The PB Seeker: Craig Smith
Preface: Craig contacted me at Changing Paces wanting to improve his 5km time - and hopefully beat his brother at parkrun! Already a 22-minute 5km runner, this was never going to be easy, but Craig's determination to run a 7-minute mile showed his willingness to train hard. However, races and park runs were cancelled over lockdown, meaning we had our work cut out for us to not only run hard but run hard in a non-conventional-race setting. Read on to find out how Craig did after just 8 weeks... - Cat
"So, the time had come, 8 weeks of hard training with Cat and there I was warming up ready to tackle a 5K course hoping to smash my PB and beat my brother in a virtual race.
Training had gone well; it had its ups and downs but I’m hard on myself as I want to achieve my goals for the session. Coincidently, last night I watched I Am Bolt, a biographical documentary sports film following Usain Bolt leading up to the Rio Olympics in 2016. If you haven’t watched it then it’s a great insight to the big man himself! It really made me realize that even top-level athletes struggle with motivation, training demands and session after session of running. Who would have thought that the greatest sprinter on this planet would have hard training sessions where he can’t keep form, can’t get his starts correct, struggles to sprint 100m under 11 seconds. I kind of felt normal after the film! Its refreshing to know he struggles just like us! Anyway we digress…
Back to race day……I had gone through all my warm-up procedure, jog, heel lifts etc. Before training with Cat I would never warm up. I would turn up, run my arse off, finish and then collapse in the nearest available place. I really understand the importance of the warm up now!
I set off knowing in my head that 1 of my goals was to run a sub 7 minute mile in a competitive race. I concentrated hard on technique and breathing and trying(!) to stay relaxed. Mile 1 completed in 6:47….. 1st tick of the day but its not over just yet. I knew at the end of mile 2 that I there was a rise in the road, not significant, but knew I would have to dig in and drive though the pain barrier. Mile 2 completed in 6:57….thats 2 miles under 7 mins but I also knew there was more pain to come. Halfway through the last mile the technique had gone out the window and it was just sheer will to complete the distance. I wanted to beat my PB of 22:03 AND beat my brother which had been a rare occurrence in my running career. Mile 3 completed in 6:54, I knew I was nearly there and it was just a sprint to the finish. I felt there was nothing in the legs but drove on and stopped the watch at 21:15!!!! I was so so pleased. All the hard work had really paid off and the pressure had been lifted off my shoulders. I had knocked nearly 50 seconds off my PB, ran an average of 6:51 per mile AND beat my brother…..full house 😊.
I strongly believe that Cat’s training has made me a better runner. We concentrated on technique throughout the 8 weeks and stayed loyal to the program. Of course, there are bits which were enjoyable and others less so, but I also learnt a lot about myself.
My thanks to Cat for her advice and helpful comments. We never met once throughout the whole 8 weeks and just exchanged a few messages each week and planned from there. If you want to improve your running speed, technique or times then Cat is the person for you!"
Training had gone well; it had its ups and downs but I’m hard on myself as I want to achieve my goals for the session. Coincidently, last night I watched I Am Bolt, a biographical documentary sports film following Usain Bolt leading up to the Rio Olympics in 2016. If you haven’t watched it then it’s a great insight to the big man himself! It really made me realize that even top-level athletes struggle with motivation, training demands and session after session of running. Who would have thought that the greatest sprinter on this planet would have hard training sessions where he can’t keep form, can’t get his starts correct, struggles to sprint 100m under 11 seconds. I kind of felt normal after the film! Its refreshing to know he struggles just like us! Anyway we digress…
Back to race day……I had gone through all my warm-up procedure, jog, heel lifts etc. Before training with Cat I would never warm up. I would turn up, run my arse off, finish and then collapse in the nearest available place. I really understand the importance of the warm up now!
I set off knowing in my head that 1 of my goals was to run a sub 7 minute mile in a competitive race. I concentrated hard on technique and breathing and trying(!) to stay relaxed. Mile 1 completed in 6:47….. 1st tick of the day but its not over just yet. I knew at the end of mile 2 that I there was a rise in the road, not significant, but knew I would have to dig in and drive though the pain barrier. Mile 2 completed in 6:57….thats 2 miles under 7 mins but I also knew there was more pain to come. Halfway through the last mile the technique had gone out the window and it was just sheer will to complete the distance. I wanted to beat my PB of 22:03 AND beat my brother which had been a rare occurrence in my running career. Mile 3 completed in 6:54, I knew I was nearly there and it was just a sprint to the finish. I felt there was nothing in the legs but drove on and stopped the watch at 21:15!!!! I was so so pleased. All the hard work had really paid off and the pressure had been lifted off my shoulders. I had knocked nearly 50 seconds off my PB, ran an average of 6:51 per mile AND beat my brother…..full house 😊.
I strongly believe that Cat’s training has made me a better runner. We concentrated on technique throughout the 8 weeks and stayed loyal to the program. Of course, there are bits which were enjoyable and others less so, but I also learnt a lot about myself.
My thanks to Cat for her advice and helpful comments. We never met once throughout the whole 8 weeks and just exchanged a few messages each week and planned from there. If you want to improve your running speed, technique or times then Cat is the person for you!"