What Do You Want to Achieve?
Running is so easy right? You just go out and shut the front door behind you, surely? But, should you run to get in shape? Or get in shape to run...?
We all have our reasons for running, and I would never discourage anyone from trying to be more active. But we are all born with our own individual genetic patterns - but that in no way guarantees that you'll end up getting injured or hurt by running. It just means that some of us can't just start jumping around fields, trails or tracks without a little preparation and guidance.
It may well be that lockdown has changed your habits, for the better or worse, and as a consequence you may well have entered an event or race - now that we can! Hopefully I can help in some way.
5k or 10k.
It would be fair to say that the introduction of ParkRun, certainly in the UK, has given the whole population an obvious and achievable weekly goal (certainly in respect of running). It's free, and generally easily avaiable locally to all and crucially for some, measurable - you get your time pretty much as soon as you finish. For many, that's not the reason for doing it. But it's an easy 'go to' guide to how well you're doing.
Obviously, if just getting it done is the important thing for you then that's absolutely fine. But, if you want to get better, then it can be very frustrating if that isn't happening.
For those that are ready to step up, a 10k is an obvious place to go. There are many 10k races/events around through clubs or other institutions. But again, it can get frustrating to enter these events and never really improve.
There are many reasons why this might happen. But a consistent, structured training plan, including some resistance training to augment your running, could well make a huge difference. Exactly just what that programme entails would depend on your training history and how often you can train. It may well be adapted or progressed more quickly as we proceed and start getting some results through.
Half Marathon and Marathon.
Many of you are of course experienced runners. You may well be thinking about taking on your first half or full marathon, or indeed you may have already completed at least one and would like to push on. But knowing how hard to push and when to rest can be a minefield and end up in the frustration of injury or alternatively underperformance.
Basing a training plan on the miles/km you're prepared to run per week or the time you can give to each training session, or sessions per week as well as the speeds you are currently running and want to run then improvements can be made over time. Again, this structure can lead to progression and (fingers crossed) injury avoidance.
Ultra Marathons.
Well, I guess the first question here is; how Ultra is your Marathon?
By definition an Ultra Marathon is any distance longer than a Marathon. The most common distance in that respect is often 50k. But to be honest if you want torun it, you'll probably find the distance your looking for!!
Careful though. There is a lot more more to running an Ultra than just doing longer training than a Marathon. Obviously time on your feet is very important, but most people take a few races before they get their nutrition on point. It's not a simple question to answer, and the answer is different for everyone. But there are some simple guidelines to consider and follow that will save you a lot of discomfort if your thinking of taking on one of these huge endeavours.
Run Club.
Every Tuesday evening we meet at 7pm. It's only £5 per session; sounds cheap, but it certainly isn't easy... Your first session is still FREE!!! Please contact me for more details - post Covid things can change! It's an hour of hard work, but it gets results!
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