Running in the wind

I used to be a teacher and on a windy day we knew we'd have a tough time with behaviour. The wind just whips you up! After spending the day in Llandudno on Sunday I went over to Anglesey to stay there for the night. This is one of my favourite places for running and so I was up bright and early on Monday morning for a run along the beach. The wind was even stronger than it had been at Llandudno. It certainly made me feel awake and alive! It was behind me when I was running on the beach and was doing that thing with the sand where it makes it look like there are lots of snakes wriggling up the beach! Apart from my legs being sand blasted it was really good fun running along with it on my back. When I got to my turnaround point I made my way back through the fields and along the lanes. The hedgerows gave me a bit of shelter but it was still tough going!

Monday night I was back home and went to meet my running group to take them for a lactate shuttle session. We run this on some playing fields where they run half a lap at 5km pace and then half a lap at marathon pace for 4 laps (approx 2 miles). Then they have a rest and do it again. The pacing is pretty crucial for this session but the wind was sure to affect them so we had to think very carefully about where they would be running fast (5km pace) and where they would be 'floating' (marathon pace). We decided it would be best to have the headwind on the floating bit and the wind behind for the fast part. This made my job as coach a bit more difficult. If you imagine a rectangle, I usually run from the middle of one long straight across to the middle of the other to shout out the times. By changing the place where they were to switch pace I had to run from one corner, diagonally to the other, so at least four times further!

So why not keep to the usual session and let them battle with the wind wherever it hit them? After all - you don't get a choice as to where the wind hits you in a race. Well, this session wasn't about practicing for a race (more about that later) it was about dipping above and below the lactate threshold and also about building confidence. I wanted the runners to feel good on the fast sections and get a boost as they switched gear. I wanted them to feel like they were flying along and when they hit the wind they could just lean into it and do what they could. The wind is a bit like hills. You know you will slow down into the wind or up a hill but think that you will make it up with the wind behind you or running down a hill but it just doesn't work like that. Studies have concluded that a 10mph headwind slows you by about 8% but a 10mph following wind only speeds you up by about 5%. I told the group to concentrate on their time for the fast section but just to relax and lean into the headwind and take no notice of the time for that section. In actual fact their times were only slightly down for the floating section than they normally are and I think this relaxed approach actually helped them keep good technique rather than straining and battling with the wind.

Talking of which, one of the best tips I ever got about racing in the wind was from none other than Ron Hill. When I was just a nipper (well a teenager) Ron used to come and train at our club and was always happy to offer a bit of coaching to us youngsters. I remember him teaching me to tuck in behind him during repetitions on the track when it was windy. I soon learnt to adopt this as a tactic in windy conditions. It worked pretty well when running against other teenage girls but worked really well when I grew up and became a road runner. Women can always find some strapping bloke to sit in behind when facing a headwind! I ran one of my best marathons sitting in with a group of blokes all the way to 18 miles when we turned the corner for an eight mile run into the finish with a tail wind. When we turned that corner I was off with the wind in my hair all the way to a silver medal in the Tsing Ma Bridge Marathon in Hong Kong. I think cyclists would call this drafting!

Well according to the weather forecast the winds are going to die down from tonight and we're going to have clear skies. That might mean cooler temperatures though...just as I'd put my long sleeves away for the summer. Oh well, I'll just have to run faster to generate more heat!