HOW TO IMPROVE RUNNING

NEW TO RUNNING? WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ATHLETE TO START RUNNING, YOU JUST NEED TO START. THE BEAUTY OF RUNNING IS YOU CAN LITERALLY IMPROVE WITH EACH RUN! SO THIS WILL KEEP MOTIVATION HIGH

START SMALL, JUST 1/2K AND IF YOU STRUGGLE TO KEEP A CONSTANT RUNNING PACE THEN RUN/WALK. SO 30 SECONDS RUNNING 30 SECONDS WALKING.

OR JUST SET A TIME I.E 5 MINS, NEXT ONE CAN BE 10,15 ETC

THIS WAY THERE IS NO PRESSURE ON DISTANCE.

CHOOSE AN ENJOYABLE ROUTE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH, THIS WILL HELP YOU NOT MAKE EXCUSES TO NOT TO RUN.

HOW TO IMPROVE SORT DISTANCES

FED UP WITH HEARING “WHAT'S YOUR 5K TIME” AND NOT GIVING A BETTER ANSWER EACH MONTH?

IF YOU HAVE JUST BEEN RUNNING WITHOUT DIFFERENT INTENSITIES THIS IS WHERE YOU ARE GOING WRONG. INTERVAL TRAINING HAS BEEN SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO HELP IMPROVE SHORT DISTANCE RUNNING!

THIS IS BECAUSE TEMPO RUNNING WILL ENHANCE ENDURANCE AND ABILITY TO MAINTIAN A FASTER PACE

I WOULD RECOMMEND DOING 30 SECOND SPRINTS THEN 30 SECONDS WALKING TO GET THE BREATH BACK.

OR I WOULD SUGGEST SETTING A PACE FOR A 1K THAT'S 5 TIMES SLOWER THAN YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. THEN RUNNING 1K AT THAT PACE THEN REST FOR 90 SECONDS, THEN REPEAT 5X. THIS IS TO GET YOUR BODY USED TO THE LACTIC THRESHOLD FOR A BETTER TIME

STRENGTH TRAINING

STRENGTH TRAINING IMPROVES MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE. BETTER STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE MEANS BETTER RUNS, SIMPLE.

STRENGTH TRAINING IS AN ESSENTIAL SUPPLEMENT TO A RUNNER’S ROADWORK BECAUSE IT STRENGTHENS MUSCLES AND JOINTS, WHICH CAN IMPROVE RUN TIMES AND DECREASE INJURY RISK.

IF YOU WANT TO PERFORM AT YOUR FULL POTENTIAL, YOU NEED TO TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO RUNNING. THAT MEANS TARGETING AREAS OF FITNESS YOU MAY NOT NORMALLY PAY ATTENTION TO, LIKE FLEXIBILITY, BALANCE, MOBILITY, AND STRENGTH.... YOU CAN ATTAIN ALL OF THESE WITH FUNDAMENTAL STRENGTH MOVEMENTS.

STRENGTH TRAINING IS USALLY DONE IN THE GYM AND THIS CAN BE FROM AN ARRAY OF EQUIPMENT, JUST MAKE SURE TO KNOW THE PROPER FORM/TECHNIQUE BEFORE JUMPING INTO ANYTHING.

MEAL TIMINGS

TYPICALLY THE LARGER THE MEAL THE LONGER YOU WILL NEED TO WAIT. LETS SAY YOU HAVE A 500CAL+ MEAL, AFTER THIS YOU WILL NEED TO WAIT 2/3 HOURS.

THIS IS BECAUSE YOUR BODY IS PRIORITISING DIGESTING THE FOOD, SO THE BLOOD FLOW WILL BE MORE TOWARDS THE STOMACH IN THIS PERIOD, THIS MEANS BLOOD FLOW TO THE MUSCLES WILL BE LESS EFFICIENT. MEANING QUICKER LACTIC ACID AND LESS ENRGY IN THE MUSCLE TISSUE, NOT TO MENTION SOME INTENSE CRAMPING/STITCHES ARE LIKLY TO OCCOUR.

A LIGHT SNACK CAN HOWEVER BE HANDY 30 MINS / 1 HOUR BEFORE RUNNING, THIS IS BECAUSE THERE IS LESS TO DIGEST. THINGS LIKE FRUIT/CEREAL BARS OR SOME GELS ARE OPTIMAAL AS THESE WILL PROVIDE ENERGY (GLUCOSE) INTO THE BLOODSTREAM QUICKLY.

IF YOU PLAN ON RUNNING EARLY MORNING A HIGH CARB MEAL IS THE BEST OPTION THE NIGHT BEFORE. THIS IS SO THE CARBS CARRY OVER TO THE MORNING TO PROVIDE OPTIMAL ENERGY (CARBOHYDRATES ARE OUR MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY) THINGS LIKE PASTA/RICE/NOODLES/VEG ARE SOME GOOD SOURCES. AS SAID BEFORE A QUICK LIGHT SNACK IN THE MORNING THAT WILL DIGEST QUICK AND GIVE YOU ENERGY E.G BANANA ON A SLICE OF TOAST, YOGURT WITH FRUIT /JAM / SOREEN BAR.

IMPROVE LONG DISTANCES

LONG DISTANCES ARE SUBJECTIVE TO EVERYONE BUT A USUAL RULE OF THUMB IS 15K OR LONGER. WITH THESE RUNS YOU ARE GOING TO NEED TO BE WELL PREPARED. THIS MEANS PACKING RUNNING GELS AND PLENTY OF WATER!

SO OBVIOULSY A GOOD WAY TO INCREASE YOUR LONG DISTANCE RUNNING TIMES/EFFICIENCY IS TO RUN LONGER. THIS WILL BE THE BEST WAY T0 IMPROVE... I KNOW SIMPLE BUT IT IS TRUE.

ANOTHER WAY IS TO INCREAE YOUR TOTAL WEEKS RUNNING DISATNCE, SO MAYBE INTRODUCING MORE RUNS WITHIN YOUR WEEK TO HELP WITH THIS.

RUNNING A MARATHON?

THE QUICKER YOU RUN A MARATHON, THE HIGHER THE INTENSITY OF YOUR RUNNING AND THE MORE LOAD YOU'RE PUTTING ON YOUR BODY. SO, IF YOU'RE AT THE FASTER END, YOU SHOULD COMPLETE YOUR LONG TRAINING RUNS SLOWER THAN YOUR GOAL MARATHON PACE TO HELP YOUR BODY STAY FRESH AND INJURY FREE IF YOU'LL BE RUNNING YOUR MARATHON A BIT MORE SLOWLY, YOU CAN DO YOUR LONG TRAINING RUNS AT A SIMILAR PACE TO WHAT YOU PLAN TO EXECUTE ON RACE DAY.

RUN CLUBS

RUN CLUBS ARE AN AMAZING COMMUNITY TO GET INVOLVED WITH.

NOT ONLY ARE YOU RUNNING WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE, YOU WILL ALSO BE SURROUNDED WITH ENCOURGAMENT. MOST RUN CLUBS (INCLUDING OURS) HAVE A FRONT AND BACK MARKER, THIS IS WHERE WE HAVE SOMEOMNE AT THE FRONT AND BACK AT ALL TIMES. SO YOU THE RUN CLUB IS FOR EVERYONE NO MATTER YOUR RUNNING EXPERIENCE

THIS IS ALSO A GOOD WAY TO HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR RUNS.

YOU WILL CREATE NEW FRIENDSHIPS WITHIN THIS CLUB WHO WILL HELP KEEP YOU ACCOUNTABLE AND MOTIVATE YOU TO BECOME A BETTER RUNNER WHILE ENJOYING THE PROCESS.