“Run consistently and vary your sessions. Don’t overdo it. Too many people lurch from famine to feast when it comes to effort, motivation and application.”
This is part 2 of an interview with 5 elite athletes, including:
Mimi Anderson - A multiple world record holder
Lisa Corrigan - An Olympian in the 1,500 metres
Evie Serventi- Competed in the ITU Triathlon World Championships Age Group
Steve Speirs - An athlete who’s completed 546 races, 48 marathons and 45 ultra marathons
James Stewart - A GB 24 hour race athlete
From left to right, the elite athletes are Mimi Anderson, Lisa Corrigan, Evie Serventi, Steve Speirs and James Stewart
They’re giving us an insight into their athletic careers and tips on how we can improve our own performances.
You can read part 1 here, which includes an introduction to each of the elite athletes.
This time we’ll find out what their secret weapons are for training and what’s the one piece of advice they’d give us.
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What’s Your Biggest Training Secret Weapon?
Mimi Anderson - Listening to my body is something I have always done.
Regardless what’s on my training schedule, if I’m not feeling well or things simply don’t seem to be working, I call it a day allowing my body time to recover.
Many athletes panic about missing sessions. But training through illness or simply being over-tired puts your body under a huge amount of strain which is way more detrimental to your training.
Listening to your body and resting are an essential part of your training.
Lisa Corrigan - My ab workout!
Evie Serventi - The knack of asking this very question to others, so I can learn from the best!
Seriously though, I have two: seeing rest and recovery days as the key component of any training plan, and second, always cross training and including hot yoga into my weekly workouts.
Steve Speirs - Keep it fun. Keep it consistent.
Steve Speirs has completed 546 races and his secret weapon is that he keeps it fun
James Stewart - I am not the fastest. I am not a natural athlete. I am not even a lifetime athlete like many.
But, I work damn hard.
I use my coach Paul Giblin to deploy the willingness to work really hard in the right way.
So, you could argue that my ethic directed by Paul is my weapon. It’s not much of a secret though!
What Do You Reward Yourself With At The End Of A Great Race?
Mimi - A glass of wine!!
Lisa - Chocolate!
Evie - A hug from family or friends who are there, or who I see after the event.
For me, the reward is having the ability and opportunity to do the race - several years ago I spent almost a four year period injured and not able to do my sport. The gratitude runs deep.
Steve - A good beer and as much recovery time as necessary.
James - Beer, pizza and, of course, Wotsits.
What One Tip Would You Give To The JamesRunsFar Readers To Improve Their Performances?
Mimi - Having a goal to work towards whether it’s short or long term.
By setting a goal it will encourage you to work harder, keep you motivated, committed to your training and keep you more focused.
“Be consistent but smart with your training. Don’t over train and cause injuries. Get the work done consistently and try and stay injury free!”
Evie - Learn about self-acceptance. It’s the foundation of being a happy and successful athlete!
Steve - Believe in yourself. Anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
James - Run consistently and vary your sessions. Don’t overdo it. Too many people lurch from famine to feast when it comes to effort, motivation and application.
What’s Your Next Big Challenge?
Mimi - In September, I cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats as it was the 10th year anniversary of me setting the female world record for running from John O’Groats to Lands End.
Next year, amongst other things, I plan to complete the London Classic.
This is the London Marathon (this I’ve already done) the Prudential Ride London/ Surrey 100 and then finish with a two mile swim in the Serpentine.
For anyone that knows me, I’m terrified of open water swimming and only started learning how to do the crawl this year.
So for me this is a huge undertaking.
Lisa - Giving birth to my second child!
(Note - Lisa has now given birth to Bailey. Both mother and son are doing really well - congratulations to the Corrigan family!!!)
Evie - Watch this space!
Steve - Would love to run a sub-15 hour 100 miler, and I still think I can improve on my 24-hour distance.
James - My main focus is the 24 hour world championships in 2019. I really want to do well there and am already building to it.
Where Can People Follow You?
Mimi - On my website - www.marvellousmimi.com - and as Marvellous Mimi on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Evie - On my website - www.evieserventi.com - and on Twitter as @hotoffthepage
Steve - On Instagram as SteveSpeirs, on Facebook as Steve Speirs and Run Bulldog Run, on Twitter as BritishBulldog and on my website www.runbulldogrun.com.
James - On Twitter as @james_stewart13 and on Instagram @jamesstewart13. I am on Facebook too alongside 22,243,012,976 other James Stewarts.
A Huge Thank You To the Elites
I want to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks to Mimi, Lisa, Evie, Steve and James for taking the time to answer these questions.
They’ve provided some great insight into their lives, plus some fantastic tips and advice to help improve our own performances.
Save Time, Money and Effort by Claiming Your Free Training Plan Template
Join hundreds of other athletes who get amazing benefits, simply by providing your email.
A FREE training plan template - Which will save you time, money and effort when creating your plans
The best training and racing advice from across the web - I send these articles out every month, exclusively, to email subscribers
Early access to exclusive offers and deals - I send out the best discounts and offers to email subscribers first, before anyone else
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