Wherever you are on your running journey – expert or novice – you’ll never stop learning something new.
No matter how many hard miles you’ve done, you’re always a step away from finding out something new about yourself and this sport. But all too often you’ll find yourself having an epiphany and wondering why it took you so long to work it out.
Well, speed secrets has you covered. Here are a few things about running I wish I’d known sooner – a fast track to running wisdom:
Join a running club:
This is one of the most important steps you can take to levelling up your running. Joining a group of friends and fellow runners, establishing a routine to your training, being able to tap their fantastic experience are all massive benefits of linking up with a club.
It’s also a great entry point into the racing scene. They’ll know where and when events are. And chances are, you’ll be in better shape to compete after joining in with some of their group training sessions. Most clubs have a full spectrum of abilities – you’ll definitely find a group to help you reach your potential.
Your national running governing body will have a list of affiliated clubs in your area.
Race:
Racing is a brilliant motivator. It’s the extra pressure you sometimes need to help you dig deep in a training session. It’s easy to slack if you’ve got no reason to push. Give yourself a reason.
There’s always a balance to be struck. You can over do things. Racing too much can be a sure fire way of getting injured, but a lot of runners train hard and never actually compete.
Racing is the best way of testing your form and training. Time trials and fitness tests are one thing, but you’ll never be able to dig quite as deep as when you put a number on your chest and line up against the competition.
With the growth of Park Run, you’ll have a brilliantly organised, measured 5km race on your door step every Saturday morning. What are you waiting for.
Take part in a Park Run:
This follows the previous point. You’ve seen the value of adding a bit more competition to your calendar and training programme. Park Runs can be just what’s needed. They’re as serious or relaxed as you want to take them.
Kit doesn’t matter.
If you’ve got a pair of half decent shoes and shorts, you’re pretty much set. Don’t buy into the marketing and hype.
A comfortable, well fitting shoes is important, but you don’t need the latest carbon insoles or wind tunnel certified aerodynamic speed suit in order to run and have fun. You can’t buy yourself faster
Ignore the fads, hard work works.
Running is really simple. So simple people are always looking for a hidden shortcut to improved performance. The simple truth is, work harder and you’ll probably get better. That doesn’t necessarily mean run harder (check out our articles on how adding weight sessions to your programme improves performance) it means put more in and you get more out.
Don’t skip stretches and cool downs:
My Achilles is a painful reminder of how I shouldn’t cut this corner. How many tough sessions did I skip a cool down and stretching? Too many. It always finally catches up with you. Take a few minutes after every session to stretch, massage and work out any tight spots. Build stretching and a bit of physio into your training routine and you’ll reap huge benefits.
Know when to back off:
Not every training session has to be flat out. There’s an adage: polarise your training. Either be flat out or really relaxed. Looking back, much of my running was done in that middle, junk miles, pace. You tire yourself out, but don’t actually push hard enough to get gains. Be honest, does that sound like your training? Don’t be frightened to back off so you have energy to push hard when you need to.
Core counts:
Add strength and conditioning to your training. Resistance training will help you resist fatigue and injury, allowing you to train harder for longer. It’s counter intuitive, but running doesn’t always benefit your running. Research repeatedly and conclusively shows the benefits of resistance training. It builds muscle and bone strength that can be undermined by heavy cardio and endurance training.
Take it up earlier:
It’s never too late to become a runner. But don’t leave it too long. You won’t regret it. I’ve met so many great people through the sport, improved my fitness and wellbeing. The only wish I have is that I’d taken it up sooner.
