Susie's first blog

I was wondering how to introduce myself to the blogging world, and have deleted this first line several times now and retyped it. So after several aborted attempts, I've decided to delay introductions and hit you with a thought I had while I was out running the other day.

This may explain myself, and the reasons why I go running.

Or it may make me out to be a complete fruitcake!


Supposing you had the ultimate training computer. This computer could determine for you the ultimate training plan. Each day it would determine for you the perfect training session. It would do this based on your ultimate goal (in my case the Flora London Marathon), tempered by a few constraints such as the need to work each day. It would have access to all your physiological data such as weight, height, body fat, heart rates, stroke volumes, blood chemistry, lactate, lipids, proteins, enzymes etc; in fact it would know each day exactly how you were feeling and what sort of training stresses it could put you under. It would advise on diet, and could determine what each meal should be in order to provide optimal nutrition.

Each training session would be the perfect one for you. Every meal the perfect balance of nutrients to fuel you. Ultimately, on race day, it determines the perfect race strategy, and you run the perfect race. At the end you will have performed to the utmost, running to the maximum you are capable of.

So what would life be like if such a device existed and you followed its instructions exactly?

Would the next 5 months be the worst torture you have ever experienced in your life? Would you feel like you were always on the verge of injury? Would you feel constantly drained, battling through the training, enduring pain and agony for the sake of your goal? Would the race be the most painful experience of your life, crossing the finish line in total exhaustion, completely destroyed by the effort?

Or would the next 5 months be the best running experience of your life? Every day you have boundless energy. Those little niggling injuries you've always suffered are a distant memory. You really get back in touch with what you love about running. Race day is a fantastic experience. You race for that line totally elated, astonished by the time you've just achieved.

So which scenario would it be?

Given that such a device clearly does not exist, is there a coach out there who is the next best thing, and what are his training methods?

Funny the things you think about when out running!