I went from a 3:17 marathon to a 2:19. From a 25:14 5K to a 14:34. And if I'm being completely honest with you — a huge part of that improvement had nothing to do with running more miles. It came from getting serious about recovery. I spent years thinking the answer was more sessions. More mileage. More intensity. And yeah, that stuff matters. But if you're not recovering properly between those sessions, you're leaving a massive amount of progress on the table. Recovery isn't a rest day. It's a discipline. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the 10 things that made the biggest difference — to me and to the athletes I coach every week: 1️⃣ Protein within 30 minutes of every hard session — have your shake ready before you even start. 20-24g. Don't wait until you've showered and sorted yourself out. By then, you've already missed the window. 2️⃣ Electrolytes, not just water — start every morning with a hydration tablet. The difference between feeling flat at 8km and feeling strong is often just this. 3️⃣ Good carbs before, protein after — you can't out-train a bad diet. Fuel it properly and it'll repay you on the roads. 4️⃣ Warm up and cool down every single time — I know it's boring. I know you're tight for time. But runners who skip these get injured. Runners who do them consistently stay healthy for years. 5️⃣ 8 hours of sleep — since having kids, I haven't always managed this. And I've felt every single missed hour on my runs. No app, supplement or training hack replaces sleep. 6️⃣ Yoga or mobility work once a week — when I went to my first class, I looked like a baby giraffe doing downward dog. Now I don't miss a week. Completely different runner for it. 7️⃣ Compression socks post-session — my calves used to twitch like mad after big tempos. 2-3 hours in compression socks after a hard run and it sorts itself out. 8️⃣ Legs up the wall — 30-45 minutes. Free. Simple. Works. Do it in the evening while watching TV. No extra time needed.

When it comes to improving your running, there are no shortcuts. But there are smarter ways to train. Over 9 years I improved from: 🏃‍♂️ 3:17 marathon → 2:20 marathon 🏃‍♂️ 25:14 5K → 14:34 5K And one thing became very clear during that journey: If you keep doing the same training every day, you’ll improve… But very slowly. Small tweaks to your training structure, recovery, and habits can make a huge difference over time. Here are 10 simple running “hacks” that can help you improve faster. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1️⃣ Build a Short Daily Routine One of the most underrated habits for runners is a 10–15 minute daily routine. This can include: • Core work • Strength exercises • Stretching • Foam rolling Even 2–5 sessions per week can dramatically improve durability and reduce injury risk. Small daily maintenance goes a long way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2️⃣ Add Structure to Your Training Many runners simply run the same pace every day. That’s one of the slowest ways to improve. Instead aim for: • 2 harder sessions per week • Track intervals • Tempo / threshold runs • Hill repeats And remember the golden rule: Easy days easy. Hard days hard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3️⃣ Let Your Watch Coach You Pre-building workouts on your watch makes sessions far easier to execute. Instead of constantly checking pace and time, your watch guides the workout: ✔ When to push ✔ When to recover ✔ When the interval ends This allows you to focus on running — not managing the session. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4️⃣ Strength Work Matters More Than You Think Strength training is crucial for runners. Stronger muscles help you: ✔ Handle higher mileage ✔ Maintain better form ✔ Reduce injury risk

Hi everyone, Well back to the Parkrun here in Mackay again this morning, typical weather for this time of the year, at 7 am temperature was already 26 degrees and humidity 82%. A real sauna out there. Only the 3rd Parkrun back from injury, but showing a little progress. This week I was determined to maintain some pace but run without inserting any walk breaks and managed it. It is hard coming back at this time of the year. Managed to pull back a little time from my last outing 24:57 back to 24:15 so I was reasonably happy with that. And no calf pain. I’m hoping if I have a good week training and the weather is ok I might get back under the right side of 24 minutes as I am definitely feeling a little stronger than I was a month ago when I had that calf blowout just before my 66th birthday. Not great timing 😒. Doing plenty of strength and conditioning work, building the mileage slowly and the mind is definitely in a better place so I'm fairly confident the coming weeks will show an improvement. Will keep you posted Cheers, Michael

Well at this time of the year in northern Australia it’s heading towards the wet season. The humidity is starting to build and it also marks the time of year when certain infamous native birds and other creatures are into their breeding season. One of the better known birds is of course the black and white magpie, the scourge of cyclists everywhere. This bird can find the gaps in a cyclists helmet with pin point accuracy and are relentless in their attacks if you are within their self proclaimed territory. It is quite common to see helmets adorned with many zipties protruding to stave off any attacks . It looks like the cyclist is wearing a porcupine on his head with all those spines. Another maybe not as well known but equally tenacious in their hostility but more so towards runners are the spur winged lapwing, also known as the spur winged plover because they conceal a spur on each wing which can inflict a nasty wound in the event of a contact. Quite often the poor victim is unaware of the attack until the feathered marauder is almost upon them giving little chance for to defend. They usually only attack when your back is turned and generally avoid a face to face confrontation, reminds of some people I know. If I make it successfully across both magpies and spur winged plover territory unscathed I then head down a quiet rural back road bordered on either side with tall stands of sugar cane. Of course it is now harvesting time and it is quite common to see these little sugar cane trains up to a kilometre or so long winding their way through the countryside on their way to or from the sugar mills where the sugar is processed. If I hear a whistle from one of these trains I know I have to seriously sprint before it gets to one of the many level crossings on my otherwise quiet rural backroad or I could be held up for quite some time until makes its way though. But today was a great day, a local cyclist unintentionally lured the magpies away, I thwarted all attempts by the plovers to inflict damage, no sugar trains coincided with my run and my much maligned calf muscle seems to have settled down.

Marathon training is going to start soon, I’m a bit eager but want to be very prepared. First marathon and hopefully not my last 🙏🏻