Run With Coach Parry

On this episode of the Ask Coach Parry we chat about choosing the right Comrades Marathon training programme for you. Today’s question was submitted by Barbara Florence. She attended the first of our 2015 Comrades Marathon webinars that we started this week and she really enjoyed it. Barbara is sitting with a bit of a, a dilemma at the moment. It’s a great question and I’m sure you can help, and I’m sure there are lots of people sitting with the same problem. She says she’s undecided as to which Comrades Marathon training programme she should target, and she was hoping that you could help. She ran her first Comrades Marathon this year. She finished in 11:28, but has been plagued with injuries related to her hips and pelvis. She’s taken a good few years to get to this point and she also knows that the Comrades Marathon up run is going to be slower, but she really wants to improve her time. Her best marathon time is about 4 and a half hours. She ran her first Two Oceans ultra last year and she ran a 6:02. She

We have a follow up question on this episode of the Ask Coach Parry Podcast. Debbie is training for her first Comrades Marathon and submitted this question a couple of weeks ago. She has chatted to you before about a calf injury and a sore knee following that calf injury. As per your advice she rested it up and has halved the programme and worked her way back up to the full programme again. She is on the Comrades Marathon finishers programme. Last week being a full week back as per the programme, she says that sadly the sore knees are back to the point that today when she went out for her 5km walk today she had to turn back as they were both very very sore. She says she is also experiencing hip pain in her right hip and feeling very despondent right now as she can’t seem to run without getting injured and is feeling like she's falling behind on the Comrades training programme. She says she is a fit person, she is not over-weight and has built up her running on a strict run/walk programme since June so she i

Today on the Ask Coach Parry Podcast we answer a question relating to knee pain. Nonkululo Mcuntula is hoping to run the Comrades Marathon in 2015 and had the following to say: ‘Hi coach. I have an extreme pain in my right knee when I start running downhill in a marathon. I struggled with swollen knee right through the finish, I went to see the doctor and he prescribed some steroid injections and said it is just a ligament and would go away.’ Nonkululo says that he rested it for 4 weeks but now the pain is waking him at night. He wanted to start training for the Comrades Marathon but it is really really sore. He thought the doctor would recommend an x-ray, what would you recommend? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Is it possible to walk the Comrades Marathon? In a nutshell, that is what today’s episode of the Ask Coach Parry podcast is all about.The question was by Belinda and she attempted the Comrades Marathon a couple of years ago. Unfortunately she ended up missing a cut off.Subsequent to that failed Comrades Marathon attempt she has had to have back surgery so she hasn’t been able to run again. But she is walking, and walking at a fairly brisk pace. Belinda wants to know if it is possible to finish a race like Two Oceans Marathon and the Comrades Marathon by just walking?It is possible to walk the Comrades Marathon Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

David Penzhorn ran the Comrades Marathon in 2014 and is planning on going back in 2015. He submitted his question on the Ask Coach Parry Podcast website and he had the following to say: I completed the Comrades Marathon this year. I then took 2 weeks off and then started training again for the Cape Town Marathon which did not go too well. I missed my goal time by 50 minutes as I felt terrible from the start. I have now decided that I am going to take some time off and give myself a proper break until the end of November. What is the best way to join the Comrades Marathon Bronze medal training programme then? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

The gap between the Comrades Marathon Bill Rowan medal and the Comrades Marathon Bronze medal finish times is two hours. There are a quite a few runners that fall in the middle of those two Comrades Marathon training programmes and if you’re aiming for a 10 hour Comrades Marathon finish it is quite difficult to know how to adjust your Comrades Marathon training programme accordingly. Today’s question on the Ask Coach Parry podcast was submitted by from Kevin seems who says he feels like he is stuck in ‘no-mans-land’. He writes, “Hi, I am a 51 year old runner who has been running for 2 years. I completed my first Two Oceans (5h28) in 2014 and am looking to running my first Comrades in 2015. I have completed 4 marathons with a PB of 3h47. Looking at your Comrades programmes I find myself somewhere between the Bill Rowan and Bronze programmes i.e. I would expect around a 10hr finish. In terms of following the programmes can I just average out the time and pace requirements between the two programmes? The bro

Mthunzi submitted his question for the Ask Coach Parry Podcast today, and it is somewhat related to the chat we have had regarding training to heart rate and building your fitness base using your heart rate monnitor. His question goes as follows: “My training routine is as follows: I go to gym (focus on legs), road run (10/ 11km in approximately 75 minutes), running on a track (15 rounds alternating 2 fast and one jogging), hill repeat (5 repeats of a 600m stretch of road) and 2hr slow run at the weekend. I have bought a heart rate monitor with the objective of increasing my speed, in other words to develop a base. Should I now change all my runs to be at heart rate of 138/ 139 (180-age) for 12 weeks, then once I have developed a base (and aerobic speed) revert to my current or improved program? If not how do you recommend I change my program? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Today’s question was submitted by from Gregg Dardagan. It is quite a complicated one and reads as follows: In all of Lindsey’s Comrades Marathon training programmes he has assumed dates for marathons. I know that he always says that the Comrades programme is interchangeable, so we should just change the times around of long runs or races if needed. But after the marathons he has scheduled a weeks’ rest. I want to ask what we should do if we are running a qualifier at a different time? Greg lives in KZN and will be doing the last Comrades Marathon qualifier in 2014, in 5 weeks’ time. He is following your Bill Rowan Comrades Marathon training programme and wants to know if the marathon is at the end of November and then the rest is for 2 weeks and then minimal mileage for the rest of December before building up in January. If he needs to run his marathon at the end of October and then rest for 2 weeks, what should he do for the rest of the year? He doesn’t want to spend 6 weeks with minimal mileage. But h

Today on the Ask Coach Parry podcast we chat nutrition, particularly the LCHF diet that Prof Tim Noakes talks about. Today we answer a question from Val Opperman. She wants to know if you believe in and follow the diet LCHF diet? She wants to know what your views are. Her reason for asking is at one of your Comrades Marathon seminars last year in Durban you advocated a healthy and balanced diet. She says she finished the Comrades Marathon this year and directly attributed it to your advice. An interesting question, what is your take Lindsey? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Brad Segers, who is an expat South African living in Perth Australia, submitted his question today on the Ask Coach Parry Podcast. Brad is planning on running the 2015 Comrades Marathon and this is what he had to say: Hi I live in Perth Australia and love listening to your podcasts, they’re extremely informative. My question is I am about to register to run the Comrades Marathon for 2015. As a South African living abroad do I enter the Comrades Marathon as a South African or an international runner? An entry for a South African for the Comrades Marathon is R330, but as an international Comrades Marathon runner it's R2000 which is a big difference. Would I have to do my Comrades Marathon qualifying run in South Africa if I am able to enter Comrades as a South African? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Riaz sent the question for today the Ask Coach Parry Podcast and it reads ‘hi guys. thanks for a wonderful show. I completed the 2014 Comrades Marathon. Subsequently to finishing the Comrades Marathon I was involved in a motor bike accident where I have broken my tibia. Most people I speak to indicate it will take a year before I can get into running. Some are also of the opinion I will have to start by walking first before I get into any sort of running. I understand it is going to be a long process and difficult road back to running. What is your advice for getting back in running? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Today on the Ask Coach Parry podcast we talk about getting the balance right between cardio and weights in order to lose weight. Do you need to drop one and focus on the other to get the best results? Today’s question was submitted by Nathan and this is what he asked: I am a fairly thin guy in my 30s and love long distance running and I eat a LCHF diet. However I would love to get rid of my pesky love handles and gain a little muscle mass but have been told that I need to lift heavy and not run. My question is can I do both and still get good results or would I be better off focusing on losing body fat and gaining muscle and stop running for a season? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Similar to a question we had a few weeks ago about doing the Great Wall of China Marathon and the Comrades Marathon, we got the following question in from Dave Riches today. Dave wanted to know as a first time Comrades Marathon runner 2015, would one be able to include the AfricanX three day trail run into a training plan? Or would it be too much and require a lot of recovery being so close to Two Oceans and in the critical months leading up to the Comrades Marathon? The aim would be to run it for the time on the legs as opposed to racing it. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

Stu Clifton is aiming for a Bill Rowan (Sub 9 hour) Comrades Marathon and sent us his question today. He wants to know how fast he should run Two Oceans in 2015 if his main aim is a Bill Rowan the Comrades Marathon. He says he has already qualified at Mandela Marathon. Last year he ran 4:56 at Oceans and had a great run running the last 10km in 46min. However, on his last long run before the Comrades Marathon he picked up a calf niggle and ended up having to rest it for almost 3 weeks. His Comrades Marathon Bill Rowan hopes went out of the window with that. He couldn't stay on pace and he knows that overdoing it at Two Oceans and on one other training run is probably what pushed him into injury. Stu has finished 3 Comrades Marathon and has come off a training base from the Dusi Canoe Marathon, where he is a fairly competitive paddler, finishing in the top 20. Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

We answer another Comrades Marathon novice question today. Megan submitted a question through our website and this is what she asked: I listened to one of your podcasts (Couch potato to the Comrades Marathon in 12 months) from last year and found it so motivating and helpful. I’m not quite a couch potato. I have exercised on and off over the years but never managed to stick to much of a routine. Ever since a tot I have watched the Comrades Marathon with my family and always been along the road side cheering the Comrades Marathon runners on, so it has been my dream to run the Comrades Marathon practically my whole life. At the age of 35 with a sport junkie Ironman for a husband and 2 boys under 5, I decided to take the plunge and enter for comrades 2015. What have I done???? I have two questions. On the rest days can I do a light spinning class or swim, or do I literally have to do nothing? And secondly, am I too late to start with the free zero to half marathon in 24 weeks programme that you guys did whic

We chat about time constraints when training for the Comrades Marathon on this edition of the Ask Coach Parry podcast. Lennard van Wyk has recently changed jobs, and now has to work on Saturdays. He has always done almost every single race every Saturday. He wants to know how not being able to run frequent races will impact his Comrades Marathon training? Will it be a good thing or a bad thing? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

On this edition of the Ask Coach Parry Podcast we chat about the time of your longer races in the build up to the 2015 Comrades Marathon. Should you be running really long now or should you be targeting shorter, faster races before the end of the year? The question Lindsey answers today was submitted by Steven and he writes: “I have been running for about 18 months but still consider myself a novice. Last year I was scraping 5 hours for the marathon and 2h20ish for the half marathon. I really want to be able to be in a position to run the Comrades Marathon in 2015, and have been working hard on my strength and running through winter. I already feel that I’m in a much better position in terms of fitness, strength etc than I ever was last year. My half marathon time is now down to 2h03 but I’m battling to just dip under the 2 hour mark - with the 2015 Comrades Marathon being the end goal, should I be focusing on the Comrades Marathon finishers or the bronze Comrades Marathon training programme? And should my

Comrades Marathon qualifying comes into question today on the Ask Coach Parry Podcast. With the Comrades Marathon Association having changed the qualifying criteria slightly – not so much by what you have to do but rather by when you have to do it. Can you go into some of the detail around the thinking as to why that’s changed? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com

We have a running nutrition related question on today’s Ask Coach Parry Podcast. It was submitted by Daan van Niekerk. He says he has actually posted this question on the Comrades Marathon Facebook Page but they referred him to us. He says he had to pull out of running the 2014 Comrades Marathon due to illness on the road. Listening to their very wise running captain at South Coast Striders, he visited his doctor. After various tests he was diagnosed with a condition called Reactive Hypoclycemia. What it basically means is that when the average runner uses sugary supplements like gels, that normally have the effect of lifting blood sugar levels and give extra energy, with this condition the body reacts in the complete opposite way. Sugar intake causes severe drop in blood sugar levels, leaving you fatigued and with no energy. Nausea sets in and you really start to feel sick. The doctor says he is to cut out sugars and rather drink isotonic drinks on race day. He also needs to keep on eating while on the ro

Our question today comes from Siphiwe Mazibuko. He’s a beginner runner and will be a Comrades Marathon novice in 2015 and he would like to get some advice. He is 30 years old and the longest run he has done is 13½ km’s at 7.22 per kay. He said in July he was able to do between 20 and 25km per week over 4 days. Siphiwe asked how do you follow your Comrades Marathon training programme for the finishers medal that is on the Comrades Marathon website? Can he finish a half marathon by the end of the year if he was to start your Comrades Marathon finishers programme right now? He also wants to know how does he go about choosing which races to run in the build up to the 2015 Comrades Marathon? Read More · Training Programs · www.CoachParry.com