Feedback from a happy half marathon runner

"Hi there gary.
Once again your advice paid off. I got through my half marathon on the weekend pretty well. Didn't time it perfectly as the last 2km the body had done its dash , but i had done enough earlier on to get me through to the finish to do a pb. I went 3 min quicker than i have before.(1hr 27min) I've put the blow out with 2km to go down to a faster first 5km than usual. This was something i wanted to try out on myself to see how it would go. Next time it will be a notch slower over the first 5km. Thanks again gary. Your free information and knowledge is 2nd to none."

"S"
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Gary:
I now have over 1,300 articles and e-books sitting online eagerly awaiting download.  This all free information that is funded by my tiny webstore. I count on the occasional person, out of the hundreds of thousands of readers who make use of these online freebies, to purchase something off me.  Thank goodness some do!  Otherwise this rather unique service would not exist.

Here's an example of what a Google search brings up: "gary moller training for a marathon".  Try Googling my name, plus any key word about health, nutrition or fitness and see what pops up.  For example try: "gary moller super smoothie".  There's a heap of information sitting out there.  I have been busy.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

I am Breast Feeding and Training for a Half Marathon

I am 39 years old and have just had my fourth baby. She is now 7 months old and I am feeling the need to get out and get on my feet running again. For no other reason than my husband kindly entered me in the 2009 half marathon. I have run the 2006 and 2007 Auckland half marathon in 2hours 30mins (approx) and various 10km runs and one triathlons in between. I am still breast feeding but that is not the main nutrition for her as she is on solids and having a bottle but I would like to continue to breast feed for as long as she wants to. i.e. I don’t want to give it up for the sake of my fitness.

What I am asking is, can you suggest a training program and nutrition which is suited to the breast feeding and safety for my daughter i.e. supplements that are safe for her. To be honest my nutrition is not the best at the moment as I am eating just to feel full when I can. Breakfast is not happening as I am preparing lunch boxes and bottles but I know that if I had a guideline then I would feel better.
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Gary responds:
You are asking the right man: I used to milk cows between university semesters. We are very much like cows when it comes to producing plenty of high quality milk. If poorly fed, the cows produce less and what is produced is of a lower quality. Stress the cows in any way and production declines. Farmers in New Zealand love their cows. Some even sing to them.

When preparing for the half marathon, that you do not fall into negative energy and nutrient balances while both training and breast feeding. While you may not stop producing milk, the quality will suffer and this is far from desirable for your baby regardless of how other sources of food.

Breakfast has to happen, otherwise you start the day on the back foot. There is no excuse for going without. Our busy family has always made school lunches the night before and we still do. Ingredients that make sandwiches go soggy, such as tomato, can be packed separately and the child can make up the sandwich during lunchtime. Children can make their own lunches (and breakfasts) from an early age, freeing you to oversee the work, instead of being an unpaid slave to all. Do they really need bottles? Water is best. All NZ schools and childcare centers have drink fountains.

Please have a look at my Super Smoothie recipe which you can modify to suit your needs. This will give all the nutrients you need to train hard and to keep the milk supply going. The basic Smoothie, including the whey protein, flax oil, raw egg and berries, are all safe for you and Baby. You can serve the basic Smoothie to your children as part of their breakfast and as an after school snack. What you serve your children you can also have - the only difference being that you have more.

Have a glass of Balance Recovery Stack within the hour before a training run and then another within the hour of finishing. A few scoops per day is perfectly safe for a breastfeeding athlete. This is all you need other than the Super Smoothie. Of course; ensure that your entire diet is rich in proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals sourced from a wide variety of fresh foods. Unless you have a more specific need, such as a past history of iron deficiency, this should be more than adequate.

If your budget allows, please purchase a Salter 9106 Body Composition Analyser
Scale. These are selling dirt cheap right now because I want my clients to have them. These scales will tell you your body composition in water, bone, fat and muscle. As you get fitter, fat may decline while lean and water should increase (You can send me your results and I will comment on them). Use the "Athlete Mode".

The best advice I can give about training is to follow the Training for a Marathon Guide. Start out slow, stick to the "Hard Day - Easy Day" rule and try to be as consistent as possible from one week to the next. There are now over 900 articles about health and fitness on this site. Please use the "key words" tab to the right of this article to explore areas of interest - "shin splints" for example.

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I am preparing for a half marathon by running 21km every day - comments please Gary

"I am very new to running and in fact until recently had not done any exercise since 2005! Id maybe do something for a day then nothing for 6 months!

I have just been searching for a running programme to start to train for the half marathon in Feb 09 in Buller

• I have only just found running and only for the last few months
  
• I am not fast and have a long way to go
  
• I have found that I like to run for an hour and half in a session
  
• I have lost 33 kilos in the last year and so now want to use running to keep it off
  
• I am booked to do the New York Marathon next nov
  
• I am just starting to think about running to a plan and also what to eat etc
  
• I usually run on an empty stomach from the night before and find I like to run empty. I also don’t drink when I run
  
• I cover about 14 km in about 1hour 20 minutes so you can see its very slow
  
• I want to start running (or walking/running) the 21 km distance every day now until the half marathon

From what I have read its not how people train but I am one of those people who familiarity makes things easier
I also like that fact that I’m psychologically doing the distance every day (or at least 5 out of 7 days)
Why cant we run like this everyday , from what I see our bodies adapt to most everything. Some people run 10 kms everyday so why not 21kms?

What’s your thoughts on this?

Oh I’m 45 and have no joint or other problems, probably cos my body hasn’t been over used, I don’t get sore after a long run and actually look like I haven’t even done it after it (that’s probably cos of the slow speed I run ) I even find down hill doesn’t hurt me either, up hill , the same, may feel it slightly in my butt but nothing like the people who I have run with, who complain of hips or buttock soreness?"
Phyllis

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Oxfam Trailwalker: How much should I be walking or running training?

Hi,
I have a question and would appreciate your advice.

I am a regular runner, running 5x weekly averaging approx. 40 kms a week. I prefer running to walking but think that I should be conditioning my body to walking as our team will mostly walk the trail. How much walking should I be doing? I was also thinking of doing a half-marathon in the first week of March – am I being too ambitious and should I focus more on the long distance walking?

I look forward to your ideas.

Regards
Leanne
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Gary Moller advises:

Leanne, you are obviously very fit. You should have no trouble doing the half marathon and

then doing the Oxfam. Run the half not 100%. Run it steady with 10% left in the tank at the finish. Then have three days of complete rest, take plenty of vitamin C and eat well. After three days start back with half the usual training for the next 7-8 days and then gradually build back to where you were then ease off for the last 10 days leading into the Oxfam.

If 80% of the Oxfam is going to be walking then you should make 80% of your training walking. As you will quickly learn, some of the muscles used in running and walking are different and if you do not train them appropriately, then you will pay for it on the day, even if you are extremely fit.

All the best Leanne!