Edinburgh Athletic Club

The one thing that most runners have suffered from at some point in training or racing, is exercise related muscle cramp. Most folk have a theory on why it occurs, but in reality, the cause remains poorly understood. Scientists are still arguing over two conflicting theories. Probably the most commonly given explanation is that cramp is the result of fluid and electrolyte loss i.e. losing sodium and chloride via sweat, so is related to dehydration. But science can perhaps suggest a better theory.       (more…)

As we approach the spring Marathon season, with many runners about to hit high mileage weeks before tapering for the big event, it is a good time to look at the area of hydration, which is an important subject many of you will be concerned with.

The whole idea of sports drinks and hydrating properly, originated in Florida with the Florida Gators football team, where a coach experimented by adding supplements to water with great success. No prizes for guessing the name of the company that emerged from this and created an entire sports drink industry….. Gatorade.      (more…)

Anyone who has taken part in one of my mile rep sessions, will certainly have heard talk of ‘The Beast’, it is often mentioned when the going gets tough but the newer runners are often wondering who we are talking about! ‘The Beast’ is your inner fear that jumps onto your shoulder during hard workouts and tries to convince you to slow down or stop. That’s why some of the endurance speed sessions, are as much about mental training as physical training and they teach you how to tame the beast and allow yourself to run faster and further.

Although the beast is essentially your own anxieties and fears, the beast is actually your best friend and you should learn to love him. I will now try to explain what I mean by that!   (more…)

Garry asked me to write an article on pool running. I didn’t know where to start so I decided just to interview myself!

What is pool running?

Also known as aqua jogging, essentially it’s running in water up to your neck with the aid of a floatation belt called an ‘aqua jogger’ that you wear around your waist.       (more…)

I was asked recently why I often have runners bounding about like deer and prancing about like show horses (this is obviously referring to running drills). Is it just to give me something to laugh at on cold wet training nights…?   the answer to that is obviously no, although it can sometimes raise a smile! 

The real answer is that it’s one of the many coaching tricks to try and improve running economy, style and efficiency. Although to simply say that by carrying out running drills, you will become an efficient runner, is simplifying it a bit too much, the whole process is far more complicated!      (more…)

There is an interesting article on the UK Athletics coaching site by John Kiely (UKA Athletic Conditioning Education Lead), re-evaluating the traditional periodisation model. It is well worth a read and can be accessed via the following link   Coaching Periodisation

Garry

This is the ideal time of the year to increase your training base with a view to building up stamina over the winter and posting PB’s in the spring. Everyone is encouraged to get a plan together and follow a sensible and progressive schedule, which long term, will result in better performances and faster race times. The one thing that might prevent you doing this is injury! You need to do everything you can to prevent or minimise the possibility of injuries occurring.  

Injuries are a major consideration for all endurance runners as most of us get them at some point. If you have not yet had an injury, you are either very fortunate, or new to running!    (more…)

I went along to the recent IFAC coaching conference and as usual with these events, found it both informative and stimulating. This is a summary of the notes that I took on the day, if you are interested in reading them, hopefully they will get you thinking, questioning and debating.

There was a great choice of speakers and presentations, so it was actually difficult trying to choose which ones to attend. I decided to concentrate on my main areas of interest, Sports Psychology and Endurance running.      (more…)

This latest article for ‘coaching corner’ comes from our very own nutrition expert Niamh Devlin:

Drink up! 

Much has been written on the subject of hydration and its importance for athletes, yet many runners continue to overlook this part of their training. Now that the sun is beginning to shine, the need to replace sweat losses is more important than ever.   (more…)

The principle of Stress and Adaptation

As most of you know, the scheduled EAC endurance training sessions are carefully planned and have specific aims in terms of gradually increasing training in order to peak for specific events. We also encourage all runners to build a personal training schedule and follow a weekly and monthly training plan. Why do we say that? And what is this all about?        (more…)