Run With Coach Parry

Welcome to the next edition of Ask Coach Parry. In this episode we heard from Scott. He has given us a bit of background here, Scott says he is 46 years old and has been running seriously for 2 years now with the following pb’s: 10km 43’, 15km 108’, 21km – 137’. The problem he is sitting with is he battles to run a sub 4 hour marathon where he reckons he should be running between 3.30 and 3.40. Can you offer him some advice on how he can improve his marathon time? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

You are with Ask Coach Parry and on this episode we answer the question from Leboa. Leboa says “There is always a time at a race where I start to lose focus and confusion sets in. Especially between the 32km and 37km mark. I would always be on time to make a sub 4 hour marathon but then the wheels start coming off. Could it be purely a lack of focus and how can I keep that focus, or could it be my inexperience or lack of long running training?” I'm presuming that he is talking in a marathon here. I think the phrase ‘The Wall’ comes into play here? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Into the next edition of Ask Coach Parry. Today’s Comrades Marathon question comes from David Green. He says he is a bit concerned that he is doing quite a bit more mileage than what we spoke about last week when we spoke about where you should be right now for a Vic Clapham, Bronze, Bill Rowan and Silver medals. He is a first time Comrades Marathon runner, although he has run 30+ marathons. He has got four Two Oceans Marathon finishes as well. But those were all some years ago. He is guessing that he will finish the Comrades Marathon somewhere between 10.30 hours and 12 hours. He is doing roughly 60km’s a week right now and wants to do the Two Oceans as a training run. But he has to do a marathon before to qualify for the Comrades Marathon. Based on what he is doing for the long races in Cape Town he was thinking of the bay to bay 30km and Redhill 36km and so on. After qualifying for the Comrades Marathon at the peninsula mid way through February he plans to up the km’s to 70km’s per month to prepare for

Welcome to another episode of Ask Coach Parry. Ahead of the upcoming Ironman 70.3 we have a question in from Adriaan Venter. He says he is doing the Ironman 70.3 in East London next weekend. He therefore hasn’t started his Comrades Marathon training as yet. He says his running kilometres for January will be much less than what is prescribed on your Comrades Marathon training programmes. Would it be ok to just pick up with February training for a bronze medal? Or how would you suggest he goes about adapting his training? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Welcome to another Ask Coach Parry, this time of the year a lot of people are looking at qualifying if they haven’t qualified yet. End of January I know there are lots of marathons around South Africa that people do use. I think particularly in Gauteng there is the Johnson Crane, I know down in the Western Cape there are some as well, in KZN definitely a few. Let’s say you are qualifying at the end of the month, that’s 2 weeks to go. Let’s talk about the taper in the build up to the marathon as part of your qualifying campaign. Obviously that is not your goal race, so it is a case of you need to taper but you still need to be training. How do you get that balance right? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

You are with Ask Coach Parry. On this episode we check in on where the guys looking for a sub 7 ½ hour Comrades Marathon finish should be in their training. This is the time where the rubber meets the road in terms of training, so what should the guys and girls aiming for a silver Comrades Marathon medal be doing? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

This is Ask Coach Parry and today we look at where you should be this early in the season for a Comrades Marathon finish. In this episode we find out what the Bill Rowan Comrades Marathon finishers should be doing. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Welcome back to Ask Coach Parry and today we look at the guys and girls who are aiming for a Bronze Comrades Marathon Medal. That is to finish between 9 and 11 hours. Where should these runners be this time of the year? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Welcome to another episode of Ask Coach Parry. As things get back to normal we take a look at where you should be if you are training for the Comrades Marathon this year. For majority of people the fun and holidays are over. Today we start with the runners aiming for a Vic Clapham Comrades Marathon finishers medal, those wanting to finish between 11 and 12 hours. Where should they be right now and what should they be doing? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Today on Ask Coach Parry we have a fabulous question which perhaps we would never ask. Phuti Mohale says he wants to win the Comrades Marathon in 2015. His problem is pacing. He says he is naturally a fast runner. His first Comrades Marathon was in 2013 and he finished in 8.50. In 2014 he finished in 7.20. What does it take to win the Comrades Marathon? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Welcome to another episode of Ask Coach Parry. Annamarie submitted her question today. She says she ran her qualifying marathon on the 6th of December. She recently ran a 2.07 half marathon and her 5km pb is 26.45. She has not run a 10km in a while. She has entered OMTOM 56m as well, and she is also planning on running another marathon in February/March 2015. She wants to know what is your advice with regards to her pacing for her 2015 marathon and ultra if she wishes to finish the Comrades Marathon comfortably? She wants to do the Comrades Marathon in 11.30. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Runner athlete running on sunrise road On this episode of Ask Coach Parry we take a look at the question submitted by Kerry Maher. She says that she is 52 years old and just started running 6 months ago. She is training 4 days a week, and her current 5km pb is 23.50, and for 10km it is 49.50. She is aiming to train on 5km’s and 10km’s this year, then next year move up to half marathons, in 2016 she wants to move up to marathons and in 2017 for her 55th birthday she wants to do the Comrades Marathon. She knows she is doing a very slow and steady build up but she doesn’t want to injure herself. She knows with her current timings she could do a bronze Comrades Marathon if she keeps up all her training. But her big question is do you think she could try for a Bill Rowan Comrades Marathon medal? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

This is another episode of Ask Coach Parry. The question for today was submitted by Mike Ungerer. He says he relocated from Cape Town to Gauteng in October 2014. Since then he has lost complete interest in running. In his first week in Gauteng he continued with your bronze Comrades Marathon programme. He battled with his breathing and was constantly tired and his legs feel sluggish. He has reached the stage where his desire for running is just gone. He has also started to eat a lot. His last race was the Voet 21km just before the relocation. He is 60 years old and currently weighs 88kg’s. And finally, he sleeps a lot. He says please can you help him? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Welcome to the very first edition of the Ask Coach Parry podcast for 2015. In this episode we answer a Comrades Marathon question from Terence Cross. He says he is following your programmes suggesting run/walk intervals and times, etc. He finds it hard to keep cumulative track of doing enough km’s or hours of those. He uses a Garmin through which he has cumulative km’s and time to ‘keep him honest with himself’. Do you have any guidance with regards to how many km’s per month are advised from now on for respective medals? (Bronze or Vic Clapham in his case)? How many km’s – as a rough guide – should you be doing between January and Comrades Marathon race day, if you are aiming for a Vic Clapham, bronze, Bill Rowan or silver? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Welcome to another Ask Coach Parry episode. Today we have a question submitted by Phindile. She says in 2009 and 2010 she ran the Comrades Marathon and got Vic Clapham medals in both years.in July 2011 she gave birth to a baby boy. In 2012 she attempted the Comrades Marathon again but could not finish, she was cut off at half way. In 2013 she gave birth to a baby girl. She has entered the Comrades Marathon again in 2015. She is scared that she may not make it like in 2012. She wants to know what advice you can give her with regards to how to train and maybe training programmes to follow to help her improve on her running? Before giving birth she ran a 10km in an hour but now it takes an hour 10minutes for her to finish a 10km race. Her best 21km time this year is 2.35. She is really worried and doesn’t want to give up easily. Lindsey Parry: This is a slightly complicated situation. It is not only about the birthing process and the time that you missed during pregnancy. Read More · Training Progra

Welcome to another Ask Coach Parry. Comrades Marathon coach Lindsey Parry answers a question from Stuart Andrews today. It is a follow on question from the series we did a while ago regarding the run/walk strategy in getting a Comrades Marathon Vic Clapham, Bronze, Bill Rowan or Silver medal. We did it for the various medals. Stuart wanted to know if he is targeting a bronze medal (and this applies to any medal anyone is targeting really), does the run/walk strategy for a Comrades Marathon bronze medal apply from the very start of the race? Lindsey Parry: Yes it does. The late Dave Spence who used to be the coach for the Two Oceans marathon who also coined the phrase: You need to start walking before you Have to start. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

This is Ask Coach Parry and today we have a question from Uzwile Mthimkulu. He says he always gets injured in his ankles, especially when he trains on the hills and in the mountains and during trail running events. He wants to know if there is any advice for that? He also wants to know if you have any advice on preferred nutrition when running long? Lindsey Parry: In terms of helping to protect those ankles from turning, you need to work on your proprioception. If you train in a gym, most gyms have got either stability pads or little hedgehogs or bosu balls. Take your shoes off and get onto those stability pads and you stand for 30 – 60 seconds on each leg balancing. You will feel that you feel very unstable in the beginning, but the more you do it the more stable those ankles will become. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Welcome to another Ask Coach Parry episode. Today we answer Yazeed Emeran’s question. He says he ran is first marathon at the Winelands marathon and qualified for Two Oceans ultra – which will also be his first one he is running, he has entered that already. He would like to enter the Comrades Marathon of 2015 also. (Entries will have closed by the time this podcast goes live). He has got a training programme which he has followed which will allow him to finish the ultra, he also has a training programme which allow him to finish the Comrades Marathon. The two programmes are quite different, he wants to know which one he should follow? Lindsey Parry: That is actually a fairly easy question for me to answer. It boils down to which of the two races – Two Oceans Ultra or Comrades Marathon – are more important to you. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

On the next episode of Ask Coach Parry we have another question in from the UK again. Just a couple of days ago we were talking about running in the heat and humidity. This one comes from Carel Muller. He says he struggled with the heat at the last 2 Comrades Marathon’s. It is something that a lot of people in the north do battle with, what advice can you give Carel with regards to simulating warm weather training during the British winter in particular to adjust more to the heat in South Africa? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

This is Ask Coach Parry and today our question is short and sweet. I think it is a follow on from the Comrades Marathon medal series we did a short while back for Vic Clapham, Bronze, Bill Rowan and Silver medals. It comes from Awie and he wants to know if it is true that you have to be a sub 3 hour marathoner to run a silver at the Comrades Marathon? Lindsey Parry: No it is not true that you HAVE to run a under sub 3 to get a silver at the Comrades Marathon. But there are very few people who run slower than a 3 hour marathon and go on to get a silver Comrades Marathon medal. I know we posted that series on the Comrades Marathon page of facebook. There was one guy in particular who did a 3.15 marathon and he ran a silver Comrades Marathon. But by his own admission; he said when he ran a 3.15 marathon he was running very easy because it was part of his training for the Comrades Marathon. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com