker joined Mark Coogan's New Balance team. Mr. Coogan has them running on grass. I listened to Mark's philosophy as a coach. I really really like the guy. Mark is more interested in the athlete's overall long term well being than "killing" it on the track. The funny thing is, I bet Mark is going to produce some Olympians. If you haven't seen the video, it's on TH-cam. I guess type in "Parker Valby - New Balance - Mark Coogan" on the YT search and I think it's a 13 minute video.
Mate, I've been following you for a long time, and you’re truly an inspiration. I connect with every video you post because there’s no pretense-just raw honesty about a sport we both love passionately. I’m 56, and I doubt that fire will ever diminish. Your video came at the perfect time for me. Thanks, mate. Mark, a Kiwi living in Japan. Congratulations as well!
It's called Bekele syndrome! All jokes aside, it's a fine line between overtraining and reaching your potential, especially when recovery has to be compromised due to life obligations/outside stress. Easier said than done but being slightly undertrained and consistent is better than pushing beyond your limits and getting sidelined.
Been following you for almost 10 years. Congrats on the little one. You’ll find your way 🤙🏼
I have similar frustrations as I get older (57. CIM today 3:18). The only way forward is to prioritize not getting injured as your training goal. It is a new challenge of finding the way. You can only work on the future the past is gone
Congratulations on being a father now!
As you learned, competitive ambitions and injuries do not go well together. Your established ability to run fast and hard is suddenly your foe trying to lure you into "too much too fast". My advice as an "older guy" is to remember that any run is a good run - also the slow miles :-)
I hope you find a good balance and avoid any permanent injuries.
Having a 5 year old I can say gets, a little, easier. We went from stroller running to now he wants to run with me which is cool but you will have easier windows to work out especially treadmills and stationary bikes at home. I went 2 years of really sporadic activity and it didn't take that long to get back to where I was. Hang in and enjoy the road.
Congrats on the baby
Nice to see you back..again! You can't hurry the harvest and sounds like you are on the mend.
cici runner
Nice to hear from you once or twice every year 😂
Congrats !!
Like I told you a few years back, father time is hard to deal with. Now that you are a father, officially, it's gonna be even harder.
I suggest you dial back on your millage and enjoy some bike rides instead.
Do you do consistent heavy weightlifting? Do you work a lot of zone 1? How many hard days do you have a week? Man it is great seeing your video again. You have such a strong storytelling ability. I'd love to see your videos about the changes in life. Life flies man.
I would concentrate on more cycling and just do the odd run
Hammy issues are the worst. Just enough effect your stride and annoy you constantly and limit your miles but not enough to force you to stop. I tried time off and it never helped really. Ran through it for 2 years. Think I had to run through to build up a running body, it was a weak link.
Finally running pain free for last 6 months and it feels weird...lol.
I think it's GREAT you are Biking to and fro to work. The only thing I'm concerned about - is I'm hoping your route doesn't put you in close proximity to moving cars. I know in my area, {Dallas-Fort Worth} using a bike to get around can be extremely dangerous. There will be areas where you can use trails, but then other areas you're out there with the cars. AND in my area, there are not very many bike racks, so on the times I was using my bike like you are, you have to lock your bike to a tree or a telephone pole. My indoor track however does actually have a bike rack. Concerning your running - one thing is very clear: you have proven yourself as a runner. Running 1:15 for the half with very little training is pretty dang good. Now if I were your coach, {I once was a volunteer HS boys distance coach in Kentucky - a LONG time ago - LOL} I would try to steer you away from the marathon. You have already ran a few really good marathon clockings and you can be very proud of what you accomplished. Instead I would try to steer you to just race 800 meters to half marathon. Just concentrate on building speed and keep running mileage LOW. {you are already keeping your aerobic base by biking and swimming} Now in the future, if you clock a sub 1:07 half marathon, THEN take a stab at a marathon to get the OT standard. If you get the standard, then you'll be invited to the OT marathon. But in the meantime, to avoid destroying yourself, just see if you can go sub 67 in the half. Just try to enjoy the journey. Personally I think you could crack 1:07 in the half if you focused on the half. You've already run 1:13 right ?? {if my memory is correct} The reason of course I emphasize 1:07 for the half, is because that's pretty much the minimum clocking from a physical standpoint needed to run an OT marathon standard. All each of us can do, is use the cards we've been dealt. You already admitted your body does not do well with high running mileage. OK, fine - but your other card you have been dealt is you definitely HAVE running talent - WAY better than average. OK, so get in your base with Biking and swimming - OBVIOUSLY it's WORKING. On the running side just stick to LOW mileage but at higher speeds. Throw some strength training in the mix and of course monitor your nutrition, and I think great things can happen for you. That's my 3 cents worth LOL.
Wow what an epically long comment. Parker Valby proves you can be a solid runner with unconventional training! I definitely need to research that more. Thanks for the advice. I have run a bunch of 1:13 halves with one outlier 1:10:30 on a BQ legal but 800ft net downhill course haha. I think sprint tris are in my future among other things.
@@cicirunner Yea I just saw that Parker joined Mark Coogan's New Balance team. Mr. Coogan has them running on grass. I listened to Mark's philosophy as a coach. I really really like the guy. Mark is more interested in the athlete's overall long term well being than "killing" it on the track. The funny thing is, I bet Mark is going to produce some Olympians. If you haven't seen the video, it's on TH-cam. I guess type in "Parker Valby - New Balance - Mark Coogan" on the YT search and I think it's a 13 minute video.