After a series of lockdowns and the restrictions of social distancing, I am looking forward to getting back to preparing from some races. Although, with running it’s important to respect the process of building a foundation that will serve you well in a race. After having two children and taking a fair break from consistent running, I have some work to do before my next race. However, I learned a lot from the build up to my last half marathon when my eldest son was almost one and I thought I would share some of my preparations as I intend to replicate these again soon.
Training Sessions
Generally, I tend to have two quality speed work sessions a week (Tuesday’s and Thursday’s) and one long run in the weekend when I have more time. Tuesday’s session is often running at the track with my local running club, doing fast repetitions of anywhere from 300m to 1km. I love training with a club as you have the social element to it and I always run so much harder with other people, so it means I always get a quality session in – no matter how tired I am feeling!
My Thursday session involves one of my usual workouts of either 1km repeats (with 90 seconds rest) or 3-minute repeats (with 1 minute rest). Either set is run at threshold pace (also known as lactate threshold) and is the maximal running pace you can sustain for approximately 45 – 60 minutes. Its effectively that fine line between aerobic training (when there is enough oxygen to meet your body’s demands) and anaerobic training (the point above which lactate begins to accumulate in your blood). It’s usually tough - especially the last few reps! But it really challenges my fitness, and it improves my threshold pace as a result.
My long run will usually be anywhere between 15km and 22km. I build this up over time by adding an extra 1-2km to the run every week until I reach 22km. I usually run this at a nice, steady pace (30-40 seconds slower than my targeted race pace) but I will also throw in a few kilometres of race pace to see how my body copes.
The rest of the week, I either cross train with cycling or strength work or do a few easy runs at a relaxed pace. It sounds so straightforward when you write it all down like that but it’s never really that simple…
Strength & Mobility
Due to its high impact nature, running can easily expose a weakness or asymmetry, which tends to manifest itself as an injury. They have a way of happening right before a race too, when your preparations are building towards a peak. I had a good endurance background prior to having my first baby as I used to race middle distance triathlon. Despite this, I found that I needed to focus on building up the strength that I had lost after having a baby. Pregnancy changes your centre of gravity and can wreak havoc on your pelvic floor and transverse abdominals! Pilates helped me with rebuilding my core and strengthening my glutes, which suffered because of taking time off running and strength work. Even if you haven’t had a baby, incorporating some strength work into your training is always a preventative measure to avoiding injuries.
In addition to strength work, I do some activation and mobility drills before each session to ensure that everything is primed and ready to run. I find that my pace comes so much easier after doing some legs swings, hip mobilisations and drills. If I neglect to do this before a session, all I can feel is the stiffness and fatigue from the last session.
In the evenings, especially after a hard training session or if my body is feeling tired, I like to do some focussed mobility work to help with anything that is feeling tight or restricted during the day. Some examples, include;
Working through my plantar fascia, which gets tight especially on the left due to an old ankle issue.
Using a foam roller or massage ball on my thoracic spine and shoulders. I am often bending over massaging, picking kids up, or studying so these muscles tend to get tight, and that tightness often pulls on the back of my legs.
Foam rolling my quads, glutes and hamstrings - the key powerhouse muscles that get tight with all the training.
The combination of activation and mobility sessions help me to prepare for a session and aids my body to recover overnight. It also helps to develop good running patterns (a symmetrical, fast cadence with a for-to-mid foot strike), which generates a powerful stride and good, efficient running technique.
Hydration
Throughout the day, I focus on staying hydrated. If hydration levels drop by as little as 2%, it can cause fatigue, which makes getting out for a decent session challenging. If hydration drops as much as 10%, it can cause significant health problems (e.g. digestive, cardiovascular, immune and musculoskeletal issues), which I definitely want to avoid! This means I always have a bottle to hand. I usually try to have more water at the start of the day to rehydrate after a night’s sleep and to compensate for my morning coffee. It then means that any afternoon or evening training sessions can be done without too much fatigue and sluggishness.
I also find that my thirst indicators are not always that reliable, so I tend to go by volume of water consumed. There is a simple equation for calculating your hydration needs, which is below if you’re interested;
Body’s weight (kg) ÷ 30 = Number of litres you should drink each day
For every 250ml diuretic beverage, you should add 350-450ml of water to your daily intake
Don’t forget to add plenty of unrefined sea salt to replenish your electrolytes too. I add Himalayan rock salt liberally to my meals and then maybe to some water if I feel I need it. I also eat loads of vegetables to get a wide variety of minerals in my diet.
Sports & Remedial Massage Therapy
The final piece of the puzzle in my lead up to a race is manual therapy. Often a foam roller or massage ball can only go so far and even a remedial massage therapist, such as myself, needs a professional and objective opinion. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by excellent practitioners, so I can book in for a session when I feel I need it. During my race build up, I get a lot of treatment on specific issues that manifest during a training block. I also tend to book myself in for a couple of sessions in the 2 weeks prior to the race to ensure that my body is completely recovered from all the training and is ready for racing.
I hope some of my journey is useful for you guys in your build up future races or events. In the meantime, happy training and all the best for racing your best on the day!