Runnerslife
Meet The Guest
Chris Warburton
Chris Warburton - Great Britain 1500m Athlete
Personal Bests
800m - 1.49.37
1500m - 3.39.5
1 Mile - 3.58.20
3000m - 8.01
3000m - s/c 8.56
10km Road - 31.15
Half Marathon - 78 Minutes
Q. As an avid reader who's your favourite athlete on RunnersLife?
A.Simon Jones, he is a legend and I love him very much!
Q. Why/how did you start running?
A.Both my parents ran and I was quite good at school and I was also encouraged by my PE teachers. I started running properly when I was about 13.
Q. How long have you been running?
A.12 years
Q. Why do you like it?
A.It makes me feel free as a bird.
Q. Will you still be running when you 70?
A.Big time!
Q. Where do you train?
A.The boro of love. {Loughbourgh}. I think we have one of the best training groups in the country. We all get on really well and there is a good bit of banter in the group.
Q. Who is your coach?
A.George 'Mahatma' Gandy. Ask anyone who has been on a night out with him and they will let you know.
Easy Runs
Most of my runs would be classed as easy running. I tend to run how I feel most of the time; no run will have a set pace that I will go out at. Easy pace would be about 7 minute miling, again I run how I am feeling, I am normally a very slow starter and the first mile of most runs will probably be about 7.30 miling, then after the first mile I will run between 6.30's and 7.00s
I think they are very important, throughout the weeks training it is very hard to fit any thing else in other than easy running. They allow me to recover between the sessions and build up a good aerobic base.
Steady Runs
Q.Again do you do them?
A.I don't specifically do any steady running, if I go out the door and for whatever reason feel relatively fresh then the run may wind up to be a steady run, as I have said though I will always run how I feel. My steady running pace will probably be between 6.00 and 6.30 minute miling. Any steady running that I do will probably again build a good aerobic base, as I have said because the weeks training programme has a session Monday through to Thursday then most of my running is just easy and aids recovery.
Interval work
Q. How many times a week?
A.We do 2 sessions a week, one on Tuesday then one on Saturday. Sessions will vary throughout the year depending what phase we're in, sessions include long track reps, hill work, threshold sessions on the grass, specific track sessions, and then some mixed workouts which will incorporate different workouts in one. Along with the two main sessions on Tues and Sat I will do drills on Thursday along with some strides in the HIPAC.
Q. Examples of important/key sessions?
A.Again these will vary depending what time of year we are in. At this time of the year the key Tuesday sessions are 900m hill reps and minute reps on the track alternating each week. These are key marker sessions where I can compare times or distance covered and gets a good judge of what sort of shape I am in.
Q. What would be your shortest fastest session?
A.Sometimes when I will do a specific 800m prep workout I do some short sessions (for me at least!!). I will normally do these in the middle or towards then end of the summer track season. Last summer I did 2 x 600 with 10 mins recovery. The first 600m is run at about 90% then the 2nd 600 is run at alternating pace for each 200m. The middle 200m will be run at a more relaxed pace; after the 1st 200 will be 90% effort then I will try and pick it up for the last 200. Another session is 500m then 2 x 150m, as I don't do many 800m I don't do that many of these really sharp speed sessions.
Q. Do you change surface dependent on the time of year?
A.Throughout the year sessions and runs are done on a variety of surfaces. During the summer I may be on the track up to 3 times a week (2 workouts and strides) while in the winter sessions vary from road, track and grass. At this time of year Saturday workouts are done on the grass then we will alternate between the track and the road for the Tuesday workouts. The surfaces vary throughout the year but are not specific to the time of year.
Q. Hardest Session?
A.The hardest session that I do is the mixed session we do in the lead up to the summer. It is like 3 sessions in 1, we do a 30 minute tempo, then 10 Hills then this will be followed by some track reps, either 2 x 600m or 1 x 800m. A tough session that seems to last ages, I'm normally absolutely screwed after the tempo and from then in it's a tough struggle!!!
Group Training
At least half my running is probably done with others. The only runs I normally do on my own are my morning runs apart from Wednesday when there is normally a relatively large group that meet up. All pm runs I more often than not meet up with some of the fellow Loughborough runners and smash out the training with them. All workouts are done with the group, there is no way I could do sessions on my own, I am not a fan of doing sessions on my own, I normally just plod round them and find it hard to push myself.
The group we have had at Loughborough has been fantastic and we all try and work together during the sessions. I know lots of people who just train on their own and they are running very well so it is obviously possible. For myself I always find it hard to push myself in sessions and my best sessions are always done with the group.
Mileage
Q. What sort of mileage are you doing in training phases?
A.During the winter I'll average between 70 and 80 miles a week, then leading into the summer while I am away it will stay about the same, it might even go up a little as I have more time to focus on training. Once we then get into the summer season and races start I don't tend to count mileage but I think it would probably average out between 40 and 50 miles a week.
Q. What was your longest run of the week?
A.In the winter I will normally do 90 minutes every Sunday then every so often I'll do 1hr 45 depending if I want to do a few more miles that week.
Q. Do you ever run big mileage when racing?
A.It depends how important the race is, if it is a low-key race and I am using it as part of training my mileage wont change and will stay as it would do normally. However if the race is important then I won't really look at mileage I will just do what we have planned for training specific to the race. I guess this may be between 30 and 50 miles in the summer and between 50 and 70 in the winter.
Q. What's your opinion on mileage in general?
A.It's not vital to run 100+ miles at all, I think it's vital all middle distance runners develop a good base of aerobic training. A good base might vary from 50 miles for one person right up to 100+ for others. For 1500m runners I sometimes think that when you get up to big mileage, e.g. 90-100 you are almost running for the sake of running and this can sometimes be detrimental to your overall training.
Cross Country
I think it's important to a certain extent. I think that it is important to do a few cross country races, but for myself I wouldn't worry too much about the result. I do not place that much importance on cross country.
Strength Work
The Loughborough circuits are legendary and we do circuits once a week on a Wednesday. Circuits normally last between 45 and 90 minutes. I will also do weights once a week every Monday.
Massage
I will use it occasionally, if I am feeling tight during a big block of training I sometimes get it. While we were away in South Africa last year I got a few massages, then I also might get one if they are free at a race. In the last year I have probably had about 5 massages.
Training Races
Did you use races as training, if so can you expand on if for long runs or instead of sessions, do you go flat out or use it as pacing practice etc. The Wednesday evening university meetings are normally used as part of training. I will normally do a couple of races instead of a session that we would do on the Tuesday. Sometimes I will try out some pacing and some tactics to prep for more important races that might be coming up.
Altitude / warm weather training
For me this is where the hard work begins and the preparation for the track season begins. I think it is very important for me to go away when I do at Easter to train hard and get ready to be in the best shape I can be for the track season. For the last 3 years I have been Warm Weather in South Africa. We base ourselves in Stellenbosch and it is pretty much Loughborough but in the sun. They have really good facilities, lots of grass pitches, trails and one of the best tracks you will ever run on.
The weather is always really good and it gives you the perfect opportunity to get in some quality training. Before this I went to Albuquerque for Altitude training, and this year I am going to Flagstaff for four weeks. The reason for this, is that I wanted to try something slightly different, I ran my PB after I had been to Albuquerque and I would like to try altitude again. I am hoping for another good trip with time to get some quality training in again while having a little less oxygen to work with!!! I will be in a better position after I get back for Flagstaff to have a better view on altitude training.
Future
I will do some more running and maybe a little more, depends how I am feeling.
Q. How come you didn't make it to the European Indoor Championships after qualifying?
A.I had a stress response in my right foot; it was very disappointing as I was looking forward to it. I decided to pull out as I didn't want to risk further injury. It's part and parcel of running and training hard I guess and will hopefully make me hungry for outdoor success.
Q. Who are your main rivals this year?
A.The top guys who everyone is trying to chase is Andy Baddeley and Tom Lancashire, Mike East has retired and I think Nick McCormick is moving up to 5km. There is Neil, James, Steve Davies and myself who are all there or there abouts and are looking to make that next step.
Lastly....
Q. Being a big Liverpool fan do you move your training to watch the games?
A.I get to watch them without having to move things around to much. I thought we were absolutely sensational against Real Madrid.that day I had trained earlier so enjoyed watching the game!
Comments On "chris warburton talks to runnerslife"
Hi Chris,
Gary B Posted on January 13th, 2010What has been the proudest moment of your career to date? And do you eat certain foods before / after training sessions?
Cheers.
Advice please!
Chris
Graham Healey Posted on January 1st, 2010Which was your toughest/hardest race to date and do you ever take ice baths?
Do you recommend stretching before or after a session?
Thanks