Keeping up with the Jones boy

Susan Partridge training in Boulder

Next month some of the most influential names in endurance running will be taking part in the England Athletics Marathon Coaching Conference at the University of Warwick. One of those names is former World Record holder and current UK record holder, Steve Jones. Steve, originally from Ebbw Vale, now lives and coaches in Boulder, Colorado, which has become a mecca for runners due to it's high altitude, clean air and miles of runnable trails.

Last month Susan Partridge who won a team bronze at the European Marathon Cup last year and won the EDF Birmingham Half Marathon, went over to Boulder to train with Steve. She sent us this blog that gives a good insight into his training methods philosophy.

Susan and Becky

Hello from Boulder, Colorado. I'm out here for four weeks as part of my training for the London marathon in April. I'm here with fellow UK athlete Becky Penty and we're lucky enough to be staying with marathon legend Steve Jones and his wife Annette. A big thank you to them and to Scottish Athletics for sending me out here. I'm not a big fan of blogs that describe every detail of an athlete's fairly mundane life right down to the colour of their lucky pants - I don't presume to think I'm that interesting to anybody else. But I have been given a fantastic opportunity to experience something that most people don't get to and to run at a level that allows me some insight into training and competing at a higher level. So I hope over the next few weeks to pick out the most interesting and inspiring bits about training here in Boulder with Steve Jones and his group and to give you some thoughts on what I have to do to reach the next level.

Why am I here? Last year was a good year for me. I ran a long overdue marathon PB (2:35:57) and competed at the European Championships in Barcelona. However, I have a half-marathon PB of 72:33 so I feel like I haven't quite got it right yet when it comes to the marathon and something needs to change whether it be training or attitude. The qualifying standards have just been released for the World Championships (about time too but that's another rant): 2:31 for an individual performance and 2:35 for the team. So eight weeks before the London Marathon I now know my goal - the qualifying time for the World Championships.

One of the main attractions about being out here in Boulder is being able to draw upon the experiences of Steve Jones.  Steve's coaching philosophy is fairly unique and he admits it sometimes raises a few eyebrows. Much to my joy, he believes that running is the single most important factor in a training regime and that circuits, strength and conditioning, yoga and the rest can all detract from the running. Strength  is my weak point and something I need to work on but any advice that gives me a reason not to do it sounds good to me. He believes that quality is more important than quantity, that too much easy running is not beneficial and that every session you should be trying to push yourself. I recently read a post on a popular forum debating the mileage that marathoners should be doing. A few people were arguing over Steve's weekly mileage. He was sat in the other room at the time but didn't ask him if he wanted to post. I think he'd probably say that it doesn't matter - the question you need to ask is are you pushing the boat out everytime you go for a run or are you collecting junk miles. He doesn't believe in watches, heart rate monitors or gps, instead believing that a good athlete needs a natural instinct. Gadgets and science hold you back.

Steve believes that coping with some stress in your life can help you to deal with stress in a race. To this end he believes that even if you have the whole day to train, the discipline of getting up early and doing a workout (that's a session to you and me) helps you be a better athlete. I'm not convinced on this one I must admit. I do believe in discipline and routine usually works well for me but I don't think it makes any difference whether you train in the morning or the evening. In fact, I do get up and run every  morning (the alarm goes off at 6:30) but I'd rather poke myself repeatedly in the eye than do a session at this time - don't you have to be able to pick your feet off the ground for that. However, the thought of starting a session at 7pm in the evening is questionable to the group over here. I must admit if you get up at 7am here and walk out the door you're met with beautiful sunshine, cool fresh mountain air, frolicking wildlife and quite frankly it makes you glad to be alive. No disrespect to Halifax or good old Blighty but the same scenario back home usually involves ice cold rain, fumes from a passing bus and the kind of wildlife that tucks its socks into its tracksuit trousers (please note: exaggerated for comic effect. I know there are wonderful places in the UK too but it is darker in winter). No, on this one I'm yet to be convinced but "when in Rome". It's still advice worth listening to and as Steve likes to say "it gets you thinking".

After a couple of days here Steve gives you a very frank assessment of you as an athlete. He doesn't insult you but he doesn't mince his words either. It's quite an eye opener. After I got over the big girl in me wanting to burst into tears, I rallied round and though "now wait just one minute. He's not got the measure of me and I'll prove it". And this is exactly what he's trying to do. Provoke the fighting instinct in you and get the fire going in your belly. If his assessment is right and you change something for the better, great;if it's not and you set out to prove him wrong, even better. For me it was that he thought my life was more settled than when I last came out (2005) and that I didn't have the ambition that I had then as everything was now just a little too comfortable. He also suggested that I relied too heavily on the watch and I should learn to run from the gut. I don't agree with either of these things (I am more motivated now than ever and I have a very big gut), and so I told him, but there it was the fire in my belly - just what he is trying to provoke. 

Steve doesn't force all his beliefs on his athletes, taking a more hands off approach and allowing them to make their own decisions regarding cross-training, strength and conditioning, etc but they trust him and trust his training program. I think he is keen to help you achieve your goals and as the current British record holder he stands in a good position to do so but he also respects your right to disagree and to trust in you and your coaches own philosophy.  Steve is definitely an inspiration and I'm already changing my attitude to the way I train, becoming more aggressive in setting my goals and not falling back into comfortable training. 

Now the training (see below), for those of you who are interested. Bit under the weather to start with but would have taken it easy anyway. I did the tempo and the hills with Kathy Butler, who's coming back after having her daughter a year ago and Becky, who is now unfortunately nursing a bit of an injury (not because of the hills!). We've had  a bit of snow here but not so much as to prevent training and a sharp increase in temperatures means it was well on its way to melting after the weekend. Fiona Docherty (2:32 in Chicago) also trains with Steve's group, so we're in top class company. Boulder is at moderate altitude so it is possible to train at a reasonable pace. Steady runs feel o.k. but I have noticed that any efforts seem to get tougher more quickly and more suddenly than they would at sea level. I thought my lungs were going to pop out of my chest after the first hill rep on Sat but my breathing did seem to regulate itself after a few. Sessions were just run "from the gut", as hard as you could with no pace stipulated.

That's all for now. I'll try and update next week on my grumps and inspirations. Oh and by the way they're blue with yellow ducks!

Please note this blog is my personal assessment of living in Boulder and training with Steve and not necessarily a direct representation of his views;-).

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