However, as training load increases, our nutrition needs to adjust too, to match the new demands placed on the body, and this applies particularly to intake of carbohydrates (the body’s preferred fuel for most exercise) and overall calories (energy). 

Unfortunately, whether consciously driven by a desire for greater weight loss or not, this upregulation of fuelling often does not take place. In my experience as a sports dietitian and running coach, runners are not always comfortable taking this step, especially if weight loss and body image concerns have been a longstanding issue, and even less so if they have seen some short-term performance benefit from being lighter.

Unfortunately, this approach can be really dangerous in the long-term. RED-S is a common syndrome that can affect runners across the spectrum, from elite to recreational, old and young, male and female, and yet remains poorly understood and under-recognised by most runners and coaches.

RED-S stands for ‘Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport’, an evolution of a previous syndrome called the Female Athlete Triad. The common thread between the two conditions is that both are characterised by low energy availability; that being the energy left over after exercise to fuel all the body’s essential functions. In 2014, the International Olympic Committee coined this new term of RED-S, acknowledging the growing evidence that a chronic calorie deficit (and thereby state of low energy availability) can affect males as well as females, and many more bodily systems than previously thought. Whereas the Female Athlete Triad focused on links between energy deficit, menstrual dysfunction and poor bone health, RED-S is much broader, and identifies that immune, gastrointestinal, mental, and cardiovascular health (to name a few) can also be impaired by chronic underfuelling. It’s also worth noting that the processes of metabolism itself can be impacted (i.e. slowed down) in RED-S as the body attempts to preserve energy, which can actually make weight loss and body composition goals harder to achieve, potentially convincing the runner they need to restrict even further.

Early warning signs might include frequent or persistent colds and bugs, indicating that the immune system is being downregulated as the body tries to adjust to low energy. Other early signs can be general fatigue, reduced motivation, or reduced performance in or recovery from training sessions. Since these symptoms are, in themselves, relatively minor and perceived to be common, it’s easy to see how they might be overlooked.

However, if these trends continue, more serious issues can arise. Bone scans are not routine within recreational sport, so a runner may have no idea that they have dangerously reduced bone density until suddenly experiencing a stress fracture. By this point, RED-S has likely become quite severe and needs careful management of nutrition and training load, over an extended period (and ideally with specialist input), to overcome.

Another key area is the hormonal dysregulation that impairs reproductive function. In both males and females, this might first present as decreased libido, and in males may correlate with erectile dysfunction, or reduced frequency of morning erections. In females, it can lead to irregular (oligomenorrhea) or total absence (amenorrhea) of menstruation, which can have knock-on effects on fertility that take months or years to overcome. And these symptoms may of course be masked (again, whether consciously or otherwise) by being on the contraceptive pill, preventing runners and coaches from picking up on this big red flag for inadequate fuelling. 

Despite being an uncomfortable topic, this fertility element of RED-S in particular has started to gain more mainstream media exposure, such as this widely publicised interview by Laura Kenny, Britain’s most successful female Olympian.

However, although RED-S awareness among recreational runners is on the rise, it is still poorly understood and under-diagnosed. It is therefore vital that articles and interviews continue to appear across all media, but also that coaches move away from outdated ‘thinner is faster’ attitudes, and that they help to screen their runners for RED-S. It has become a routine part of my practice for all new nutrition and coaching clients.

Indeed, the detection, prevention and management of RED-S should become slightly easier thanks to the updated IOC consensus statement from last year, which summarises the emerging evidence and provides a new clinical assessment tool. I would strongly urge runners of all levels to take a look.

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Planning and prep

In some respects, planning for Valencia started several years ago, when I first became aware of it as such a rapid course. I very nearly took the plunge in one of the covid years but remember thinking that the cancellation policy looked particularly harsh given the state of the world at the time, so backed out and waited for normality to return. With London finally moving back from October to April this year, space was freed up, and 2023 felt a good bet. I booked as soon as I found out they were on sale, which, 11 months in advance, was still only quick enough for their second or third price ‘tranche’. It’s a hell of a long build up in terms of event participation.

This was my first overseas marathon for 8 years (the last being Rotterdam in 2015, when I broke 3 for the first time), and in all honesty, I found planning for it quite stressful. 2023 has been a year of strikes and travel uncertainty. As a man that hones in on detail in race week, this, plus hand luggage restrictions (how to get gels AND beetroot juice across?!), and choosing between accommodation certainty and affordability (I chose the latter), all added a layer of pre-race organisation I didn’t really relish.

Added to that was the nagging guilt of flying to a race, which, as I have posted on IG about, is something I don’t feel very comfortable with, and equally, of leaving my family behind.

Also, with international races so rare for me, it added an extra dimension of pressure (completely self-imposed, I should add), of a) getting to the start line in good health, which is challenging when all around you are coughing and sneezing their way through November, not least my little boy, and b) to smash the race and really make it count.

All this said, I got relatively lucky and can’t have many complaints about the logistics. I did get a dreaded email about flight times changing, but was then able to renegotiate more favourable times. I struck very lucky with my bargain Airbnb (happy to share details), and I somehow managed to avoid getting sick. I was here!

The event itself

The rumours are true: Valencia Marathon is an absolutely brilliant event, and I would recommend it without hesitation, whether you are chasing a PB or otherwise. Communication in the build up was slick, organisation on the day was great, and the whole city seems to be invested and proud of their race. 

One minor annoyance was the expo. Apparently this used to be in the city centre, but this year was moved to the Feria, some way out (pictured). I understand this might need to be the case as the event grows (and by comparison, the Excel expo is a nightmare to get to even for those who live in London), but getting there and back was difficult. No public transport route from the airport, for example.

The course is essentially flat, with only very minor undulations, before a slight but sustained downhill over the last 6km, which starts with a memorable, intense patch where the passionate spectators are so close on both sides that the course is only about a metre wide (very Tour de France). It all then finishes on the iconic blue carpet under bright skies, surrounded by glistening water. That dazzling blueness all around will stay with me forever…the most special finish to a race I’ve ever witnessed (even if I was absolutely eyeballs-out sprinting at the time).

Conditions play a huge part, of course, and having monitored Valencia closely for a few years, it seems it’s pretty much always perfect on race day. 2023 was no exception: sunny, cool (actually very cold initially), and barely a breath of wind. Marathon dreamland.

My training block

After London in April (2:34:30), I had my usual post-marathon month of running downtime before 2 months of dedicated speedwork, AKA a mini 5km block. This was a great plan, firstly because I got the sub 16 monkey off my back (15.55 in August), but also because I was then able to bring that improved top end into longer races. In September I went sub 33 in the 10k (32:47, Vitality 10k) and sub 72 in the half (71:40, Big Half), for the first time. 

The marathon block was 16 weeks, and generally went pretty smoothly. The exception was a freak broken toe incident at home in October, which thankfully healed in about a third of the 6 week prognosis I was given in A&E. Cross training saw me through that period, and I lost no fitness at all. I have newfound respect for the elliptical machine and aqua jogging!

As a new dad with ICU work and a business to run, free time is close to non-existent, so all but one of my runs each week are run commutes or buggy runs. Sunday early morning is my negotiated me time for a longer run, and it all just about works. 50 miles per week was the target for the first 10-12 weeks, then I was able to increase to 60-70 (a new high for me, in fact) in the final month pre taper.

Race and prep tactics:

Rather than list everything (because it gets refined each year…see previous blogs), I’ll mention a few things I did differently (and better) than previously.

1. Day to day nutrition. Even as my job, there is always room for improvement in nutrition. When sleep quality is inevitably and consistently poor, for reasons that are obvious, I needed to look at what else I could prioritise in terms of recovery, and I became incredibly consistent with pre and post run nutrition, matching this to the needs of the session. My wife and I have also made a conscious effort to improve the quality of our diet, from what was already a good baseline, especially with breastfed Ray in mind. Ultra-processed foods are at an all time low, and, anecdotally, I think it has been a big help.

2. Carb load. I hit 11g/kg on both the Friday and Saturday, which was a new high, on the back of a carb depletion at the start of race week, which takes skill to get right. 11g/kg takes practice, planning, and to learn what foods and drinks work for you, but it really makes all the difference on race day. This was one of the areas that was tougher to plan for an international race, and involved more carbs from drink mixes than usual, and plenty of snacks brought from home to reduce risk. 

3. Mid race carbs

I took 244g from gels over my 2.5h race, plus a few sips of the on course sports drink (it was in paper cups, so of course at least half of it ended up on my face), so I would have pretty much hit exactly 100g/hr for the first time. Again, this takes practice and it makes all the difference in what intensity you can sustain in the back end of the marathon. 

3. Running to HR

There’s way too much data in running and I certainly don’t get on board with it all, either as a coach or runner, as a lot of it is data for data’s sake, and prone to misunderstanding (prime example: continuous glucose monitoring in non-diabetics). Heart rate is an exception, and one of the simplest but most useful running metrics out there. My own coach, Chris, has long been an advocate of using it, and I certainly work it into my plans, where appropriate, with my own coaching clients as well. 

That said, the idea of running a marathon entirely to heart rate would have terrified me, right up until I did the Battersea marathon in October as a training run with no mid run fuel. This was done on heart rate to keep me well below threshold, and I ended up not only winning the race, but PBing by a few seconds. I was staggered, and also convinced to give this a go in Valencia, working with Chris to plan the race based on percentages of my maximum HR that I could tolerate for certain periods of time.

Battersea also showed me the importance of starting a race relaxed, especially in terms of HR management. My watch suggested I was managing this well on race morning, and it was great to meet and chat to a lovely Irish runner called Trevor (2:35 PB for him) for the final hour pre race to help ease the tension. 

Anyway the HR plan worked an absolute treat, and gave me the confidence that I could really attack the final 10k knowing I wouldn’t blow up. I went through halfway in 1:16:20, then 1:13:50 in the second half (which would have been a HM PB before this summer), with a 16:30 final 5k as I threw everything I had at it. 

I would be lying to say I was completely unaware of time and pace, and in the final 10k was trying to work out if there was an outside chance of sub 2:30. My brain couldn’t quite work it out, and from one km marker to the next, I kept changing my mind. As I approached the final straight I was sprinting, but knew I’d be slightly outside. 2:30:10. Arms outstretched, overly dramatic roar for the crowd…no part of me was anything other than elated. Another 4 minute PB and I’d done myself, my family, and my coach proud.

Could I have found another 11 seconds somewhere out there? Of course. I suspect if I raced the same course tomorrow (marathon legs notwithstanding), I’d be savvy enough to find that time. But sub 2:30 was never the aim. I am now within touching distance of a crazy milestone, but it can wait.

What next?

In the short-term: running downtime, navigating a sociable December, and repaying some favours to my wife. 

Then it’ll be a London marathon block from January, and I think the aim for that doesn’t need spelling out. It’ll be my last marathon before I turn 40 in July, and I’m not going to lie, I’m quite looking forward to being able to favourably compare myself to the V40 crew!

The post Valencia Marathon 2023: 2:30:10 (PB) appeared first on Tom Hollis.

1. Perspective

Evidently, I love running. More than that though, I love the satisfaction and graft that comes with ticking off session after session of structured training and seeing this translate into race day PBs. It’s my number one hobby by a mile (no pun intended), and what keeps that fire burning inside me.

However, it took several years to become a dad. The unexplained infertility and IVF rollercoaster (with mammoth Covid delays) was a long, emotional, and mostly terrible one, but we were one of the lucky ones to have a happy ending (and a shout out here to the quite incredible NHS service we received throughout all those years).

We now have our beautiful baby boy, who this week comes to the end of his ‘fourth trimester’, so called because human babies are so utterly dependent on their parents for the first three months of life that they may as well still be in the womb.

Anyway, my main point here is that I’ll never get these pivotal first months of his life back, and as much as I love and live for running, it will (hopefully) always be there in my life. I’m happy for it to take a distant back seat for as long as it needs to, especially given what it took to get us to this point.

2. Pick your moments and commit

Despite a thousand warnings, the first few weeks of parenthood were far more intense than I had anticipated (especially while also starting a new clinical job and navigating a flat sale and purchase at the same time). It’s no exaggeration – but undoubtedly gross – to admit that we sometimes didn’t even get round to having a shower or brushing our teeth, such was the intensity of those frenzied evenings.

Trying to wait for a calmer moment for self-care / a long run / strength work etc was and still is a pointless move; it will never come. A better approach is to be realistic, pick perhaps one of these things you want to do each week, commit to a time and try to stick to it. Half of those times there will be a last minute drama that prevents it, but at least you’ve tried!

3. Embrace the run-commute

I have been very pro run-commute for years, but it’s now reached the point where I do very little running outside the commute; it must be responsible for 80+% of my weekly volume currently, and my running would have fallen off a cliff without it. If you can make it work for you (i.e. you have a shower at work – everything else can be worked around with a bit of planning), it really is a no-brainer. For me, the time difference to public transport is negligible, it saves money, helps the planet, and is a journey I have to make anyway, as opposed to finding an excuse or that non-existent ‘good time’ as a new parent to get out of the door for a run.

If a run commute doesn’t work for you, the same can be said for any other journey that you needed to make anyway. Perhaps it’s easier to say from the perspective of someone who lives in a city and doesn’t own a car, but those first few weeks of parenthood were filled with me running to collect second hand baby clothes / kit / buggy from all over London. You spot an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and you take it, basically.

4. Accept you can’t do it all

All that said, it’s essential to accept that you can’t do it all. This applies to all elements of life when you’re a new dad (with the exception of the five star service I maintained for my private clients, of course ?), but running training in particular. The unpredictable nature of those first months means that consistent training is just not going to happen. My week by week Strava graph from October onwards resembles a child’s drawing of a mountain range, and I’ve long since accepted that this is fine…you just have to be kind to yourself and keep things ticking over as best you can.

Perhaps even more so than the running itself, though, is the impact on everything that goes alongside it. You can pretty much wave goodbye to any good routines you had around S&C, recovery, sleep etc.

Starting with sleep – yes, it is as bad as everyone says, especially in the first couple of months. I had long held the suspicion that my already terrible sleep quality that comes from the trauma of working on ICU throughout the pandemic (plus the early starts of ICU life) might mean that this would all be less of a shock to my system than it might be for some new dads, and I’d say this is probably how it’s turned out. I knew it was all worth it in the long run!

However, what has taken a massive hit has been any sort of S&C, warm-ups and stretching / yoga, all of which I had finally started to develop some consistency with in recent years. With every passing week, I realise these are the good habits that are quickly slipping. Each time, it’s ‘next week’, and so on, and so on. As we all know, it’s so much easier to continue doing something than it is to restart it once you’ve paused.

5. The baby lunge

The only exception to the above is my signature move: the baby lunge. Little Ray seems to love being held while I count through a few lunges (something to do with repetitive movement and me generating heat, I’m sure), and it’s second only to white noise* in terms of getting him to sleep during a crying fit. Naturally then, this tactic gets resorted to a lot, often in the middle of the night, and with the pressure on me to keep the lunges going for as long as possible and Ray slowly gaining in weight, at least I now have quads of steel even if the rest of my body is slowly turning to mashed potato!

*Specifically the ‘Womb Sounds’ app. Words cannot describe how grateful we are for this! We were recommended it during a particularly desperate evening of non-stop crying in about week three, and just looked at each other in disbelief at how quickly it worked – genuinely like giving a sedative. If this little snippet helps any new parents out there, then you are very welcome.

The post Running as a new dad – five things I’ve learned appeared first on Tom Hollis.