ABC - Annalie Brown Coaching and Fitness

17/08/2026

Calf raises are great. But your calves need to do a lot more than just lift your heel up and down.

When you run, they need to produce force, absorb and tolerate load, and work with the Achilles tendon to store and return energy with every stride.

So if calf raises are the ONLY thing you're doing, try adding some different ways of training them.

1. Towel or strap calf isometric - Push hard into the towel or strap without letting your ankle move.
5 x 4 reps: 3 sec push / 3 sec relax

This is the one where absolutely nothing happens... but quite a lot is happening. 😂

2. Pogos/single leg pogos - Quick, springy jumps from the ankles.
2-3 x 20-30 sec

Start with double leg. Progress to single leg.

Great for training that quick, reactive, spring-like quality you actually need when you're running.

3. Loaded forefoot march - Grab something heavy, get your heels up and march.
2-3 x 20-30 sec

Now your calves have to keep producing force and holding you up under load, one leg at a time.

And there's some particularly interesting research behind the isometric work.

One study in runners found that 14 weeks of high-force calf isometrics improved calf strength and Achilles tendon stiffness, and improved running economy by around 4%.

In other words, they needed less energy to run at the same pace.

Pretty decent return from an exercise where you don't actually go anywhere. 😂

So keep your calf raises.

Just don't let them be the only thing your calves ever get asked to do.

15/08/2026

Walk breaks have a bit of a reputation problem.

For a lot of runners, walking is what happens when you’re tired, unfit, injured, having a bad day or the wheels have completely fallen off.

But planned run-walk is a training strategy in its own right, and there are some bloody good reasons to use it.

Research comparing run-walk with continuous running over a marathon found that runners using planned walk breaks finished in similar times, but reported less muscle pain and fatigue afterwards.

And there’s a reason you’ll see experienced and even professional athletes using it too. Kat Matthews has talked about regularly using run-walk specifically to reduce tendon and muscular load. If it’s good enough for one of the fastest triathletes in the world, we can probably stop thinking walking is only for beginners. 😂

For the rest of us, those short breaks can help manage how fatigue builds through a run, reduce some of the repetitive muscular load and potentially help you spend longer on your feet without the latter stages turning into a death march.

They’re also bloody useful on long runs.

You’ve got a natural opportunity to drink properly, get your fuel in and then get moving again.

And if you’re training for a long-distance event where you’ll be using aid stations, there’s a mental benefit too.

Walking is easy.

Starting running again when your legs and brain have decided walking is actually rather lovely?

That takes practice.

So if you see something like 9 min run / 1 min walk on your training plan, don’t automatically assume the goal is to make the session easier.

That walk minute has a job too.

02/08/2026

I'll be taking on one of the fastest 70.3 courses next month but it will probably be my slowest ever time (thanks to my body for stuffing it up for me).

Oh well. I'll go and enjoy the warmth at least!

Course choice matters more than you might think. Our data expert analyzed more than 1,000 Ironman 70.3 races over the past 10 years to identify which events give age-groupers the best chance of their best day. 👉 Link in comments!

26/07/2026

A lot of athletes hate missing training.

So when you get sick, you still want to keep going and push through.

You know the internal conversation... You start wondering how much fitness you're losing, whether you're falling behind, and if maybe... just maybe... an easy run will be OK.

That was me this week.

I've got a chesty cough and thought I'd take the dog out for an easy run. Nothing hard, just a gentle jog to see how I felt.

My body fairly rapidly gave me its opinion on that idea.

My breathing felt much harder than it should have, and the cough wasn't exactly impressed with my decision either. So I turned around, headed home, and accepted that today wasn't the day.

That's exactly why there isn't a simple yes or no answer to training when you're sick.

If your symptoms are mild and mostly limited to your head or nose, you may be OK to do some easy exercise. Keep it gentle, listen to your body, and don't be afraid to stop if something doesn't feel right.

If you've got chest symptoms, significant shortness of breath, a fever, or you're feeling properly wiped out, your body is telling you it needs recovery, not another training session.

And once you are feeling better, don't fall into the trap of trying to play catch-up.

You don't need to squeeze missed sessions back into your week. Start easy, see how your body responds, and let your training build naturally again. You'll get far more from a sensible return than trying to force your way back.

Every illness is different, and every athlete responds differently. If you're ever unsure, that's exactly the sort of conversation you should be having with your coach.

If you have chest pain, significant or persistent shortness of breath, a high fever, symptoms that aren't improving, or you're worried about how you're feeling, don't rely on social media for advice. Check in with your GP or healthcare provider before returning to training.

21/07/2026

Carbon wheels. Aero helmet. Fancy watch.

Still getting overtaken by someone on a 15-year-old road bike.

Humbling. 😂

Turns out buying speed and riding fast are two completely different hobbies.

30/06/2026

Well done Jonathan Latto - a well deserved nomination! Life threw some curve balls his way that disrupted his IRONMAN New Zealand build, but he still pulled out a great result 🏊🏼‍♀️🚴🏻🏃🏻

🏆 Most Improved Award Nominees

This award is for the athletes who have clearly been doing the work. The extra sessions. The early starts. The pool miles. The hard yards. The “surely this will pay off eventually” moments.

And this year, it absolutely did.

💛 Casey Kyle
Casey has gone all-in with his triathlon training this year, and the results are showing. Huge pool miles have helped him move into the front pack as a swimmer, and his bike and run are not exactly shabby either. He recently qualified for the NZ Schools Cross Country team, which is a casual reminder that yes, he can run too.

💛 Amy Di Benedetto
Amy set herself a massive season, building towards a big performance at IMNZ. The training blocks were laid beautifully, but the final result was something special. Sub-11 hours, and the club’s third-fastest finisher overall. That is not just improvement, that is a serious statement.

💛 Jonno Latto
Jonno has been steadily chipping away at the Ironman project, and this year the gains came through in a big way. PBs across the board, 55 minutes in total, and even a high five from Kristian Blummenfelt. Which we assume is worth at least another five watts.

💛 Paul Hewitson
Hewi is already a champion age-grade runner, but decided a trip to Wollongong for a triathlon with mates sounded like a fun new challenge. He qualified fifth in his age group at Tinman, then showed at World Champs what a bit of swim-bike work can do. Fifth in the world, while running a staggering five minutes faster than anyone else in M60. Ridiculous.

Come and celebrate Casey, Amy, Jonno, Paul, and all the amazing stories from across the club at prizegiving.

This is going to be an epic afternoon celebrating the people, stories, volunteers, athletes, chaos, commitment, and community that make Tri Wellington what it is 💛

Stay tuned, more award nominations are coming soon.

Plus, we have an absolute legend joining us as guest speaker, Jono Ridler, endurance swimmer and ocean advocate, who swam nearly 1,400km. No wetsuit. No performance aids. Just grit, determination, and a massive mission to raise awareness for ocean health.

🎟 Get in early as space will be limited
Ticket link: https://events.mygameday.app/event/prizegiving

📍 Toitū Pōneke Hub, Kilbirnie
📅 Sunday 5 July 2026

03/05/2026

You know that moment when you realise…
you’re not as fit as you thought you were?

Not completely unfit.
Just… not where you were.

That’s where I’m at right now.

After a decent chunk of time off, getting back into training has been a bit of a reality check.

And yeah as a coach, I know exactly what I should be doing.

Doesn’t make it any easier. I am human after all

1️⃣ “Easy” isn’t easy anymore.
Easy runs feel hard. Warm-ups feel like they need a warm-up.
Nothing like getting dropped by your own old pace to keep your ego in check.

But this is where you are now and it’s just a moment in time. If we focus on a patient rebuild, easy gets easier again.

2️⃣ Routine doesn’t just come back.
When you’re in it, training feels automatic.
When you’re out of it, everything feels like a mission.

You don’t fall back into good habits. You have to consciously rebuild them until they become normal again (including those 5.20am alarms).

3️⃣ Strength work matters more than ever right now.
This isn’t the time to chase fitness.
It’s the time to build a body that can actually handle it when it does come back.

(It’s almost like I’ve said that before…)

And if that means replacing some cardio specific sessions with bonus strength work, it might pay off more in the long run.

4️⃣ Training on your own is harder than you remember.
Left to your own devices, it’s very easy to half-do it. Or maybe not do it at all.

Add other people and suddenly you’re there, on time, doing the session properly.
Funny how that works.

This is just part of getting back into it.

It’s not smooth. It’s not linear. But it’s normal.

And it’s OK to feel frustrated. You just don’t want to let that frustration get the better of you and slow your progress.

So if you’re in that awkward “I know what to do but I’m not doing it” phase, I feel your pain. If you want some structure around it, I can help.