Training Advice
Congratulations on entering the Town & Gown 10k, but perhaps you need some help and advice on your training for the race. Hopefully, the notes we have put together will help you plan your training and achieve your objectives.
We have divided the advice into 3 sections:
- before you start
- training
- the race
1. Before you start
There are a few fundamental tips you ought to consider before you get too far into your training routine.
- Shoes.
The right shoes are the most important purchase a runner makes.
If possible, always buy your running shoes from a specialist running shop.
Always try and have two pairs of shoes that you can use. Alternate them whenever possible. This gives them time to recover after use and they will last longer.
A pair of shoes will normally last for 500-600 miles.
- Running Kit
Make sure it is comfortable. Don’t wear cotton vests for long winter training runs. They don’t get rid of the moisture, get wet and quickly get cold and can easily lead to hyperthermia. There is plenty of hi-tech gear available that wicks away the moisture when you run. It actually much more sensible to wear than the cotton tee shirts you get from races.
If its cold wear layers of clothing – a hi-tech vest next to the skin to wick away moisture, a second layer that provides warmth, and a wind proof or water proof jacket as the outer layer.
Don’t forget the extremities – hats and gloves are important. 50% of your body heat is lost though your head.
Make sure you can be seen in all weathers. Always wear reflective clothing if you are running in the dark and in winter generally. If you don’t have any available make sure you wear a light coloured outer garment. Never run in dark colours at night.
It’s 100% easier to run with someone than it is to run on your own. Not only that but you can’t make excuses for not training when you know you have a friend waiting for you, It’s more sociable and the time and miles go by much more quickly when you have someone to talk to as you run. Don’t forget for a steady training session if you can’t talk as you are running then you are running too quickly.
For women, of course, it also provides that added level of protection that many feel they need these days
- Consider joining a Running Club
If you are relatively new to running then the thought of joining a running club is probably quite scary. After all running club members are all super fit, finely tuned athletes with training schedules just like Paula Radcliffe. If they are, then we haven’t met any of them! They cover all ages, abilities and levels of dedication and training. They are generally very friendly and sociable groups and if you turn up on club nights they will always find someone who will run with you at your pace. A running club is a much more friendly and less intimidating place than your local gym!
Apart from the social aspects of belonging to a club there are a number of other benefits which include Insurance cover, reduced race entry fees, advice, coaching, club competitions, and discounts from sports shops on new kit. Membership fees are normally £10-15 pa.
2. Training
The simplicity of running is a large part of its appeal. Everybody can do it, simply put one foot in front of the other and off you go. Improving is just as simple. To increase your endurance you practice running further, to increase your speed you have to ….run faster.
To ensure you don’t dehydrate, drink regularly before, during and after your run.
To make sure you don’t run out of energy, eat a carbohydrate rich diet.
Is it really that simple?
2.1 Train without strain.
Effective training traces a fine line between hard enough and too hard.
Repeated exposure to mild stress stimulates the body to adapt. In other words, through running, which is a stress, the body learns to adapt to the demands of running and eventually performs better.
Too much training overwhelms the body’s ability to cope. Thus, if you run too hard, your body is unable to adapt.
Adapt a consistent approach to your training rather than an all out assault on your fitness.
2.2 Specificity of training or ‘reap what you sow’
Long, slow runs prepare you for long, slow races.
Short, fast runs only train you to race over short distances.
Most training schedules now include not only the long, slow runs and the fast, short speed sessions but also include tempo runs which are runs that start slow, build up to a steady speed (10k pace) before finishing at an easy pace.
2.3 Long Runs
The long run builds up endurance and you should do one at least once a week.
It’s often a key social run, an opportunity to run with friends at a relaxed conversational pace.
An ideal pace is one that keeps the heart rate at about 75% of maximum.
Even when training for shorter race, keep up the long run.
2.4 Speed sessions
Tempo runs - are runs that start slow, build up to a steady speed (10k pace) before finishing at an easy pace.
Intervals. Sessions run at tempo pace (or slightly quicker) broken into 3, 6 or 8 repetitions with brief rest periods in between.
A good starting point for speed work is simply to run quicker from one lamp post to the next, jog to recover for the next one (or even two when you first start doing this) before repeating the sequence.
‘The only way to run faster is to train faster’.
2.5 Hill Work
For your long run find a course that includes some hilly sections. The uphill running strengthens your leg muscles, which improves speed and the downhill sections force runners to go faster.
2.6 Hard & Easy Days
Most runners need 48 hours to recover from even moderately hard effort. Every hard day should be followed by an easy day. The fitter you get the harder this becomes to fit into your schedule but ignore it at your peril!
High mileage weeks should be followed by low mileage weeks.
2.7 Days Off
Resting is more valuable than training.
Listen to your body. Women are normally better at doing this than men. If you feel too tired to run then don’t. Rest before you feel exhausted.
If in doubt add another rest day!
It’s during the rest days that the body recovers from the stresses that you have subjected it to during the hard sessions. Without the rest days you are likely to suffer from over training or even worse get over-use injuries. Don’t be fooled into thinking than an easy session is the same as a rest day.
Take an extra day off a week and increase your mileage on the other days to compensate.
As a general guide if you are :
Under 30 take at least 1 day a week off
30 -45 take at least 2 days a week off
45-55 take at least 3 days a week off
55 + every other day off
2.8 Overuse injuries.
The purpose of training is to get stronger and faster. So it is easy to get caught up in an ever increasing schedule that has you constantly building on speed, distance and hills in the belief that more work and harder effort will continue to improve your performance. It doesn’t. Training too long, too fast and too hard causes injuries. Sometimes less is definitely more.
If you feel a lack of interest in running, have lower energy levels than usual, have heavy legs, experience a sudden drop in performance, feel irritable or start suffering from minor colds and infections you are probably overtraining and injury won’t be far away.
2.9 Listen to your body.
The pace that feels right is right!
If you feel tired, have a rest day.
If you feel really good, have a hard session whatever the schedule says.
If something hurts, rest it rather than ignore it.
If it continues to hurt, seek medical advice sooner rather than later, but don’t be fobbed off with second rate advice.
2.10 Walking.
We don’t! If we walk during a training run we might walk during a race and that would be a disaster! Rubbish. If you want to have a brief walk in the middle of a run just do it! There is evidence that runners can greatly extend their long runs by inserting brief walks at regular intervals and some marathon runners have found they can run a sub 3hour marathon by having a short walking break every mile.
If you are a new runner, coming back from illness or injury then walking during your long run will help you build up your endurance.
2.11 A Typical Training week.
Day 1 - Sunday Long Run/ Race
The long run is the cornerstone of any serious running programme. It increases your aerobic fitness, burns off loads of calories and helps build the mental discipline you need for successful running. It gives you the endurance to handle the tempo and speed sessions. Run it at a steady, relaxed, conversational pace. Run for 60, 90 or 120 minutes. Off road, trails, parks, country lanes.
Day 2 - Tuesday Easy ‘recovery’ run
Slow, smooth and relaxed. Run with a friend and talk non stop throughout the run. This is the easiest run of the week. Run for 20 (minimum) to 40 (maximum) minutes.
Day 3 Wednesday Tempo Run
Smooth, hard but controlled efforts that help you stay ‘race prepared’ by stimulating the effort you will need in a race.
(10 min warm up, 20/40 min at 10k or half marathon pace, 10 min warm down)
Day 4 - Friday Speed session
A good speed session is a hard balancing act. Too fast and you will burn out before the end of the session, too slow and you won’t get the benefits. You are running faster but also shorter. The best distances that complement the tempo runs are 400 and 200 metres.
Run 6x400m with 400m jog recovery or 12x200m with 200 metres jog recovery.
In the early stages, training is more about how long rather than how far – run for a minimum of 20 minutes but more realistically 30-40 minutes.
Don’t let the weather put you off!
A good running programme doesn’t need to involve more than 4 hours running (out of 168 hours) each week.
Small incremental improvements over an extended period are both the objective and the norm.
DO NOT EXPECT INSTANT RESULTS
3. Racing.
For most of us the end point of all the training we do is to race. Racing is, very different from training although some races are only part of our preparation for our main objective. Indeed, we need several warm up races just to acclimatise ourselves.
There are, of course, a number of basics that we need to take note of even before we turn up on race day.
If you are pre entered make sure you have your number and pin it onto your running vest before you leave home. Check your kit bag before you leave home and make sure you have, not only your race kit, and a change of cloths for after the race but also the emergency kit – Vaseline, plasters, toilet paper, safety pins, muscle rub, pre race drinks.
Make sure you know where the race is and what time it starts. Always leave yourself plenty of time to get to the race. Don’t waste most of your adrenaline worrying about whether you will get to the start in time.
The race
Try before the race to estimate what your likely race time will be and work out what that means in minutes per mile. Try and run your race evenly at that pace.
Don’t set off too quickly. At the start try to estimate where you should stand relative to everybody else. Don’t get too near the front because you will a) go off too quickly and b) upset those behind you who have a genuine reason for being near the front. In all but the largest mass participation races you are probably better being further back than too far forward.
Concentration is the key to a successful race. Concentrate on running your even pace. Concentrate on the person ahead and trying to over take them. Try and run with someone so you can pace off them but always be aware if the pace starts to fall and then move ahead.
In the latter stages of a race the more tired you get the harder it becomes to maintain the concentration but this is the most important part of all. Don’t forget all those around you are feeling just as bad as you are. If you can keep your concentration over the closing stages of the race you will find that you will overtake quite a lot of runners. Overtaking also gives you that little extra adrenalin rush to aim at the next person in front of you.
It takes quite a long time to get used to the idea in a race that the objective is to try and finish in front of as many people as possible. In the early stages of our racing careers our prime objective is to finish and it takes quite a major mental adjustment to recognise that overtaking people is what it’s all about.
Incidentally, if you concentrate on overtaking people rather than your time you will invariably finish up with a better time!
Above all, enjoy your training, make it fun, involve others in your challenge, try and persuade them to sponsor you, and have a good race and a great day!