One of our Coach Parry Training Club member's, Ria van Wyk, joins us on the podcast today for a one on one coaching call with Markus.

Ria and Markus discuss strength training and whether you should increase your rep count or weights. We also talk about the importance of stretching to warm up your muscles before a run.

 

Transcription

 

BRAD
Welcome on to the this edition of RUN with Coach Parry. My name is Brad Brown. It's great to have you with us. We're going to be chatting to one of the members of the Coach Parry Online Training Club. It's another one of those fly on the wall coaching calls. And we are chatting to Ria, and Coach Markus will be joining us today. Ria van Wyk joining us from the Northern Cape. A fantastic story that Ria's got and we'll be talking a little bit about her running history, how she got involved with what we do here at Coach Parry and what she's training for. She's got some great results in that training club as well, as you'll hear on today's podcast, too. Ria van Wyk, welcome, nice to chat.

RIA
Thank you very much. It's a privilege.

BRAD
I like I know you so well because you're in the forums often and we chat often in the forums and we've spoken via email. We got to meet you in person at the Two Oceans Expo. So you've been around what we do for a while but you are getting some amazing results. I know you've been training really hard in the build up to Two Oceans, you ran the half marathon. Tell me a bit about how your day went.

RIA
Okay, I'm new to running. I'm only running for one year now. And I follow the training programme to the letter. So I really did everything that the training programme said and then I went out. I aimed for 2h15 and eventually I run 2 hours flat. So I'm very chuffed with myself. And I think it went really well. Because Kimberly doesn't have any hills, you can't really train hills, so I did that on the treadmill. But my legs were fine until the end. That last little bit to UCT was the worst for me actually. But the atmosphere is so amazing that you just keep on going.

BRAD
Really you are testament to what we try to do here at Coach Parry. So often people get onto a training programme and they try tweak things, they move this long run there, they lengthen this one and they do slightly faster. You talk about following programmes to a T. I don't think there's anyone on our training platform who follows programmes like you follow them. If we had to tell you to go and run 100K's on a 10k training programme, it's never going to happen, but you would go and run 100Ks because you trust the process. And you're seeing the results. I mean, you say you haven't been running that long. It's only been about a year. And you've pretty much been with us almost the whole time. Tell me a little bit about why you started running. What got you into the sport?

 

Ria's running background

 

RIA
Okay. I've been gymming all my life long but I didn't run. And I've got a friend that couldn't go to the gym. So I wanted her to just clear up her head and do something because she was going through a difficult time. So one day I came home from the gym, and she was staying with me and I asked if she had takkies, she said yes, so I said well, we can go running and it's been a long time since I last ran but just let's do it. So we started off with walking, running, walking, walking, running.

Then we went off to the Parkrun and then she got fire. So she went running and I went to the gym. And she did the Two Oceans last year, so I only came as a supporter. And the atmosphere was so amazing. I was standing at the line where they enter and we were shouting and screaming. We stood there for the whole six hours to welcome everyone coming in. And it's so nice with your name on your numbers, so we just shout at everyone pasing.

So that's where I actually started and because I don't know much about running, I saw a share on Facebook of Coach Parry and went online and I registered for the 10k programme first and then the 21k programme. Then I did the Gun Run last year and that was my first 21. I did that in 2h10. I do exactly what the programme says, if you look at my Strava you will see if the programme says 30 minutes then Ria runs 30 minutes. That's just how I do it. But that's my personality too. I do something properly, I like structure and I like an organized thing. So when the online programme came, you know this whole new Coach Parry thing, I just went for it. So I'm a lifelong member, even though I'm almost 60. But I'm going there all the way.

BRAD
We love having you on because you ask such great questions. There is quite a big focus on Comrades and the longer stuff, but we love athletes who are starting out, because you've got to start somewhere. And often we forget what it was like to start out. So we love having you on. Let's talk about life after Two Oceans, what's the plan now?

 

What's next?

 

RIA
I ran the Two Oceans on Saturday. On Monday, I went onto the forum and said 'what next?' because I don't know what's next. My next goal is the Gun Run again. So I want to improve my time of last year. But it's still a way before that. So Lindsey suggested that I go on to a sub50 10k programme. And I just immediately downloaded it and I started. So at six o'clock this morning I was in the gym doing the hill training because of this chat at nine so I had to be ready. So yes, I follow that programme now until mid July. And then from July I start the sub 2 hour 21k programme because Lindsey thinks I can do it in 1:55. And I believe everything you say.

BRAD
That's awesome. Markus, let me bring you in here now. You've got Ria's questionnaire in front of you and her running numbers, your initial thoughts?

 

Initial thoughts

 

MARKUS
Yes, just while you were talking to Brad, I was making notes and one of the notes said you need to jump onto the sub 50 minute 10 kilometre programme. So yes, everything Lindsey says tends to be right. I just first want to compliment you, I think people always refer to do the camaraderie and the friendliness of people in the running community and I think you're a true testament of just that. I think you you're a ray of light, and that's awesome. Just the fact that you embrace this new challenge and it's ironic how you reached out to someone else and in the end you found something that you were really passionate about.

I think that's an awesome story to tell.You are doing everything exactly to the numbers and that's awesome, you just need to keep on doing that. And you will achieve big results, it doesn't mean that you because you're older than the average person that starts running that you need to see that as a limiter or a crutch. I mean, just the fact that you keep on getting good results that just says something by itself.

So from your side, I know you said you have some questions, or you don't really have questions because you post everything in the forum. But with regards to where your running is at now, do you have any questions with regards to anything whatsoever that I can possibly help you with? Because from a programme perspective, yes, the sub 50 minute 10K is definitely on par. And once you do that, if you can do a 50 minute 10k, I've just done the calculation there, then you're on par for a 1:52 21 kilometre. So that's definitely on par with where you're trying to go. Just one question that I had is how tired were you when you achieved that two hour 21k?

RIA
Okay. I knew that my friend, she also did the 21 again, and her son was going to get engaged at the end line. I thought they were in front of me, and then I realized they were behind me. So I went through, took my medal, took a coke, and I ran back to my daughter. So I think people thought I'm crazy, this woman just came from a 21 and she's still running. But I didn't want to miss the engagement. So I ran back to where my daughter was waiting because she had to take the photos. So I wasn't tired at all. On the Sunday, I wasn't stiff. On the Monday I was a little bit stiff but I've got a roller. So I roll my muscles every time and on the Wednesday, Lindsey said I had to do nothing before Wednesday. So I did nothing until Wednesday. And then on Thursday, I started running but no injuries, no major muscle pains, nothing.

MARKUS
That's awesome. That's brilliant. So I mean, just by what you said now, it just tells me you could have probably run faster than two hours if you really wanted with the correct detailed pacing chart. I think it would have been possible. And that just gives me even more hope, especially for the the Gun Run, because I don't think that the hills in the Gun Run are as bad as Oceans. So that's also counting in your favour. When you do hills, do you go to the gym and you do it on the treadmill?

RIA
Yes.

MARKUS
Okay, perfect. I've been in Kimberley quite a few times. My grandmother happens to live in Christiana. So whenever she needs to go to the doctor, we go pick her up there and take her to Kimberly. I've been for quite a few runs there and yes it is proper flat. So it's a good thing that there's the gym to make up for that. But from your side, Ria, are there any other questions that you might have? With regards to just, I don't know, either gear or nutrition or anything that you can think of?

 

Should you increase the reps or the weights in your strength training?

 

RIA
What I wanted to know, maybe is, I do the strength training programme of Shona's, the advanced one because I've gymmed for all the years. So I am on the advanced training programme twice a week. She mentioned you can just add a little bit of dumbbell weights. Do I need to increase the weight? Or can I just go on with say 5K's in each hand? Is it necessary to build muscle for running?

MARKUS
Okay. So for me, it's one or the other. If you really feel that you can step it up, you either increase the rep count, or you increase the weight. But I know, ladies in particular, they're scared of building muscle. So if you want to increase the rep count, yes, you can do that. But I know, once again, it's a case of everyone's different. So if you're already on the advanced one, and you've been gymming for most of your life, then I'm sure you'll be able to distinguish quite quickly what is better for you.

So when you do your next gym session, try one session out where you add about five more reps to the exercise, or alternatively, keep the rep count the same and then just maybe increase a kilogramme or two and see how that influences. If you feel one works better than the other, try that for a month, and then see how it works out.

If there is an effect, or it does happen to be beneficial, then obviously stick with it, or fall back to the other option for a month and say okay, well, I've tried both now, I prefer whatever one you prefer more, then stick to that. If that still doesn't answer your question, then I think Shona will be more than happy to, if you do want to just pop on to the forum, and just explain to her exactly what your concerns are with regards the S&C programme. And she'll happily help you there.

 

Building muscle mass as a runner

 

BRAD
Yeah, if I can just jump in there too, Markus, and here's a question that I want to ask because I think there's a balance. Obviously, you want to be doing strength training to, first of all, increase your strength as a runner, but there's benefits from the injury prevention. But you've also got to be careful that you're not bulking up because obviously if muscle mass, and you end up getting heavier, that could slow you down. So how do you decide where to stop? I think that's also part of where Ria was going, is it a case of you want to bulk up or don't you really want to bulk up?

MARKUS
Look, I think it's all in relative. If you do feel that the extra muscle gain helps your running performance, by all means, then continue with it. But if you feel that you are, because obviously it's the same as with cycling, your power to weight ratio is what it's about. So if you can run a certain time at a certain weight, and you gain some muscle and you can still maintain that, then it will be beneficial from an injury prevention perspective. But if you run a specific time at a specific weight, and you do add some extra kg's from a muscular perspective, and you struggle to maintain that, then it's obviously better not to gain the extra weight, because it's more mass that you carrying, but it's not necessarily in aid of your running performance.

So it's a fine line. We're obviously spoilt with someone like Nicki just down the road from us, where she can do tests. I'm sure most dietitians have access to what they call the Inbody scale. So it's a scale that you stand on and you have to hold on to two poles while they're taking. They literally measure different components of your body, how much water is in your system, your body mass index, how much mass you carry on your upper body, your lower body, left side, right side. And it actually breaks down everything into very understandable bits and then you can realize.

For me, I just look at a dumbbell and I pick up weight from a muscular perspective, and I've actually come to realize that my biggest downfall is that I carry so much muscular weight. So what I do is, and this is by trial and error, I have to for instance, I only start eating an hour forty into my long runs, so that I use what's in my system, and then my body actually starts eating muscle as a form of energy. And so that forces my body to lean up a bit.

But Ria, to get back to what Brad's just asking and the answer in general is that it's a trial and error thing. So you need to see that if you are picking up weight, is it muscles? Yes. Okay, is it aiding your running? Do you feel you're just carrying extra weight? If it is the case, then more rep count will make more sense as opposed to adding more weight.

BRAD
But really you also and I'm going to use you as an example here, because we talk about strength training as part of a running regime. Like I said, for the various benefits, it's obviously going to help you become a better runner, but also from the injury prevention side of things. And I think you said you're almost 60, so as you get older as well, injury becomes a major issue in a sport like running because of that compounding and you're a prime example of what strength training can do from an injury prevention perspective.

You've taken up running late in your life, and you've had zero niggles. You've been sensible about it. You've followed a structured training programme that's built you up slowly over time. And you've you've got the strength training component in it, and you're getting the results. So often we see people trying to speed up the process or cut corners where they don't do the strength training and they get injured and you're such a prime example of how to do it right. And we're so proud of what you've done and what you are doing and I just wanted to say that because I think we can hold you up as the shining light of the way to do things properly.

RIA
I think I must get a Coach Parry T-shirt and I'll where it all the time, because at the club they actually mock me now because I force them to do some warm up exercises, the one that's on the programme, and I force them to stretch after. You know, a lot of athletes just don't do it. They get up from the couch and they start running. And I really, I preach all the time. I force them to stretch, I force them to do some warm up exercises. So I'm really a living example. I'll become an ambassador after my retirement for Coach Parry, so I'll walk with a banner and a T shirt.

BRAD
There's no such thing as retirement, you've still got lots of running in you. There's nothing to worry about there, that's for sure. The way you're running at the moment you're going to be running for a long, long time still. I think I've mentioned on the podcast a few times as well, my wife always jokes we need to get T-shirts made that say 'Lindsey says', because everything in my household is the same. We're going to do this, no, Lindsey says we need to do this and then that's just the way it is. So I think we need to get some 'Lindsey says' t shirts made, Markus, what do you reckon?

MARKUS
Brilliant idea.

BRAD
I love it. Any other questions?

 

Using cycling as cross training for your running

 

RIA
Markus, you are the cycling coach too hey, is it necessary? Because I do the strength training on my rest days so can I cycle maybe for 30 minutes? Or is it not actually beneficial?

MARKUS
No. So it's a very, very good form of exercise. So I always say swimming and cycling are arguably two of the best forms of recovery that you can get. Because it does get your heart rate up slightly, your muscles get a workout. So with swimming, obviously, your whole body is supported by your buoyancy in the water. Cycling is awesome, especially for runners because it's a weight bearing sport. All your weight's on the saddle and it's just your legs doing the work.

So for me, as long as you keep it easy, Lindsey's also referred to it as a talking pace, so you need to be able to have a comfortable conversation with someone standing next to you. Then you know you're doing it easy enough. And I can guarantee you, you will feel the benefits of that. There's absolutely nothing wrong with getting onto a stationary bike and just peddling away. It's just a form of you know, getting your muscles to recover as well, or aiding recovery. It's a brilliant form of training

BRAD
And it'll make you a stronger runner as well. Especially on the hills. So I found that when I'm cycling, I run hills really well.

MARKUS
For sure. I mean, last year when I did Epic, I think I did Cape Epic in March and all in all I ran 800 kilometres less in preparation for Comrades. And strictly speaking my Comrades training started a week after I finished Epic. So I had run 200 kilometres from January to beginning of April obviously I didn't run two weeks prior to it began during a week and the week after I also rested. And then from the first of April to the week before Comrades I ran 700 kilometres and my time was only about 20 minutes slower than my previous year's time. But also having said that, the race was about four kilometres longer. So I think all in all it was exactly the same time. Yes, it was the down run, but the fact remains that cycling is really good for your running. It pays a massive complement to your running.

BRAD
Cool, there we go. That's definitely going to help you along the way as well. Have you picked a race for the 10k yet? Do you know which one you're doing?

RIA
No, I haven't.

BRAD
Okay, well we'll find you one because obviously in Kimberley there aren't races every single weekend like there are in Cape Town and Johannesburg. I think the guys up north and down south are spoiled, they don't realize how good they've got it.

RIA
Yes, but actually then I'll just go out and run a 10k flat to see what the time is without a race.

BRAD
Ria, I don't know if you've got any other questions, if not we'll wrap things up. We love having you around. Like Markus said, you are one of the people in the forum who's just so encouraging every time somebody posts something that they've done something, you're one of the first in there congratulating them or if somebody's a bit down, cheering them up. And we love that, so keep doing that and we love having you part of the community.

RIA
Thank you very much for this opportunity. I really enjoyed it.