Sydney Marathon

You’ve done the training. You’re feeling fit. It’s time to think about your strategy for the big day. Factors such as the type of training, food, recovery, and race day strategies can be the difference between a PB and a PF (personal flop!) What can you do in the two weeks leading up to a race and on the day that will deliver your best running effort yet?

Taper your training:

Tapering training will enable your body to be fully recovered from all those long runs you’ve subjected it to. It gives you a chance to build up important stores such as your iron levels, zinc and white blood count. Do you need any more reasons to cut your training back? Most people jump at the opportunity!

Tapering is dependent on the distance of your race. For a marathon I would suggest halving your total distance/time run for the last two weeks. Doing shorter easy runs, mixed with a few sprints will help with speed, but really it’s just about maintaining what you’ve already got.

For a half marathon, the more prepared you are, the more time you have for tapering. Your last long run should be 8 days before, but if you only decided only three weeks before the race to do it, you may very well need that extra bit of time! You won’t make a huge difference to your fitness in the 8 days leading up to the race, but you run the risk of being tired/injured if you smash yourself so close to it.

For any distances less than a half marathon, give yourself four days off running before the race and you should fresh a daisy on the day.

Get stretching:

Admit it, you don’t stretch enough. What is it with most runners and stretching? It’s about as popular as a cold shower in winter (maybe because it can feel just as painful!). Hamstrings, calves (stretch with both a straight leg and bent), glutes, hip flexors, and lower back are the essentials. Click here for a video on some popular runners stretches. You may prefer to join a yoga or body balance class as this will stretch not only your running muscles but others you never even knew you had.

What to eat and drink before the race:

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Tagged As: fitness, fun run, half marathon, marathon, running

Do you sometimes feel uninspired to train? Even with a goal or event in mind, you still find yourself training without gusto or skipping sessions. One way to snap you out of this very vanilla phase is to land yourself a training buddy. Like any healthy relationship there can be ups and downs, but the journey is always much more fulfilling when you are sharing it with someone.

Recently I ran the Melbourne Marathon. I had the most incredible weekend, not just because I scored a PB of 3hr 16min but because I shared the experience with my new training buddy Michelle Bridges. Although we’ve been friends for many Read more…..

Tagged As: exercise, Marathons, running, Weight loss

What’s your training program like? Do you focus on increasing your miles each week, maybe a bit of speed work here and there, and of course a token stretch at the end of each session? Well hats off to you because unlike 85% of the population at least you are doing something! But whether you are an amateur runner or a competitive athlete, adding a resistance session each week might just be the thing you need to take your further, faster and with fewer injuries.  This article looks at the reasoning behind resistance training for runners and identifies the top resistance training exercises all runners should do.

What is Resistance training for distance running?

Conventionally we think of resistance training as weights machines, dumbbells, slow movements and heavy weights (with lots of grunting).  Resistance training for runners is quite different. It’s about loading the muscles in a manner that replicates running to improve their strength power, endurance and most importantly coordination. It’s about identifying the weaker muscles in the body and developing them to prevent injury. It is NOT about building unnecessary bulk or damaging already fatigued tissue and I must stress that incorrect resistance training can tighten you up and slow you down.
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Tagged As: circuit, injury prevention, Resistance training, running, swiss ball

Many people who have a dream of running a marathon push it to one side because they are filled with the fear that it’s too much training, they don’t have the time, or they aren’t fit/strong enough. Well I am here to dispel that fear by showing you in the simplest way possible a training program for anyone who can currently run 10km without stopping. If you are an experienced marathoner wanting to run a PB (personal best) then this program may not be detailed enough for you. But if you are a first time marathoner, or an amateur, then this program is exactly what you need to get fit enough to complete 42.2km.

The five ingredients for a successful marathon training program

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Tagged As: fitness, marathon, running, Training, Weight loss

Whether you are a serious runner or a weekend warrior it’s useful to know what pace you should be running at. Use the McMillan calculator to work out your race speed based on pretty much any other time you have run. The screen looks like the image above you simply choose a distance that you have a time for and key it in.

Once you have done this, the calculator gives you a list of projected distances (below), your projected time for each distance. Now you know pretty much what time you would run for most distances.

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Tagged As: distance running, exercise, fitness, jogging, running

How does your body feel after running 21 gruelling kms? Picture this, at the end of the race, an army of sore bodies hobbling around recovering from their big race. You can’t help but get pumped for the next one. However it is your recovery action plan that will determine how quickly your body is ready to train like a champion again. Follow these 5 tips within 3 days of your race to ensure you bounce back better than before:

1. Drink 1.5 litres of sports drink in the 24hr after the race:
Yes we all know rehydration after a race is essential (around 600ml for every 30min that you run), but replenishing your sodium levels is crucial. We tend to lose about one teaspoon of sodium every 2 hours so it is really important to replenish these sodium stores during and after the race. Electrolyte/isotonic drinks such as Gatorade are good as they get absorbed very quickly. NB: Too much sodium in the body can lead to high blood pressure, so apart from race time, avoid excess salt in your diet.

2. Stretch:
Stretch straight after the race, but also stretch every day for the next 4 days. A minimum of 10mins will do. This helps your damaged muscle fibres to repair correctly, preventing scar tissue and permanent flexibility loss. Hamstrings, hips flexors, lower back and calves are the absolute essentials. Don’t look after these puppies and you’re a gonner! Don’t force the stretches, you should be able to feel it but not be in pain. Hold each stretch for 30-60secs, and slow your breathing right down.

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Tagged As: exercise, fitness, half marathon, jogging, recovery, running