This is in continuation of the 1st article and I seriously recommend you to read Running: Getting started before you further read this article. In the whole journey of running, everyone goes through learning steps which might be little different as per one’s age, height, weight and circumstances as well. So it’s important to develop the skill to learn the dots and connect the dots as you progress.
Although this article is for beginners but is equally relevant for intermediate runners as well
I came across many people who want to run or want to restart after few years gap but lack motivation. After multiple discussion with coaches, mentors and people involved in running and analyzing the outcomes, one of the definite conclusion is What beginners are really lacking is a GOAL. Once you have a goal to achieve, you will also get a motivation to achieve it.
I would definitely recommend a simplest and bit of challenging goal for beginners and that is to
Sign up for a friendly 5K race
Fun runs associated with a particular day like women’s day run or runs associated with some health awareness issues like diabetes, blind people, Cancer awareness runs or a famous city run like TCS Majja run are perfect ways to get excited about running. And if these runs are organised by your office, society or friends then you will be having a good time while you’re at it. And you will get company as well for training.
We mentioned preparing for a running plan to meet certain objectives in the last article and we will see how we can make one for ourselves.
Remember the unforgettable simple objectives we discussed 1. We will train for injury free running. 2. We will follow discipline in running
Section : Injury free Running
Lets understand the things which we need to keep in mind to have a injury free running
Properly warm up with a 5 min jog or walk and do dynamic stretching before actual run to remain injury free. Avoid static stretching.
Proper cool down for 5 mins in order to help with muscle soreness and to loosen tight areas
Have rest days in a week to allow your body to heal minor issues and keep your legs fresh.
Know your limits. Doing too much, too soon or too fast has to be avoided whether you are a beginner, professional runner or coming back to running after a long time.
Consciously try to run with a proper form (see image). Poor form can lead to undue pain and injury, leading to shin splints etc. and limited performance
Run on proper surfaces. Avoid hard or uneven surfaces like concrete roads or too much trail in beginning of your running weeks
Listen to your body and learn to differentiate between pain and discomfort
Avoid coming back to running too soon after injury or flu. Understand that losing a day or two is much better than losing a month or so.
Correct Running form
Section : Disciplined Running
Lets understand the things which will help us in conquering initial Running roadblocks
Make a schedule and stick to it. Running will be much easier if you are consistent. Make sure to run/walk at least three to five times a week. Make a schedule based on your existing lifestyle. In case of really tight schedule on a particular day, still make it a point to go for a 15 min run/walk before running into your tight schedule.
Find a running partner or a running group or running club. This is one of the best ways to get you into running on days when you are least inclined to.
Focus on time spent and not on pace or distance covered. In case you thought of running 40 min. on a particular day and start feeling not to run more after 15 min. and get back home , try to make it a point to finish the time of 40 min. by walking if not running. Believe me, most of the times you will running back after 5 min. of walking in such cases.
Get involved into some strength training for 2 days a week. Bicycle crunches, Planks, Push-ups, V-hold, Flutter kicks may be few exercises which should be taken on alternate days to running. Not only your body core will be strengthened but also help you make faster runner.
Don’t cry over spilt milk. What it means is get over the guiltiness of missing a running day in the week. You can not change that but you can start from where you left. Don’t allow a missed day to set you back by a week.
Employ a walk/run method initially and then switch to run/ walk method before finally moving to run/run method
I have put up a practical sample plan for a 5k run goal below ( in a two months time). It is freely downloadable and can be customized at your end. Feel free to customize rest days, run days as per to fit your lifestyle.
In case you have any questions/ queries, please feel free to reach me through Contact Form
Do spread the word among your peers, family members or anyone who can benefit from this blog and asked them to subscribe. But be selfish and take care of yourself first by subscribing before they do.
Enjoy the day and your life. Don’t forget, we are alone in this grand universe and may not get a chance to live again.
In one of the earlier posts, I talked about creating a running plan. Before we create the running plan, lets understand what part rest plays in the plan and how to go about taking rest days. This article/post will help you with answers to the questions that are commonly heard from runners especially beginners as well from experienced runners.
Why rest days ?
To feel better and stronger during run days after rest day.
To reduce the stress hormone which can cause fatigue, depression or sleep related problems
To give the time to the body to repair itself. This is the time when muscles get stronger.
To reduce your burn-out feeling.
To avoid getting bored of running.
When to take rest days?
For Beginners, a combination of 4 -5 running days plus 2 -3 non running days can work fine. Other approach is to run every alternate day and rest alternate days.
For Experienced runners, weekly mileage of more than 30-40km per week definitely triggers a rest day, it can be before a long run or after a long run.
Best way to take rest days is to plan them so that your consistent approach to running is maintained.
Most importantly, start listening to your body and learn to distinguish between pain and discomfort.
It depends upon how you schedule running and non running days. if your fear that rest days will break your running habit then I can suggest you to take up 30 min casual walking on rest days or some form of non-exercise related activity like gardening, playing out with your kids in ground or take your dog for a walk.
How to avoid guilt of rest days? or What to do on rest days?
Treat rest day as a part of workout
Plan to do some kind of muscle strengthening
Plan to do yoga or cycling or swimming
Let’s see Expert views on Rest days
before your mind tells you to stop reading further and take rest!!
The most important workout in any running program is rest. Rest days are as important as training days. They give your muscles time to recover so you can run hard again. Actually, your muscles will build in strength as you rest. Without recovery days, you will not improve. pic.twitter.com/YxtStnVxGJ
I hope that you are now aware of rest days and make them part of your training.
In case you have any questions/ queries, please feel free to reach me through Contact Form
Do spread the word among your peers, family members or anyone who can benefit from this blog and asked them to subscribe. But be selfish and take care of yourself first by subscribing before they do.
Enjoy the day and your life. Don’t forget, we are alone in this grand universe and may not get a chance to live again.
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