With most of us working from home now it is becoming more important to keep active. Running is a great way to get some fresh air reset/prepare yourself for the day ahead. It is also great to do solo and it really nice to see so many people embracing it! The danger however is that it is very easy to do to much too soon!
Lets keep it simple. Running is hard on your body. Your main goal should be to making it as easy as possible for yourselves. This means focusing on your breath, going at a pace where you can still have a comfortable conversation – if you cant slow down! Chances are you will enjoy it much more if its not so painful!
A great way to so this whether you are a beginner or coming back from injury is a run/walk program. Breaking it down means you can enjoy it knowing you only have to be running for short periods of time. Run / Walk is also is great if you are managing an injury as gives you control and an easy, measurable indicator of pain. One that I normally recommend to start with is 8 or 10 x 1min jog / 1 min walk.
Preparing your body will also make it easier. No matter your ability it is important to warm up before your run to prepare your body (and mind) for exercise. I always start each run with a 3/5min walk. This gradually mobilises your muscles and raises your heart rate. There are also great dynamic exercise you can try and I will be posting some example so keep posted. The focus here is lubricating the joints especially important if you have been sitting or sleeping. I also end each run with a bit of walking, again to slowly lower the heart rate gradually which should reduce post exercise stiffness. It goes without saying that strength training is a vital to any runner. This with the smart training plan will help keep you injury free. Even If its just 10 mins it will do you good. After a run I always do a short online core video as I know if I don’t do it then I just wont do it!
Really keen to help you get started in the right way so please contact me if you have any questions no matter how small. Here to help : )
