With the New Zealand winter domestic season ensuing, The Runner’s Tribe will be featuring regular updates from some of those who will likely feature in the medals at the National Road and Cross-Country Championships.

With a 5^th place finish at the 2010 NZXC champs, Stefan Smith enters the 2011 season as one of the top seeds in the domestic season. With a coaching change and a return to his home of Napier, the Wellington Scottish athlete has his sights firmly on asserting himself as the man to beat over all surfaces this year.

Back to Basics

With a fresh start at home I also made a coaching switch to Chris Pilone of Auckland from which we communicate through email/skype/phone and so far the transition has gone perfect with no hiccups at all apart from a cold I have just gotten over. Training has gone perfect since starting with him in February. I have gotten off to a great start with Chris, I get my schedule sent to me well in advance and I believe in him to take me to bigger and better things. 

I missed the past track season with a stress fracture in the foot I picked up in October and had roughly 3 months off where I basically did nothing - got fat and just learnt to not stress about the time off which I probably needed. I started back training to a normal pattern by the end of February when I was doing close to an hour each day. I am now in full training and with a 9 day cycle it is something I have become used to now and don't worry so much about how much mileage I run a week and I now have regular rest days. I really enjoy this cycle because when you look at it weekly it is different every week, I am listening to my body a lot more, with a day off every 9 days I feel I am recovering more and can run hard when I need to and not feel like some days are a bit of a drag. I have also started doing specific weight and core sessions that are usually after long runs, which can be tough! 

I am now fully pumped to be back running and excited for what 2011 brings, with plans of a marathon debut possibly at the end of the year and looking to step up from my 5th last year at NZXC to be at the top of the podium this year! I am also keen to put together a good track season 2011/12 as I haven't really had a fully focused one in a while now as my track times are rubbish and feel like I have never really converted my xc strength to the track. 

I am currently living back at home which has been awesome in terms of my nutrition, mum is a great cook and I don't have to worry about what to put on my plate after training. I am working 20hours a week in a local cafe which has been ok, time on the feet not the most ideal position to be in when trying to put all your energy into training but for now it will have to do, has also kept my old man off my back about getting a job too as he thinks I would go crazy lazying around at home all day! 

Next up for me is the Huntly 10km on the 22nd May that I will use as a lead in race to the Christchurch Half Marathon. That will be the proper start of the season for me and I'm keen to run fast. 

 
A typical 9-day cycle:

40min AM, 40min PM

80min AM, 40min PM

45min AM, 30min PM

2hours + Weights/Core

45min AM, 45min PM + 5x100m

REST

90min including 40min hard over hills followed by 15-30min up tempo, 30min PM

60min

90min

I run by feel most the time, just at a pace that is relative to easy that day. A vo2 max session will be for example 6x3mins with 90sec recovery but these will be done at a specific time, the main focus is on building aerobic strength.

Happy running! 

Stef

Personal Bests:

800m: 1:50.5

1500m: 3:40.15

Mile: 3:57.78

5000m: 14:12

Coach: Chris Pilone

Agent Company: www.wafelsportsmanagement.com

Off To Europe!

Hi Folks,

This is my first time blogging, so thought I would get straight into it!

Since October 2010 all my training has been geared towards racing well over the upcoming European season. For the first time in two years I have finally been able to get a consistent buildup done without getting injured or sick, and so naturally I am looking forward to getting into some good fast races! I also have to quickly thank my coach, Chris Pilone, who I have been living with in Auckland for the past couple of months after the Christchurch earthquake. He has allowed me to just eat, sleep, and train without the pressure of having to work, although the constant barrage against Canterbury teams has been a bit unbearable at times!

The journey from NZ to Europe I must say is rather far. Despite one bag lost somewhere between Hong Kong and Amsterdam (it has since turned up) the travel was all done and dusted over the weekend and I have arrived at my “base” for the season in Ede-Wageningen, Holland (pronounced difficultly).  I am staying with a local coach here (Jeroen) and his partner Neeltje, who have been really awesome since I got here.  They are super friendly and love their athletics and unsurprisingly their football too. Last night in fact was the final match for the Netherlands league, between Ajax and FC Twente. This ended in a thrilling 3-1 victory by Ajax who were 1 point down on season total against top of the table FC Twente! Unreal, and oh yea…we watched that… Anyway, despite their cat “Doo Doo” which constantly attacks me, I have a great feeling about the next couple of months here. There are plenty of locals to meet up with for training runs and also, next door to the house is a track, pool and gym. A further 10mins down the road and there is a massive forest for keeping that mileage going. Just an all round mint location really!

Right now I am all about getting the body adjusted and recovered from the travel. Will get into some light training later today and then go from there.  First race at the moment is schedule to be a 1500m in Nijmegen, Holland on 25^th May so not long to go now!

Till next time.

Hayden

Lisa Weightman Berlin World Champs Interview

© 2009 The Runner's Tribe, all rights reserved. Published Tuesday August 18, 2009

Brought to you by Edward Ovadia who is in Berlin with official IAAF accreditation covering the championships for Runnerstribe.com

Like yourselves, the team at Runner's Tribe can't get enough news on running - past, present and future.

We are also passionate about improving the profile of athletics to help aspiring elite athletes realise their dreams.

The Runner's Tribe team is very excited to announce a partnership that will help us achieve these goals. New Balance Athletic Company have agreed to provide sponsorship that will enable us to increase our news coverage, our special features and to maintain our passionate on-line community.

Runner's Tribe is confident that this partnership will help us greatly in our quest to become the world's leading internet provider of extensive and entertaining athletics media.

New Balance is one of the true running heritage brands. Back in the 1970's New Balance was the only brand to support a struggling 2.22 marathoner, Dick Beardsley. It was years later in 1982 that Beardsley was immortalised in the classic "duel in the sun" Boston Marathon, where both runners clocked sub 2.09.

In Australia New Balance has supported runners through Athletics Australia & Triathlon Australia sponsorships. However, New Balance's proudest achievement is the 7-year long support of local runners through the NB Development Squad, with athletes such as Collis Birmingham, Marty Dent & Lisa Weightman, to name just a few.

So we would like to welcome New Balance as supporters of The Runner's Tribe and the development of running in Australia.
 

'The mile has all the elements of drama'
Sir Roger Bannister

5000m - Australia Telstra A series 5000m