I love High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Well, I love it when I’m not in the process of actually doing it! It is a fantastic way of improving sports performance in short periods of time.

I tried out a new protocol today, cribbed from ‘Referee Specific Training’, a presentation by Bryn Markham-Jones. You can find it on pages 17 and 18.

Here is my own summary, and I have put the timings differently to make it easier to follow when actually doing it.

WARNING: HIIT is, by definition, INTENSIVE! Be absolutely sure you are fit to do this. Check with your GP if required. It is also expected that you are fully warmed up before commencing this, as it STARTS with running fast.

Set treadmill inclination to suit your fitness.

00:00 – 18.5 km/h
00:30 – Jogging
01:30 – 16.5 – 17.5 km/h
02:30 – Jogging
03:30 – 16 – 17 km/h
05:00 – Jogging
06:00 – 15 – 16 km/h
08:00 – Jogging
09:00 – 16 – 17 km/h
10:30 – Jogging
11:30 – 16.5 – 17.5 km/h
12:30 – Jogging
13:30 – 18.5 km/h
14:00 – Jogging
15:00 – STOP.

REST 5 minutes. This is ONE SET. Repeat, to make a total exercise duration of 35 minutes.

Fun, huh? I made it through, although I went for a 0% incline and the ‘Jogging’ elements ended up mostly being ‘Walking recovery’ in all honesty. Need to step that up!

My own personal guideline for HIIT: “Do I feel like I might collapse if I do any more? Do I have a sense of euphoria for finishing?” Job done then!

Do you have any favourite interval training routines?

Keep on running...

I’ve been intending to take the Surrey FA fitness test for a while. It is not strictly required for the Enhanced Promotion scheme that I am on, but I love a good challenge and also to demonstrate that I am serious about all this.

The core component is the Cooper Test. Very simple: Run as far as you can in twelve minutes without stopping. The required distance to pass is 2500 metres. I had done a few test-runs, mostly on inclined treadmills, and had a good solid pace to hit 2700 metres without keeling over. Oh, and the right music choice to pace myself with!

I’ve been running regularly, both for fitness and when refereeing, so felt confident I would do okay. Especially with the extra adrenaline boost on the day.

On the day there were five candidates. It was a good atmosphere as the test was being held on a proper athletics track, which was being used by some other people too. With just five candidates, there was no real ‘pack’ to run with, so I was glad I had worked on pacing! In the end, I nailed 2700 metres so my ‘game plan’ worked successfully. I could have edged that up a bit but wanted to ensure I saved energy for the sprinting test…

The sprinting test is also simple: Run 50 metres in 7.5 seconds or less, walk back, and do it again. I’ve always been quite proud of my sprinting speed so this presented no issues. No record was kept of my exact time, which is a shame, but really the important thing is that I passed and that no injuries were sustained.

Now to keep working on my fitness and, of course, the healthy eating! I’ve set a benchmark to beat next time round…

I have had a few heart rate monitors over the years. I started out with a Polar RS200. This was a simple enough device which tracked HR and had good feedback for which training zone I was in. Sadly, it decided to die recently.

I also owned a Garmin Forerunner 305. This had the additional bonus of GPS tracking which allowed all sorts of geeky analysis. One downside was that it felt a bit like something out of Star Trek when worn due to its bulk. This one didn’t die. Instead, I lost it years ago. Oops.

It was time to get a new one and I elected for the Garmin Forerunner 410.

There have been a few different models since the 305 which have passed me by. In that time, the design has improved a lot and although the 410 is a little bit bigger than I would like, it will certainly do! I am a little bit disappointed by the strap as it is a bit clunky considering the price of the device.

The bezel on the watch is used to control the menu system. This works…okay… although is not really as responsive as I would like. I feel a typical watch interface would have been a bit smoother. That said, I really like how the core options can be accessed VERY quickly, and the backlight and locking options are very simple to access. Previous models had reports on rain and sweat triggering the menus and so far this has not happened to me.

The chest strap is very soft and comfortable although I’m not sure if I like how the transmitter unit needs to clip on. One more thing to lose! Plus if you forget to unclip the transmitter, the battery is going to run down overnight…

Used in anger when refereeing last night, everything worked great. I adjusted the display so I could see the items I cared about (loads of options here!) and just left it running. Annoyingly, ‘Auto Lap’ was on by default so I soon turned this off. Along with ‘key tones’ which have to be one of the most irritating default options on electronics around!

Data is easily transferred onto a laptop and into Garmin Connect via the provided ANT+ USB stick. This detects when a watch is in range and you pair it, much in the same way as with Bluetooth. It is all very seamless which is perfect. Once the data is on Garmin Connect, all the geeky data is there for review. Perfect!

One small note here: I exported the data from Garmin Connect to import into RunKeeper. At some end of that process it got truncated so ended up shorter in distance and time. Something to chase up.

So far, I am pretty happy with it. It works well and is providing a lot of interesting information!

Nearly there...

Time for another 10k! This one was the Alice Holt 10k as organised by Farnham Runners. The forest is just up the road from me and I had been doing a few training runs there. Another link is that the speed training sessions that I have been doing recently have been with the club.

I was back to regular refereeing and had even managed 10k in training so my fitness levels were better than last time. This was good as I was disappointed with my performance at the Hard As Snails 10k and knew I had to do a lot better!

The weather was wonderful. The course was certainly easier going than the Hard As Snails event so I suppose in a way I was well prepared (despite my lack of hill training in general…again!). It was perhaps a little cruel of the organisers to put the same evil hill at both 4km and 9km though due to the looping nature of the route.

I certainly welcomed sponges being made available at the water stations as it tends to be over-heating that hampers my performance before my cardio or muscles start to give in. One of those little touches that makes all the difference to an event.

My chip time was 52:19 which ranked me 210th out of 428 runners. More importantly, it is my all-time PB. That said, I have a long way to go to get the sorts of times I would be proud of. My style is burst running which suits refereeing perfectly but I still want to be much faster!

Now, by way of comparison, here is me before the race:

… and here I am finishing, not quite as fresh faced! I am bouncing after the sprint to make sure I land on the timing mats properly!

RUN!

I attended my second Farnham Runners speed training session yesterday evening and it was great fun.

Here is the 60 second sprint protocol that was used. I’m not so good at doing this sort of training on my own as it is hard to stay motivated when it is so tiring! However, it all changes when in a friendly, welcoming and inspiring group.

A running track is ideal for this.

WARNING: This is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Be sure you are medically cleared!

WARM-UP: Gentle jog (5 minutes) followed by 10 minutes of dynamic stretching. Build running speed up to 60%, 80%, 100% (only over a short distance). Heart rate clearly elevated by end.

INTERVALS: 60 second sprint on the track. Place marker at your furthest point. Walk back to start. When all participants back, go again. FOUR INTERVALS. Your marker only moves if you manage to go further. After the 4th one, stay at your marker and rest 60 seconds. Then it is a handicap race back to the start (60 second time limit).

REST: Four minutes.

REPEAT INTERVALS: Marker stays put from first set!

COOL DOWN JOG: Very light jog (5 minutes).

STRETCHES: 10 minutes.

This was exhausting and my quads were ready to cramp all over the place at the end (the stretches were super-important as a result). I am proud that I managed to get the furthest distance but my sprint speed has always been good: It is just my endurance I need to work on.

I had to slow for some of the intermediate intervals but managed to beat my best distance on the final one! Yay!

Run from the zombie... run run run!

I courageously / foolishly took part in the Hard As Snails 10k this year. I did no hill training whatsoever for this event which was an interesting strategy as the race description overtly stated “Features hills”.

Leading up to this, I had been neglecting my running training and was not hitting the roads as much as I should have been. All part of the closed season lull!

It was exciting, draining and fun. Perhaps a strategic mistake was that I was too happy ‘ghosting’ other runners rather than taking the initiative of setting my own pace. The downhill elements were very interesting as well as I could not slow myself down and I was thinking, “Don’t fall over, don’t fall over, don’t fall over…”. Thankfully, I didn’t as the First Aid crew were all the way back at the start!

I hit a time of 58:31 which is okay but I was ultimately disappointed: It put me squarely in the bottom half of competitors in my category and I REALLY suffered with the hills. To be expected considering my ‘preparation’ but it has helped me give myself a huge kick to get the fitness sorted.

I’m now determined to get my fitness back to my peak levels and beyond! I attended a fantastic speed training session hosted by Farnham Runners (5 x 800m) and the welcome, support and kind words have given me a huge boost. I was straight out today on a 6k lunchtime run, will be doing a speed test run tomorrow and have two games scheduled for the weekend.

I am looking forward to feeling the improvement (the weight loss will be handy too as I have gained recently) and a good benchmark will be the Alice Holt 10k next month.

Bring it on!

The happy smiling 'Before' pose!

I would never really class myself as a ‘proper’ runner. I mean, I enjoy running (as long as it is outdoors). I run around a lot when football refereeing. I run around a fair amount in some forms of judo training or circuit training. However, I have always hit some form of mental block when considering entering an actual running event.

My girlfriend gently persuaded me to enter the Clandon Run. I couldn’t really find a legitimate excuse to avoid it, especially considering the start line was within five minutes’ walk of her house! It was also looking to be a beautiful day out in the sunshine.

The most I had ever run in one go was 7k (my typical lunchtime run at work). Most of my recent training had been refereeing oriented. My strategy was to keep a steady pace and not push myself and everything would just work out.

The organisation of the event was absolutely first class. Registration took seconds and included nifty timing chip bands! There was even a fun aerobic-based organised warm-up. Then it was a short walk to the starting line…

The start!

A few final stretches and off we went. I probably kept a faster pace than I should have done but I wanted to avoid the early bottlenecks that we had been warned about. This I managed! However, by the first km marker I was aware my heart rate was running at anaerobic levels (182 bpm). It was a warm day and the sun was beating down and I have historically suffered in these conditions when training… but I love a challenge!

Although I shouldn’t have been able to sustain that, my average heart rate stayed at 182 bpm the whole way round. The adrenaline and boost from running with everyone else must have sustained me somehow. I’m used to having to dig deep from judo competition where you pretty much run on your anaerobic system throughout.

Must...keep...going...

The course was beautiful. It took in woodland, green fields, gravel paths and a lake (no swimming required). Some of the narrow paths made the whole event more challenging. That said, I’m used to uncertain footing in my training so this did not cause much of an issue although I noted that about 25% of starters in the 10k did not finish! Heat? Terrain? I wonder…

Now, I started pretty much at the front so I was mentally prepared that I would be overtaken throughout the event. This happened! However, by about the 5k mark this stopped happening and I guess I had found my place. It then became a bit ‘cat and mouse’ with runners I targeted for my own pacing: They might go ahead but then I’d catch up with them later when they had stopped…rinse…repeat!

FOR VICTORRRRRRRY!

The last few km were hard but I struggled through and before I knew it I was on the finishing straight! I had enough in the tank left for one final sprint which meant I made up a few places, even if it spiked up my heart rate to perhaps the highest I have ever known it. Oops. Still, I made a time of 54:01 which was faster than my ‘realistic target’ and I got a free banana. [10k PDF results]

Nicky and Tasha successfully completed the 4k and were exceptionally supportive as well which I appreciated more once I regained the ability to speak properly.

It really was a wonderful event. Fantastic organisation, great atmosphere and a challenging course. You know what? I’m already thinking about the next one…

I recently rejoined the gym on my work campus as running outside was just not happening any more. The current weather in the UK has put paid to that. I was soaked through just walking back from the gym to the office (30 seconds!) due to the lashing shower that suddenly appeared.

The adage which applies is “Get fit to referee, don’t referee to get fit”. Absolutely true and my ‘judo fitness’ has very much helped me hit the field of play running. I have yet to struggle to keep up with play but of course most of my games are at ‘parks’ level until I climb the ladder a bit more.

However, my body has not adjusted to the style of exercise too well. Lots of changes in speed (walk..jog…SPRINT…walk…stop…SPRINT) and direction have put quite a stress on my hamstrings and achilles. The achilles in particular forced me to rest but is now mostly under control. My hamstrings are tight as anything as it is due to my years of computing so this needs resolving. Some Asics Gel Lethal 11 boots are helping there!

Firstly, I’m working on running in the gym, working towards the Cooper test. I have no need to take this test for a long time but it is a nice benchmark. Starting point is 2500 metres in 12 minutes which I can manage fine on a treadmill but of course that is easier than doing it outside (even with a 1% incline). It’s good to start teaching my body the pace though. I’ll be mixing that up with interval training.

Secondly, lots of stretching. I’ve been neglecting this FAR too much. Obviously this is concentrating on my problem areas as mentioned above but I’m making sure I do EVERYTHING so I don’t just transfer the problem somewhere else. Early days but so important.

There we have a mix of aerobic and anaerobic exercise and stretching. I haven’t thought about core strength much yet but it will need to feature to help keep things balanced… hmm…

I’m not sure whether my neck is any better or worse, compared to how it was prior to the injection. It has certainly been better the last few days, but of course it was more sore after being poked, prodded and stabbed.

Tiger Balm has been working really well for me. Sticky warming ointment. Perfect. Plus I guess it forces me to give the neck a good massage, or it is just going to ruin all my shirts! There have been a few occasions when I’ve pressed on a point and the pain has mysteriously totally vanished for a while. So sudden it was to the degree that I was scared to move my neck for a bit in case I had done something serious. Acupressure? No idea. But I remember my consultant tried something similar in my first appointment as a test to see if it relieved the pain. Something to ask about…

As yesterday it was pretty good, I decided to go for a run outside at lunchtime. It was six degrees Centigrade outside. I only had my t-shirt and shorts. But, hey, that temperature seems to fall within safe limits. I did two miles and it was just fine. Although my shoulder did twinge a bit, mostly my fault for pretty much storming out the door at a rapid pace (no proper warm-up) and pounding up the road before settling into a more sensible stride. The whole thing was really invigorating.