Why did Nick Willis fail to fire during the Final of the London Olympics 1500m?

Too many distractions: Click on the image above
to view the video.

Here I am, sitting in Wellington about to make some observations as to why Kiwi runner, Nick Willis, failed to perform up to pre-race expectations in the final of the Olympic 1500m.  Risky!  But here we go...

I think there are three factors that may have been at work: Too much extracurricular activity, running on empty and being in one of the classiest bunches of runners ever assembled.

 I'll comment on the first two - the last needs no comment.

Extracurricular activity

If you are the owner of a thorough-bred race horse contesting the Melbourne Cup, you sure would not be show-ponying it all over the place during the weeks and days leading up to the biggest race of its short career.  Race horses, like Olympians, are highly-strung creatures.  They are easily thrown off their game by the slightest of upsets (Shot-putter, Valerie Adams, is a good example:  Discovering, to her horror, that she was not on the starting list less than 24 hours before her event and going on to under perform).

High performance creatures need routine.  They need quiet time.  They need to focus.  They need rest.  Nothing at all must be allowed to disturb, or upset them. Their adrenals need to build reserve capacity - not to be emptied during the days before they must produce the most high-octane burst of biological energy possible.

In Willis's case, was he asked to do too much leading up to his race? Flag-bearer for the NZ team, countless interviews and appearances.  Was there too much pressing of the flesh, too many luncheons and too many speeches?  The overt pressures of the growing expectations of a nation were clearly placed on his thin, though athletic shoulders.  Did he have enough quiet time? From the outside, looking in, this appeared not to be the case.

How often and for how long was he able to close the door and chill out without being interrupted?  How often and for how long was he sitting and standing about at receptions, shaking hands?  It looked like there was a lot of that going on.

An athlete needs to be resting physically and mentally when not training?  Focusing on what really matters - winning the Big Race.

My sister, Lorraine, taught me this:  When an athlete is not actually training or competing, she should be snoring away, having a good feed, stretching, or having therapy, like a good massage.

I am sure Willis was carefully managed; but were there some things that could have been done better - Things that can be done better next time?

Running on Empty

Time and time again, almost without exception, when we do a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis of an elite athlete, we discover a number of nutrient imbalances - Indicating that they are close to running on empty and have varying degrees of adrenal exhaustion.  What I mean by this is the athlete simply has not the nutrients inside them to fuel sustained high performance.  We also discover that their glandular systems are less than optimum.  This may be exacerbated by an excess of some nutrients that ends up creating a relative deficiency between nutrients.  There may even be interference with sensitive biochemical processes by medications as seemingly innocuous as an oral contraceptive, IUD or implant.

An athlete must have strong, vigorous glands - not exhausted ones

While Nick Willis is supported by some of the best sports medicine talent available, he displayed some tell-tale physical signs of adrenal exhaustion in the weeks leading up to this day, such as slightly sunken eyes (Often incorrectly attributed to just being thin).  Sure he reported feeling great in the days leading up to the Big Day; but I wonder just how much reserve was there actually sitting in the tank?  A full tank, half a tank, or just about empty?  Without the right testing, nobody can tell until the tank suddenly becomes empty.

High performance athletes are poised on a knife edge.  The slightest slip and they fall into exhaustion, injury, or both.  A part-empty tank may explain, in part, why he failed to fully recover after the semis and why his legs did not have anything left in them once the hammer went down towards the end of the race.

Here is an article about this matter of athlete exhaustion: http://blog.garymoller.com/2012/01/running-on-empty-why-athletes.html
Another related article: http://blog.garymoller.com/2011/07/about-female-runners-and-stress.html
And this: "Hero to Zero" in a single race for this former international cyclist:
http://blog.garymoller.com/2010/04/tired-female-athlete-wonders-if-cause.html

We need Sir Patrick Hogan

When the inevitable High Performance Review Committee is convened to analyse where and why we went right and where and why we went wrong, I nominate Sir Patrick Hogan as a Special Consultant to the Committee.

"As a man who built an empire from the grass roots of the New Zealand thoroughbred industry, Sir Patrick Hogan is rightfully regarded as the King of "down under" horse breeding.

For 30 years Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan's Cambridge Stud has ruled the roost as the number one nursery for thoroughbred champions in Australasia."

http://www.cambridgestud.co.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145847155

We can learn a lot from the horse breeding and racing industry and Sir Patrick is the Man.  

What's good for the horses is good for our athletes.

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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.

How close to going for a run can I drink a Super Smoothie?

I am trying some of Gary's "Super yuk Smoothie" and would like to know how close before going out for a run could I consume it?

And is it ok to mix with egg and fruit before a run and leave it in the fridge for after the run?

How much powder and liquid would I use and can you mix it with milk rather than water?

Thanks, Pauline
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Gary:
Pauline, I quite like the new name.  Can I use it?

Seriously: Taste is very much an individual matter and we can't please everyone.  The other point about taste is things that are very good for you do not always have to taste great.  Think of the cod liver oil Grandma used to dish out during Winter visits!

If the run is anything more than a leisurely trot, it is best not to have anything, other than water, within the hour of commencing the run.  Any closer and your risk suffering a tummy upset.

It is fine to have egg, fruit and just about anything else you like in your pre-run smoothie - SO LONG as you have it far enough out to be sure that the Smoothie has been thoroughly digested by the time you begin running. We all digest at differing rates, so the best advice is to experiment with ingredients and timing.

The Smoothie can be left in the fridge for several hours, but not if you add ingredients like fruit which will go brown and gluggy.  Now that is "yuk!".  It is fine to use milk but give preference to a mix of coconut cream/milk and water.

Have half a scoop of Super Smoothie mix for your breakfast Smoothie which you can add all kinds of goodies such as raw egg, flax oil, fruit, coconut cream/milk and even a weetbix!  Then, for over the day, make up 700ml with one full Super Smoothie scoop, with a mix of water and coconut cream/milk.  Shake well and have one glass at 10am, another at noon, another at 3pm and the rest, if there's any, before dinner.  Keep it in the fridge between feeds.

This regime will ensure a steady dribble of high quality nutrients into your body as opposed to a single daily deluge which is usually the case.  You will find that any excess fat (if you have any) will drop off while preserving strength and energy.

More Information
Here are the product pages for the Super Smoothie.

Here is the blog page for the Super Smoothie.

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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 training for a marathon and I have problems with my knees swelling

Hi Gary I am currently into week 10 of an 18 week marathon training program and am experiencing problems with knee swelling.

...I had a successful knee reconstruction 6 years ago which has enabled me to go on and run several marathons as well as the Keppler challenge and other off road events, all without knee swelling and stiffness. I am 40years old.

What I would like to know is, should I be taking the Joint Factors supplement that you are advertising on your website. Or is it too late to start to be of any benefit? Looking forward to your reply. Regards
"L"
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Gary Moller responds:
I am assuming that you had an anterior cruciate repair. There is often damage to the knee cartilages and there may be some unwanted ongoing joint laxity which causes some slipping and sliding within the joint. That you are now getting some swelling is not unexpected.

Unfortunately, these injuries come back on us as we age and the repair processes are less able to keep abreast of the wear processes. As somebody who is a wee bit older, who has had two operations on the same knee and who remains obsessively hyperactive, let me give you a few words of wisdom. Before I do so, I would like to point out that my knee is functioning better today than it was when I was 40. Credit for this goes to being a stickler for ensuring no further damage is done to that dodgy joint:

If it causes joint pain or swelling - stop immediately
Pain and swelling mean that you are causing serious damage to joint surfaces which are literally a millimeter or less in thickness. Do not harm these delicate surfaces unless you plan to spend your latter years in a wheel chair. According to Tower Insurance knee replacements are up 268% from 2001. This is a shocking indictment on the way we treat (sorry - abuse) our knees. Look after those knees folks if you want to get through airport security without being frisked every time!

Nourish your joints while there is still something there to repair
You can never be too early (or too late) in supplying the nutritional substrate that those hard-working cells need to rebuild healthy joint tissue. This means trace minerals, glucosamine, chondroitin and several other nutrients, including plenty of vitamin C. When it comes to joint nutrition, the sooner one starts the better.

Exercise; but not in a way that causes harm
I was pretty good at marathon running. Did over a dozen with several at a brisk pace. That was over 20 years ago. Although I think I am fit enough, I will never do another because I want to have knees when I hit the ton. I simply made the decision to quit doing marathons and never, ever regretted that decision. Nowadays, most of my running is off road and no longer than about 1.5 hours. I can still chop out a 5km race in about 20 minutes which is satisfying for a chap now in his mid 50's. Nowadays, I do the grueling endurance work on a mountain bike. I can still do a 2-3 hour off-road running race without too much distress. All this is carefully chosen and executed to prevent ruining my knees.

Mountain bike riding is very hard work while being easy on the knees. A ride can last 3-4 hours with no joint pain of note. The other fitness activity that my knees love me for is kayaking.

So the advice is to choose activities that are good for your knees. Pounding the pavements is not one of them and marathon running sure is not on the menu either. And yes, I would recommend the joint foods of glucosamine and chondroitin; but not if the rest of the advice in this article is ignored.

Running a marathon

Jennifer writes: "You may recall I came and saw you some time back and was aiming for the Wellington Marathon. Well I did it! My training went pretty much exactly to your plan and I had no injuries – only hiccup was a head cold a couple of weeks out.

Even though we had a perfect day the run was tough! I knew my knee would go at some time but was not prepared for it to start hurting at the 25km mark and be as painful as it got. However chugged on through and finished in 3:50 – my aim was to do under 4 hours so can not complain. I learnt a lot from the run and think next time my build up would be slightly different. But thank you so much for your advice and guidance.

Even though it obviously was not the quickest time I ended up the 10th woman home and 3rd in my age group so for a first timer it puts a little shine on things. Next half in September… I took one carbo shot during the marathon (had practiced in training runs), which meant a quick dash to the bathroom but not convinced it was as beneficial as just water. I think for me personally as I am a bit slower, I would do maybe a 3.5 hour run leading up to next marathon and not back off quite so soon in the lead up – just a few tweaks that I think my body would work better with".
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Gary Moller Comments:
First of all, congratulations to Jennifer and all the others who completed the Wellington Marathon and 1/2 Marathon.

It is not necessary to run more than 3 hours in training, even if the marathon race is going to be 4 or so hours. The risk of injury is just far too great, as is the risk of just getting too exhausted to be able to train properly for several days after.


Gradually build up over 12 weeks to about 3 hour runs that you do once a week. There should be short runs during the week that develop speed and running form. Run a short race about every 2nd week - about 3-8km races. The long runs develop the stamina to run long distances efficiently utilising your body fat stores. The faster runs, including races develops your peak oxygen consumtion capacity as well as your ability to use a higher percentage of this capacity during long runs. This means being able to run longer, faster.

Once the big event is over, take 10 days break, then start the cycle again.


Jennifer's experience with the single carbo shot illustrates how different training conditions can be to actual competition. It is very difficult to ingest anything while running without suffering some kind of upset. Substances like concentrated corn syrup need to be taken with caution and lots of water. While I recommend that long training runs be on an empty stomach, some runs need to be set aside to practice taking in fluid and food.

Finally, marathons are murder on joints. Take additional joint food before and for a few weeks after the event.

Trouble with cramp - some solutions

Dear Gary,
"I thought you might be interested in a de-brief from the Rotorua marathon and I would value some advice.

My biggest worry with Rotorua (apart from fitness!!) was getting cramp. I tried to overcome this by good training including 7 of my long runs over 30 k's, some hard short runs, and some hill work. Serious training started in Jan and included the Franklin 1/2. I had probably never been fitter leading in to Rotorua and injury free. I was also taking magnesium, calcium, and joint repair.

I had a good breakfast on race day and plenty of water. Also plenty of water throughout the race, some power aid and leppins squeezy later in race. But still I was stricken by leg cramp at exactly the Whakatane turnoff (30 kms). I could feel it coming on a k or 2 earlier and knew it was a matter of time. It struck hard in my right calf and left knee and I immediately dropped to the ground in a press up position and stretched out my legs. I carried on and forced myself to run through the cramp (I could feel it moving around my muscles) until it was bearable and then it would strike m further on. I went through that agonising process time and time again (knowing that my wife was only minutes behind me!) until it left me at about 2 kms from the finish and I was able to finish quite freely and quite fast. "

Anon
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World champion marathon runners generally spend at least 10yrs preparing and are world class 5 and 10km runners. Even if you are not world class, you can still copy the general principles of their training.

My Advice:
If it were possible to invent a cure-all for cramp, I would be a very wealthy man! The sad fact is there is no single solution. The most effective approach to prevention is to try to cover as many of the possible causes and hope that one, or a combination of them works. Prevention requires attention to training, diet, what you do in the days before the race and what you do duing the race and how you run it. When reading this, please refer to the updated Guide to Training for a Marathon.

• Train, race, train, race and even more training. I ran my first marathon in 2hrs 42 minutes with no special training, other than running competitively for about 15 years and doing big 2-3 hour Sunday runs on an empty stomach with the boys (and one girl - sister Lorraine) over the mountains overlooking Dunedin. That marathon was in Southland during October immediately following a winter of cross-country and road racing. Your buildup to any marathon should be at least 6 months and include the combination of long runs and short races.
• Top up your body's mineral stores, principally calcium and magnesium. While some benefit may be noticed, after supplementing with these for a few weeks, it may take several months of taking more than the recommended daily allowances to fully replenish body mineral stores. These minerals are essential for muscle and nervous system functioning, including preventing and treating cramping. It is very common for these minerals to become depleted; especially in women, teenage boys and men and women from about 40 years on. Heavy exercise; especially if sweating heavily increases need. You can purchase these supplements from the http://www.myotec.co.nz/ store.
• Train your body to use fat. It takes at least 3 months following the diet and training guidelines in the Training for a Marathon Guide for the body to show improvements in fat useage. You will notice this by fewer intense carbo cravings when on really long runs and your ability to go longer and faster on an empty stomach will be markedly improved. Your body learns to spare its muscle glycogen and this means less chance of muscle cramping glycogen depletion at about 30km (hitting the wall!).
• Learn to run steady effort pace. I ran the Crazy Man a few weeks ago. This was 18km of muddy mountain trails, followed by 38km of even muddier mountain biking. I finished in about 4.5hrs in second place for my age group. Although I was running at a very steady effort, I was being passed by the same competitors again and again during the run. They were running at an uneven pace. Every time a runner accelerates - even slightly - this costs precious muscle glycogen stores. I passed every single one of these runners towards the end of the run or during the bike, as exhaustion and cramp disabled them. When running a marathon, start slow and gradually build the pace so that your 2nd half is slighly faster than the first.
• Replenish glycogen stores as you go. During a marathon, this is next to impossible if you are running at about 3.30 hrs pace or faster. This is where the gels and electrolyte drinks come into play; but take special care with these if running hard. Refer to the guide to Training for a Marathon for more details.
• Get caffeine free. If you are a caffeine addict, your natural fat metabolism processes are compromised. Caffeine is only of any benefit to an athlete if they are not habitually taking in caffeine. Then, if you are caffeine free and if you are following the Training Guide, you will have no need for dosing up on caffeine on race day.
• Do not travel long distances within 24hrs of racing. If you spend more than about 4-6 hours sitting in a car or plane, the blood stagnates in your legs. While it may not clot like happens in deep vein thrombosis (DVT), it still goes off a little. This is why you feel tired, heavy and mentally lethargic following travel. The runner might notice that their resting pulse is slightly elevated for a day or so. It has always been traditional among the running professionals to go for a brisk 20 minute run immediately upon arrival to blow out the cobwebs. They also know that it is impossible to produce a personal best performance immediately following travel other than a few hours duration. So, travel to your race destination 2 days before the race. Failing that, stop and go for a quick jog every hour of travel. Take extra fish oil with vitamin E around the time of travel to improve circulation and to reduce any possibility of clotting. I also recommend a quality antioxidant to reduce any degradation of the blood cells through oxidation.
• If you suffer disabling cramps during a marathon. Slow down, gently stretch the offending muscle group. But do not stop altogether for more than a minute or two, lest you completely seize up. Keep the muscles warm. If dehydrated, get fluids in. Definitely try to ingest crabohydrates, best in liquid form. You might like to take two Magnesium Complete capsules: Break them open and disslove in water and ingest (magnesium is a mild laxative, so be prepared!). Power walk, if necessary for as long as 20 minutes while doing these measures and giving time for them to take effect. Resume running cautiously and see what happens.