Week 4: Training Tips from Chris Grayson
International Flair
To date The Gleneagle Run Killarney has athletes from 18 different countries competing in what is becoming an international festival of Running. There are 24 counties from across the four provinces represented. Many running clubs and groups are coming to Killarney to take part in Run Killarney. Killarney town is looking forward to welcoming an estimated 2,000 athletes for one of the country’s biggest running events.
Here’s the latest tips from Chris Grayson, Expert Half Marathon Runner
Injury Prevention
At the first sign of injury or niggle most runners have the same reaction: Ignore it and keep training thinking it will go away. Taking the time to find and fix an injury before it becomes chronic will give you a better chance to train injury free. There are lots of great Physiotherapists in Kerry and are experts in sports injury’s especially running. Here are my tips on preventing injury.
REST!
A rest day is extremely important when it comes to avoiding injuries. You should have at least one complete rest day in a week along with a recovery day where you could swim, cycle, walk or cycle. Listen to your body, if you feel tired on a day where you’re meant to be doing a quicker paced run (speed work or farlek) then don’t. Run very easy or take the day off.
Warm-up / Cool-down
By warming up this increase the heart rate gradually and your muscles will be warm and flexible resulting in being less prone to injury. 10 minutes warming up would suffice and prepare you for the training ahead. Equally as important is cooling down, at the end of a run where your heart rate was elevated to aerobic or anaerobic levels you should ideally spend 10 minutes or so running very easy or walking in order to allow your heart rate to decrease slowly back to its normal rate.
Gradual increase mileage
Don’t be tempted to increase your running distances or paces too quickly. Stick to your training program. The general rule of thumb is not to increase your running distance by more than 10% a week. After a hard run it’s vital that the next day’s activities should be an easy day. General rule of thumb is hard run/easy run hard run/easy run and so on.
Maintain / improve flexibility
A lack of flexibility is a big contributor to injuries. Introducing yoga or Pilates into your training plan can help gain strength and flexibility.
Strength work
Many new runners don’t undertake any form of strengthening work for their legs, thinking that all the running they are doing will be sufficient. Strength training is essential for preparing the body for training and racing.
“Remember if you don’t quit you can’t fail”
#carpediem
