#1 Don’t Worry About Pace
Don’t worry too much about hitting a certain pace – just put on your shoes and enjoy your run! you’re supposed to be enjoying the process not worrying about hitting a certain pace. Just put on your shoes for 30 minutes and go out on your run!
#2 Don’t Overdo it
It’s easy to get caught in the moment and do too much too soon! Remember the golden saying, your mileage should not be ramped up by more than 10 per cent every week. You want to be doing this long term. You don’t want running to be halted by an injury by overdo-ing it.
#3 Strength Train
Strength training is an often neglected part of training. More often than not, our form starts to falter as you run longer. With strength training, we are more able to keep our running posture and from. The key here is to prevent your running form from faltering especially in the later stages of a race when our body starts to tire. This will prevent an unwanted injury due to bad form.
#4 Invest In Good Shoes
Your feet will thank you for good shoes. Go get your feet and running gait tested. Some people have a high arch, some people are flat footed and this will affect the type of shoes that are suitable for your feet. Get shoes that are suited for you because otherwise, you may just be inviting an unwanted injury.
#5 Run On Different Surfaces
The constant pounding on the pavement may cause a lot of pressure on your knees. To minimise this stress, always try to run on softer surfaces. Vary the ground you run on. For instance, do speed work on the track which has a softer ground. Run on the grass for your recovery instead. This will help you minimise impact and your legs will thank you for this!
#6 It’s Okay To Take A Break
Remember, if a run is getting too tough, it’s okay to stop fora bit and take a break before continuing again. Take a 5 minute break to grab that 100plus or Revive before hitting the kilometres again! Your body will thank you for allowing it to catch it’s breath.
#7 Running Isn’t The Best Fit For Everyone
Running may not be everyone’s hobby! Just because you friend devotes 3 hours a day 7 times a week to running does not mean you need to do the same! Running means different things to different people.
#8 Take Time To Recover
Remember, recovery is part of training! Take a day off or two to properly recover! It is only when we recover that we come out stronger! Recovery doesn’t mean just sitting down and doing nothing – you can go for slow recovery runs, or swim, or even cycle!
