There is more to running, than running!

So we are almost 1 month in to the New Year, how are those resolutions going? Are you still on target? Did you apply the SMART principles from my previous blog to your goal?

I'd love to get some feedback from you, sharing your goal brings it to life, makes it seem more attainable and gives you focus, please feel free to leave comments and let me know how you are doing.

With that said, i am going to share with you my current training goal, the Liverpool Half Marathon. I am currently in training to run the Liverpool Half Marathon which takes place on March 18th 2012, my aim for this race is to complete it in under 1 hour 45 minutes, which is my current personal best for this distance. Can you see how i have applied SMART principles to my goal?

Everybody has a different approach on how they train & prepare for a half marathon, i am going to give you an insight into my training routine, things i pay attention to and most importantly of all why i do it.

A half marathon is a run, so all you have to do in training is run right? WRONG!!!!

There is so much more that you need to include in your training plan and i am only covering the basics in this blog, yes obviously running is important, very important but what about strength, speed, power, stamina, flexibility, mental preparation??? All these elements come into play during the race so why not train & improve them in the lead up?

I break my training into 5 sessions per week, this may sound a lot but it is all about maximising your time when you train, you do not have to spend hours upon end running.

My sessions look like this;

Short run - Faster pace, 3-5 miles

Interval running - Hills or flat sprints

Long run - Building up mileage & 'race pace' each week 5 - 13 miles

Strength/Power - Allover resistance training using kettlebells, suspension training, medicine balls & body weight

Core/Flexibility - Focus on postural muscles, correcting any imbalances/weakness & total body stretching

These sessions encompass all elements required  to run a half marathon, the short run allows you to build speed and increase your 'race pace'. Interval running improves speed, explosive power and recovery rate. Strength/power resistance training is important for developing allover body strength (you are going to need this when running 13.1 miles!!!). The core/flexibility session is the most over looked session but is really important to fight back against those little niggles to prevent them from escalating into full blown injuries & finally the long run. Your long run is best done at weekends when most people have a little more time, this is when you should be preparing for the race itself, everything you have trained during the week should be put in action here, work on improving your distance & race pace each week, working up towards 12-13 miles peaking a couple of weeks before the event. This session is also a great chance to get your race preparation right, what are you going to eat? When are you going to eat it? What are you going to wear? Are you going to listen to music? Your long run is the perfect chance to get this right don't change what you do in training on the day of the race!

Hopefully this blog has been helpful to you and given you a few ideas if you too, are in training for a half marathon. If you would like any further advice or have any questions please get in touch.

Hope to see you on the starting line on March 18th.

Until next time.

Rob Lunn

Personal Trainer

www.diversehealthandfitness.com