Run Your Neighbourhood: Advice from Olivia McCartin
This weekend, all your hard training will pay off as our 1400 runners take on the 5k or 10k to conclude our six week ‘Run Your Neighbourhood’ programme!
‘Beyond the Finish Line’ Women in Sport Advocate, and experienced Level 2 triathlon coach Olivia McCartin gives her advice for the day of your run. We are delighted to have her as part of the team, and she just won the ‘Spirit of Triathlon’ Award for 2020, as nominated by her clubmates and community!
Hi everyone,
Just a few words of advice and encouragement to all of you taking part this weekend in the Run Your Neighbourhood challenge. For many of you, this will be your first time taking on such a challenge, and to you in particular I wish to offer you the very best of luck and hope you have a great day.
I can vividly remember my first time doing something similar – that mix of anxiety and excitement leading up to the big day, and all the questions in my own head as to how to approach the event now that it was about to happen.
Remember though that it’s really just another run, no different really to anything you have done during training, though it might be a little further and or faster than anything you have previously done in the build up.
The adrenaline and excitement, and the drive to succeed will carry you through on the day, so trust in the training you have done, and look forward to the day rather than dread it.
On the day/evening before, try and stay off your feet as much as possible, keep those legs fresh to optimise your performance. Eat normal food, at your normal hours, but try and avoid anything spicy or heavy, and definitely avoid alcohol.
On the morning of the event, eat something light approx two hours beforehand to boost your energy levels. Again, avoid anything high in fibre, or heavy with protein or fat. Personally, I like to have a small bowl of cornflakes with skimmed milk, followed by a cup of tea with white toast and marmalade. It’s easy to digest and absorb, gives a nice bit of energy, and doesn’t lead to any gastric issues.
Food during the event?
There should be no real need to take on board any extra calories for an event lasting up to 1 hour. However, in saying that if you have been doing so in training and it works for you, stick with it. As current temperature is quite low, dehydration is not a real issue, so sipping small quantities regularly of water or a sports drink will suffice.
Footwear and clothing
Be sure to use runners that you have trained in and that don’t pinch or rub and are well fitting. If you have a choice, then lighter trainers or racing flats will be faster if time is your goal. Otherwise comfort and fit are the most important considerations.
The weather at the weekend is given as windy, with a temperature of approx 8 degrees. This is actually a nice temperature for running. Warm up beforehand with some extra layers on, and perhaps a light pair of gloves and a hat. Then just before starting, strip down to your race kit and get going before you start to get cold.
Your Course
A firm surface like a road or path is going to be faster than running on a trail or on the grass. Try and avoid a course that’s hilly, that has a lot of sharp twists or turns, or where you have junctions etc. Also, avoid routes where you are constantly up and down on footpaths. These will break your rhythm, and your average pace will suffer as a result.
With winds of 20 to 30kph forecast, try and pick a route that offers the most shelter. If running an out and back course, run against the wind to begin when you are fresh, and then have the benefit of the wind behind you on the return. This can give a nice psychological boost too knowing that you have some assistance on the return.
technology
If you have the use of a distance or heart rate monitor, keep an eye on them to ensure that your pace and effort is as planned. If not however, just be sure not to start off too fast, get into a good early rhythm and pace, and focus on running with good form rather than pushing too hard early on. With a few km to go, then is the time to pick up the pace if you can, and push hard to the line. Be careful if running with others that you don’t get sucked into running or racing at their level if it is too fast for you, stick with your own plan and goal race pace and effort and you will have a more enjoyable experience.
When it’s all over, and you have achieved your goal, where do you go then?
You certainly do not want all your hard work and fitness gains to disappear. To begin with though, you need to recover from this effort, before progressing on to anything new. A few days off, followed by active recovery for about a week will see you ready to start training again. Active recovery would be things like easy cycling, swimming or walking – even a slow short jog after a few days, to keep the legs moving, and to help maintain a little more fitness than you would doing no exercise.
Look into the future – are there any more events coming up that you can aim for and start training towards ? If these are limited in availability because of Covid, is there anything you yourself can do, or anything you can organise amongst your friends or clubmates?
There’s always a way and now that you have come this far it’s something really worth continuing.
Again, the very best of luck to everyone this weekend. I have no doubt that each and every one of you can achieve your goals and have a great day.
Olivia
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Thanks Olivia for those wise words!
If you haven’t yet signed up to Run Your Neighbourhood this weekend, it’s not too late!
