Being excited and nervous all at the same time are normal feelings for anyone going into either a new situation or into something that you want to do well at. So I’m not put off by these feelings that I have, and would probably be more worried if I didn’t have them before a running event. 

My teachers used to tell me before exams if the work isn’t already done there’s no point in trying to do it now! That is a little bit true, if you haven’t done much training in preparation for your running event, trying to fit in too much training in now will do more harm than good, but if you have been preparing, then the work has been done and now a few gentle training sessions will set you up nicely. If you race is on a Saturday, my last training session is done on the Thursday evening and this is a little session about 50% of what I would normally do, I will then do a light warm up on Friday and then relax before the race.

Clothing

Make sure that your clothing is comfortable and light, it’s best not to wear brand new items if you are going to be sweating a lot as you want to avoid chafing, speaking from experience! I like to have the clothes I’m going to run in ready and set out well before the race so that I’m not panicking and getting stressed out beforehand. This also means having a few spare items packed as well. I like to change my socks just before the start of a race so my feet feel fresh and light, and then have a clean top to change into when I have finished, it’s nice to put on something that’s not all sweaty but also stops you getting a chill even on warm days as your body starts to cool down.

Food and Drink

A light healthy breakfast a couple of hours before should be sufficient and be well digested for the start of the event and also keeping yourself hydrated.

Pre-Event

There is nothing worse than being late for a race, as you use up a lot of nervous energy even before the start of the event! I like to be there with enough time to find where the toilets are, even if I don’t need to go you can bet your house that I will need them before the race starts! So plan to get there early in order to get warmed up properly!

You will have heard the saying the loneliness of the long distance runner and that can be true, some people love the isolation of running alone but most people enjoy company. After a long day either at home or at work and if the weather isn’t very nice the last thing you feel like doing is putting on your trainers and heading out the door! But if you have arranged to meet someone you are more likely to lace up those trainers and go, as you don’t want to let running buddy down. There are loads of positives that coming from having a training partner, both physical and emotional.

The Physical Benefits

Studies show that people run 5-10% quicker when they are doing a workout with a partner than when they are doing it on their own! The same applies for the distance people can run. It increases if the person is doing a run with someone that is fitter than them. Training with a partner also helps you gauge how hard you are working, no one is able to go as hard as they can for as long as they can every day and not expect to plateau or get injured. Having a training partner helps with this and can be done by using the simple conversational test to gauge how hard you are working during a run. If you are able to have a conversation then that would indicate that you are working at an easy pace, if the conversation is reduced to a sentence then you are working a bit harder and finally if that is reduced further to a one word answer or a grunt then you are working very hard! You should have all three types of exercise in your training program.

The Emotional Benefits

Running is a great time for us to have family time together, when I had Sarah I wanted to be able to run with her so I bought a running pram. Sunday afternoons Ian and I can run together with Sarah in the pram. It can be a time when we catch up or simply just spend time together doing something we both love. This has a real positive influence on us as individuals and as a family. Equally I find it is good to train with a friend so I can have a chat or just let off some stream! Running together also gives you a sense of being part of a team, having support when things get tough and also someone to share the good times with. There is a sense of togetherness when you complete a common goal.

Have you ever put the wrong fuel into your car? After driving off you probably didn’t get too far down the road before you knew that something was wrong and you had broken down. Just like cars, it is important that we fuel our bodies with the correct fuel, if we don’t this affects our body’s ability to perform and over time we will start to have issues. There are 3 areas that I would like to highlight with regard to nutrition; fluid intake, balanced healthy diet and then post exercise recovery.

Fluid intake

Fluid intake is very important, the human body is made up of approximately 60% water, part of the body’s cooling system is to sweat so it doesn’t overheat, as you exercise you will heat up and as a result the body will start to cool itself down by sweating, and now coming into the warmer weather you will sweat a bit more during periods of exercise. It only takes a small drop in the body’s fluid levels for it to affect optimal performance. The daily recommended water intake for adults is 2-3 litres. This can seem a lot but this also includes tea, coffee and you also get fluid from the food you eat. If you are going to be doing exercise you should try and drink extra water throughout the day, drinking small amounts of water at a time helps the body to absorb it better than drinking large amounts all at one go. It should also mean you not having to go to the toilet as often when you start exercising, very important if you are exercising outside! If you have been staying hydrated during the day this should mean that you only require a small amount of fluid during exercise.

Healthy Diet

Having a healthy balanced diet is also very important. When we go on an air plane we have confidence that the air plane has been filled with jet fuel so the engines will run as efficiently as possible producing enough power to get the plane in the air, the same applies to the body, if you want it to perform well it needs to be filled with the right fuel! The body needs to be fuelled with fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, taken in proportionate quantities for the demands that are put on it. The majority of people don’t need to make drastic changes, a lot of the time this can be done by simply replacing the unhealthy snack with a healthy one with these changes being easier to maintain over a longer period of time. The body stores the food you eat and then turns that into energy that is used to power the muscles, healthy foods are a more efficient fuel supply for the body enabling it to produce energy when needed. During normal exercise the body doesn’t need food to be taken unless it is doing continuous exercise longer than 90 minutes.

Post Exercise Recovery

Once you have finished exercise that is when the preparation for your next workout begins. What you eat and drink post exercise will determine how well you recover from that workout. As mentioned previously you sweat during exercise, so you need to replace the fluid and salts that have been used during exercise, if your workout has lasted longer than 60 minutes you probably need a sports drink rather than plain water. These beverages are designed to keep you well hydrated, but they also provide electrolytes to replace those lost in your sweat. Care should be taken in selecting the right one as some of these are quite high in calories. Exercise puts stress on your muscles, joints, and bones, and your body “uses up” nutrients during workouts so post exercise foods are all about putting back what you’ve lost, and providing the raw materials needed for repair and healing. It is important that protein is part of your post workout meal, protein is vital to the human body and is essentially what you are made up of, as well as the other food sources as this will help with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Primary sources of protein are meat, fish, dairy and eggs. We hope that you have enjoyed this blog and given you a few ideas on nutrition for your training.

Humans are really adaptable, so once we have been doing anything for a period of time we very easily adapt to that and are bodies’ feel that this is the norm. This applies to exercise or lack of exercise.

As we get older and spend more and more time sitting we become stiffer, especially around the waist, bum, lower back and upper hamstrings (back of the legs) areas of are bodies. As car manufactures recommend that when you start up your car first thing in the morning that you don’t immediately try and drive it at 100mph we have to let the oil circulate around the engine, the same applies to are bodies we can’t expect to go from doing nothing to full on exercises without first preparingfor what your about to do.

What is a warm up? A warm up is to prepare the body for the exercise that it is going to undertake. A warm up for a run should involve 3-4 minutes of light exercise to raise the heart rate (to get the blood flowing around the muscles) this can be anything from a quick walk to a light run and depending on how fast you intend to perform your run at. You then need too dynamically stretch the muscles you are going to use. Dynamic stretches are movement stretches, a good way to do this is to start at the top of the body and work your way down, each exercise should be performed 5-10 times, example of these stretches are:- Straight arm swings, rotating both arms together backwards and then forwards. Rotating the hips as if using a hula hoop, keeping feet approximately shoulder width apart performing in both directions. Rotating the upper body round to make as big a circles as possible –keeping your legs straight stretching up and then rotating in circles to try and touch the ground, both directions. Leg swings against a wall (using the wall for balance) swing one leg forward and back trying to keep the top half of your body as still as possible, and engage your core. (example below)

Now you are ready to start your training! Whatever your level of fitness is its important that you try and keep progressing your exercise, as mentioned before the body is very adaptable so we need to continue to challenge ourselves otherwise the saying “The height of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results”.

You can use the FIT principles to help your training:

F – Frequency (how often you exercise)

I – Intensity (distance, speed)

T – Time (time exercising, time of repetitions)

So whether you are able to run or just starting out and able to run / walk, keep a note of what you do so that you can increase the time you are running and reduce the time your walking, also increase the time or speed that you are running each time so that you can progress this leading up to the Run Together 5K.

What is a Cool Down?

A cool down is to lower the heart rate and to restore the body back to its resting state. Once you have finished your training you need do some restorative stretching, known as static stretches – focusing on the calf, hamstring, quad muscles (examples below) you should hold these stretches for approximately 30-40sec each. This will help with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) that you get after exercise.