My new tapering strategy

My new tapering strategy

I am currently tapering for my 6th Marathon. Previously I always had a hard time tapering before a race. I knew that a good taper period where you scale back on volume and intensity is essential to reach peak performance level on race day. However I always struggled with a normal tapering strategy because I felt like tapering meant doing less or even nothing and therefore not contributing towards my goal.

Different fitness levels: how you can still work out with your buddy

Different fitness levels: how you can still work out with your buddy

If you are into fitness, sports and a healthy lifestyle it is very likely that you have friends that are too. And you would like to spend time with your friends, so working out together seems much more sensible than having coffee and cake or going to the pub. You might also want to work out with your significant other. (couples beware!) But what if your workout buddy or workout partner has a completely different fitness level? Very often it ends up being very boring for one buddy and frustrating for the other, resulting in frustration and conflict. So to avoid this here are my top 7 workouts for different fitness levels.

Why you get sick after a race

Why you get sick after a race

As I am writing this I am sick in bed, struck down with fever and a nasty cold. As annoying as it is, it should not come as a surprise. Three days ago I ran my biggest and hardest race so far and of course I got sick after a race. It was a 50 km obstacle race with 3000m of elevation gain in the hills of Scotland, which took me over 12 hours to finish. But the worst bit was not the distance, the elevation gain or the obstacles. It was the nasty weather. Cold, windy, with fog and heavy rain, just as typical as Scottish Summer weather can be. This is already the second race in 2 months that has taken me out because I have gotten sick afterwards. And this is no surprise, because I have committed every possible mistake that leads to post-race illness.

So here is what NOT to do: