What better person to get some training tips for our 10km run than fellow Ransacker writer and Ironman triathlete, Toby Radcliffe.
I’ll be the first one to admit that before speaking to Toby and reading his work on Ransacker, I was not fully aware of what an Ironman Triathlon consisted of. All I knew is that it was an all day event, and entailed the same three events that a normal triathlon does; swimming, cycling, and culminating in a run.
But it’s only when you dissect the individual parts of the event that you start to understand the incredible level of fitness this competition requires. Beginning with a 3.8km swim, following that up with a 180km bike ride, and to top it all off for those that can make it…a full marathon to end the day!
Toby turned professional in this sport in 2008 and competed in the World Championships in Hawaii in his first year. One of his most impressive performances came in his debut year as a professional where he finished 6th in the British Ironman competition. Despite circumstances keeping out of the big Hawaiian World Championship event in 2009, he continued to improve as an athlete, setting a new personal best time of 8 hours 53 minutes in Barcelona just a few months ago.
I was given the opportunity to speak to Toby recently to ask him about how life as an Ironman athlete is going, and to give some advice to us beginner athletes in preparation for our run in May.
I started by asking Toby how he ended up in the Ironman Triathlon world?
When I was getting started as a triathlete, just training and racing for fun, I never thought that I would ever do an Ironman, I thought those guys were nuts! But one day a training partner of mine sent me an email at work which was his entry to Ironman Austria… the only acceptable response was for me to enter it too. And that’s how I started ironman, a bit of a competitive streak and some mad friends. I knew I was hooked after the first race!
How serious an athlete, in particular a runner, were you before taking up Ironman?
I was a good club runner. I’d been running for about 5 years, I took up running when I was 21 and moved down to London after university and needed something structured to do for training. A charity I’d been doing some work for convinced me to run the London Marathon for them so I jumped in at the deep end! I had managed to get my marathon time down to 2 hours 53 minutes by 2004 but kept getting injured as being a bit of a flat footed overpronator and a volume junkie is not a good combination!
When you made the decision to turn pro in 2008, how hard has it been to be able to cope financially, is there big money involved in the top races?
Even though training comes first, I do still work freelance. I knew I would be strapped for cash as an athlete, but it’s a lifestyle choice. I go through phases of being fine for cash and then periods of having to watch every penny, sometimes it can be hard. As I’m still improving as a professional I don’t often win much prize money. Even when I do there really is not a lot of cash involved, especially after exchange rates and tax from overseas events! I’d love to see Ironman in the Olympics one day; it would bring more attention and funding to the sport. But I don’t think this will happen any time soon.
Moving on to running shoes, what pair are you currently wearing and what is important to you in a pair of shoes?
Newton Motion. They are definitely the best pair that I have ever had. When I was younger I got through a lot of shoes and had no idea of my biomechanics and how shoes should feel.
The structure for my specific biomechanics and running style is important as I tend to run in a rather flat footed, overpronating way.
As beginners, what do you believe we should be looking for in a pair of running shoes?
They should be quite hard wearing and not ‘racers’ or lightweight shoes. Go to a specialist run shop to have your running style analysed, they will help you decide what kind of running shoes you need for your biomechanics and landing pattern.
What kind of training should we be doing? Two of us in particular will be looking for quick times, the other two at this point will find 10km a big challenge.
For the beginner’s you need to build your mileage slowly. Traditional plans suggest not increasing load from week to week more than 10-20% in total. You should introduce a hill session or track session to include more intensity, speed work and formwork into your schedule. As beginners, 3 runs a week should be enough! Try to space your training so you get rest in between sessions. And be consistent!
Any tips on how to motivate one or two of the lads who may need to step up their training a fair bit in the next few weeks?
Try to run early, get it in the bag before anything else can get in the way! Otherwise, organise to run with friends. Always pack your kit ahead of time – the night before or before work if you’re running in the evening to make it as easy as possible to get out for that session. Consider joining a local run club. Many are really inexpensive and very beginner friendly as they can help to motivate you, offer a variety of group sessions and lots of advice! Running clubs are often notorious for being great dating agencies too!
Toby has a very busy remainder to 2010, with him looking to push his body with five Ironman races in just five months. Check out Toby’s work for Ransacker, as well as his website www.tobyradcliffe.com to keep a track on how his Ironman career progresses.
Thanks for the interview Garry. Really nice to hear an ironman speak openly and honestly. Good luck for 2010 Toby!