Five Running Tips That matter to me!
Gear on
Running the Taupo Marathon in New Zealand in 2016
I want to share my running journey in a simple way so you can learn from it. Let me give you some background first. I have been running for an estimated about 10 years or more and only in the last 7 years have I increased the distance that I run. I am a long-distance runner who has done many daily half marathons and a full marathon in 2016. I have had a far few injuries however touch wood non whilst running however they have had an impact on my running massively at times. These are just some things that have worked for me in the past that I just wanted to share. I’m no professional in the fitness sense these are purely things I’ve picked up as I’ve been training.
Recovering after an injury:
When I was riding my skateboard and also on a late-night hike having received injuries to the foot, Ankle many times, and knee and I broke my shoulder whilst cycling in 2019. This set me back each time but recently I discovered that yes! you get injuries, like broken or sprained limbs however it’s about preventing them or not aggravating a previous injury. Make sure you are fully recovered from injury and if you are worried talk to your general practitioner or physio to make sure you do the excises that you have been given. Know that you will not always go back to the same level straight away, whether that’s distance, pace or stamina. I found that taking it slow and building yourself back up is key to a good recovery and use things like K tape for the first few runs back to support old injuries when physically ready to return.
Starting a run well:
Do not just start running, it’s not recommended and that's what makes it more common for you to cause yourself injury. There are various ways in which to begin a run and this has changed a lot over the years it is also dependent on how much distance I plan to cover and also whether I am running trail or on the road. Generally and I’ve read from many other running blogs and videos that it is best to start with dynamic stretches. One of my recommendations is to do a 15 min yoga session where the majority of the session is opening your hips, legs and ankles. This not only prepares your muscles for the high impact on whichever surface you choose to run on it also raises your heart rate. The other reason I choose to do yoga over the many other warm-up activities is that over the last couple of years of integrating yoga into my warm-up and cool-down routine, I find that this has helped Improve my stamina this has been because on the occasional off day, I have done yoga and when the session focuses on your breathing and mindfulness it helps with focusing your mind on the process rather than the result and with that, I’ve found my capacity and recovery is better.
To Push through or not to push:
Sometimes you wake up or you’ve got a gap in time often you may have days where you just don’t feel like it and sometimes you have days when you're all ready to go! As well as listening to your body it’s important to rise above the negativity or even the positivity because often we can find ourselves pushing too hard and sometimes just not enough. Maybe you’ve got to let go and get out there or take time with your pace. Maybe it’s a case of going the distance or trying something different. I’ve found even at the moment whilst I’m not running as many times a week it’s important to maintain the right balance between pushing through or slowing pace. Often I find my body starting to protest and tell me to stop. Truth is pushing through is just as important as taking a step Down. No balance between training well and training differently.
Yoga breathing
I often find it’s easy to do those stretches before and after a run but sometimes I often forget to balance between exercise and running just running. Part of what I find is great for my training and stamina is doing those strengthening workouts and for me, I find yoga a great way to also increase your stamina when it comes to breathing during a run yoga I find not only improves the strength of your muscles especially with you hips protecting your knees and your balance but also helping you to be mindful so that when your running your focus is not on getting somewhere it’s about focusing on the sensation of breathing the flow of oxygen through your body touching your muscles, blood, bones increasing your stretch muscles further as you breathe deeper. Do not Just run to its worth trying different excises to help improve you muscle tone and strength. When I was running Also regularly went Rock climbing and skateboarding though i wasn’t always able to do this as at the time I was lucky enough to have access to these types of sports. Now its just Yoga and running. Therefore it doesn’t just need to be any particular sport its just good to have a different part of you running week this will help prevent injury to.
Drink less and eat less before you go
We all love a glass or two at the weekend wine, Ale or a Gin and tonic. Chocolate sweets are anything overly high in cane sugar, I find for if the night before I’ve had a lot of those things I find my stamina throughout the run can be very depleted.
