Below is Mo’s apparent typical training week from ‘training a runner’ (Source, below). You can see he is hitting the miles to boost his aerobic efficiency and technical running skill. At the end of ‘Mo’s Training Week’ there is a video of his form analysed. Of particular interest to many of you will be his…
** If you’ve heard people talking about ‘digging deep’ and learning how to do that in a running/racing sense you might have thought was a load of tosh. Well it wasn’t! If you’ve dug deep and held on then you will know what I mean. You have to learn to do this to keep those…
** Familiarise yourself with the course and with your pre-race routine. If you are unfamiliar with any aspect you MAY worry about it. I could go on about this but lack of preparation and familiarisation might affect your race psychology and/or warm-up All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work…
* Don’t wear compression gear. It adds extra resistance and tires you more quickly. All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might work * 1 star. Can’t hurt X 1 cross. It CAN hurt if done wrong. All 50 tips are shown here as…
X*Wear compression gear. Boosts blood flow to muscles and reduces the risk of injury. Keeps you warm. SEE NEXT TIP for more thoughts on this All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might work * 1 star. Can’t hurt X 1 cross. It CAN hurt if…
* Don’t start too near to the front if you are smaller and slower (kids) you may get knocked over by faster runners, then you won’t get a PB. But don’t be afraid to go somewhere near the front as many people are not doing parkruns for a PB like you are. All the suggestions are…
* Pinch yourself hard before that final sprint. (I don’t think this will work but causing a bit of pain might give you a quick adrenaline rush) Only use this for the sprint, apparently extreme amounts of pain prior to competing in other events can give boosts because of raised blood pressure from the pain.…
* Smile. Smile every 1km it will relax you. Can’t hurt? There could be some hormonal benefit. maybe, perhaps, nah! But, it can’t hurt. Can it? All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might work * 1 star. Can’t hurt X 1 cross. It CAN hurt…
*X Running cadence. Aim for about 90-95 strides a minute (180-190 footfalls). If this is quite different from your current natural cadence then changing it for the weekend is unlikely to make a difference – other than a NEGATIVE difference. All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars.…
** If you are doing a parkrun then start at the front that can save you many 5′s of seconds especially at busy ones like Bushy. With a 1000 people at Bushy Park starting at the back will cost you AT LEAST 20 seconds (I’ve tried it and timed it). All the suggestions are…
*X Minor pain relief on-the-day. If you have a niggling minor injury that might put you off trying as hard as you might. A mild painkiller might help. You should use paracetamol and not aspirin and not ibuprofen (honest!). All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2…
*** Do a proper taper appropriate to your CURRENT level of fitness/fatigue. A generic taper might not be best for you RIGHT NOW. Look at TSB (CTL and ATL) on the training load plugin on SportTracks software (Free) or there is a similar one in Training Peaks WKO+ (not free). You’ll need HR data going…
*** Do a proper taper. I’ve given tapers more consideration in <this> link. Do a bit of research. All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might work * 1 star. Can’t hurt X 1 cross. It CAN hurt if done wrong. All 50 tips are shown here as…
*X Insoles. Many of us have one leg longer than the other for a variety of muscular/skeletal reasons. You can’t change that by the weekend. BUT if one leg is a few mm shorter than the other an extra insole will balance your legs and might give you a bit more power. Or it might…
**X Race-day, pre-race sports massage – someone told me these help. No personal experience. Personally I would NOT do a pre-race sports massage unless very light for some kind of warming up purpose. HOWEVER I would and have had a sports massage 2-3 days prior to the event. Chance to ‘recover’. The idea there is that…
***X Look at ‘proper’ tapers especially if you are of a ‘reasonable’ standard. Short bits of speedwork leading up to the big day BUT AT THE RIGHT TIME AND FOR THE RIGHT DURATION/INTENSITY will help you stay fresh but don’t get it wrong. Scientists say that a proper one week taper will make you go 22%…
*X So you plan to do the 3-day taper mentioned in previous tips. If you’re not so supple then on the first of those days set aside 30-45 minutes for an intense stretch session, stretching everything on your legs and core as much and as far as you can without doing yourself an injury. Be…
** Beetroot juice (source of nitrates). Take 0.5l of beetroot juice containing approx 6.2 mmol of nitrate 2.5 hours before you start. Bike tests show this boosts power by nearly 3%. That’s rather a lot, but is it true 😉 Don’t use mouthwash with it though, apparently that neutralises the nitrate effect. Also creatine,…
*** Train at altitude. About 7,000ft above sea level!! Even better; ideally, you will be living at altitude but training at a lower altitude before your race! Yes; I know this one was particularly unhelpful. But it works! All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might…
*** Race at an ambient temperature of no more than 16 celcius. For each degree above that you will lose 3 seconds over 5k. So that means that you are most likely to be able to plan for a PB in Spring or Autumn. All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO…
