Autumn 2007 - British Milers Club

Dan Robinson ProfileBackground and Introduction toRunning1998, living in Wimbledon, joined agym in Putney; went 4 times a week,ran 10k in 37 mins each time, wasfootball training on Tuesday eveningsand playing a match Sat afternoons.Entered a few races, 1998 Wimbledonhalf- 1.23. Stroud, Wokingham,Camberly 1.16 - 1.14, after playingfootie the day before. Breakthrough ata 10k in Cheltenham; was narrowly2nd in around 32 minutes. (Autumn1998). On the same training ran 2.38in 1999 London Marathon, butprogressed at shorter distances and ran66.50 at GNR in 1999. (was running6 times a week all on treadmill, 45mins as fast as I could ( prob startingat 5.30 min miling & finishing at5.05). At this time was working asDuty Manager at health and FitnessClub in Henley on Thames. 2000london Marathon, ran 2.24. End of2000, moved back to Gloucestershire,and I linked up with Chris Frapwell.Dec 2000 broke 30 mins for 10k for1st time at Leeds. 2001, ran forEngland at a half in Enschede, 64.40,then ran Half trial in Glasgow, 2nd brit,64.27. World half, 52nd in 64.23.October 2001 ran 2.16.51 in FrankfurtMarathon.Work, Lifestyle and Support Set UpCurrently I work part time at a localschool, Beaudesert Park. 4 afternoons aweek as a games teacher asssistant.Also work for family propertydevelopment company based inNailsworth - mornings, Monday toFriday.Have some support from UKA; up to£3k per annum, to cover medicalinsurance, travel, training trips etc(haven't used all of it though).Supported by Stroud and Districtathletic Club and 1 or 2 localcompanies, Stag Developments andGriffiths Marshall accountants.Presentations at the club, photographs,Xmas party, AGM, mentions in localpress. Fitness Mill Gym have supportedme too, comp use of treadmill. Kitsponsorship with Adidas.Try to eat healthily. Don't worry toomuch about it when running 120 milesa week; just eat a lot, plenty of carbsand not much rubbish. Breakfast at8.30 after morning run. Lunch 12,baked pot or beans on toast + yog,fruit, energy bar. Bowl or cereal 4ishand supper around 7.30. Don't reallydrink alcohol when training hard,occasional beer or glass wine. Quite alot more in down time after marathon.No strength/conditioning/core (don'tknow what it is!) or stretching.I try to be in bed by 10 and also haveat least an hour kip in the day. Weeklymassage and monthly chiropractorduring marathon build upChris Frapwell is solely my coach now.Also receive input from Bud Baldarowho has been brilliant and verysupportive for a number of years.Chris has evolved my training quitegradually so that I can now cope with2x runs of more than an hour so thatafter 2 or 3 weeks i don't break downor get ill. Now I can do this and stillget some quality in my sessions (maybenot enough with my 10k and half pb's),and do a long run which some weeks isdone as a fartlek session, or with thelast 30 mins at a big effort.A big reason for my 'success' is thesupport of Chris and Jess. I speak toChris most days and see him at theClub as well as socially. Jess (my wife)has been the main bread winner since2001. Think it is my settled lifestyle,that has allowed me to get on withrunning, and all the other things thatyou need to do (eat right/get enoughrest etc) that has been a big factor.Jon Brown InsightsLearnt a lot from Jon B in Cyprus in thebuild up to Olympics. The importanceof recovery runs being a big thing. Atthat stage I don't think I quiteunderstood this. He would runincredibly easy on non session days,and be able to produce fantasticsessions when he needed to. (Whenhe did a measured 15 mile tempogoing thru 13.1 in 63 odd I knew hewas in great shape!). The ability toprepare very very well and produce aworld class performance when itmattered was inspiring. Veryprofessional, focused and confident inhis training. You could see it a bit thisautumn: 3 weeks from a 64.16 half inGNR he improved dramatically in 3weeks to 47.16 at Great South on afilthy day. Before GNR he knew itwould be a bit of a struggle but didn'texpect too much and big improvementscame quite quickly.Sample Training WeeksTraining Nov 2006(General endurance period)Monday:am - 45 mins easy/steady.pm - 50-60 mins easy/steady.Tuesday:am - 45 mins e/spm - 8/10 x 3 mins w/ 60 sec recovs.(on cycle track) plus w/up and down)or 6x5 mins w 90-2min recovs (recovsjogging slowly)Wednesday:am - 45 mins e/spm - 60 mins e/sby David Chalfen14 BMC News : Autumn 2007