Sunday 10 Jul 2011 by anthonydonnelly@yahoo.com at Garmin Connect - Details

Sunday 10 Jul 2011 by anthonydonnelly@yahoo.com at Garmin Connect - Details

Aisling

Aisling
Originally uploaded by Anthony's World

The taper

For the Running for Premature Babies team:

Tapering is the art of getting to the start line in the best possible shape, fit and rested.
For the half marathon I suggest:

2 weeks to go.
- You should have completed your last long run on the Sunday two weeks out from race day.
- Reduce the volume of your training by about 25%.
- Wednesday night will be the last hard session for most.
- On the Sunday before the race, run 45-60mins. Experienced runners can include 20-30mins of tempo or race pace running.
Alternatively, do a 5-8km race such as the Mother's Day Classic fun run.

1 week.
- Drop the volume to about 50% of your normal load.
- Your week might look something like this:
- Mon: rest
- Tue: Easy run, 6-10km.
- Wed: 2km warm up, some drills, 4x100m strides, 2km warm down.
Alternatively, 6-10km run, either easy or with 2/3km at race parce
- Thu: Rest. Last day to do Pilates or Yoga, boxercise, circuit training or whatever. Keepit it light if exercising.
- Fri: 6km-8km easy run OR rest.
- Sat: 5 min warm up. Drills. 4x100m run throughs. 5 min warm down. No more than 20 mins of running.
- Sun: Race day

IMG_1288

IMG_1288
Originally uploaded by Anthony's World

Just a few thoughts on running style:

Stance - Run tall and relaxed.

Head - Look straight ahead. This will place your head nicely in line with your spine.

Once your head is positioned correctly, the rest of your body tends to follow suit and vice versa.

Shoulders - Keep them relaxed, low and open, enabling you to breathe properly.

If you feel your shoulders sneaking up to your ears or geting sore, scrunch them up high and drop them, from time to time.

Arms and hands - Keep your forearms parallel to the ground. Your wrists are straight and your hands held in a loose fist, as if you are holding a roll of 20c coins, or a mini ice cream cone.

As your arms swing, your hands shouldn't cross the mid line of your tummy. Your hands will move between the top of your hips and the bottom of your ribs.

When sprinting or running uphill, you'll find that your hands will move higher.

Feet and legs - Land mid foot, not on your heels. As it hits the ground your foot should be underneath you, not out in front.

Push off strongly.

As you sprint or run uphill, you'll find that you'll move on to the balls of your feet.

Leg turnover X stride length = speed.

Remember our drills? High knees, butt kicks and bounding? The aim is to promote leg turnover and optimum stride length.

As distance runners, we value leg turnover more than stride length.

Shorter, faster strides, with low knee lift is what we aim for.

Everybody is different, of course and experience will tell us what combination of turnover and stride length works for each of us.

Don't worry too much about this for the half marathon in 4 weeks, but it' something to think about in the medium term.

Breath - I breathe in and out of my mouth. I need more oxygen than I can get breathing through my nose.

Fatigue - As your tire, focus on your form. Try not to look down or let your head dip or wobble.

Try not to round your shoulders or bend at the waist. Keep your hands down so that the move within the range of your abdomen. Keep your hips lifted.

Hills - Going up - you might find yourself leaning a little more forward than normal. You may want to shorten your stride and increase the rate of your leg turnover. Use your arms and core strength to help you to the top.

Don't pause at the top of the hill, keep the momentum going. Lengthen your stride back to normal.

Going downhill - Lengthen your stride, tilt your head slightly forward and relax.

Be careful though as running downhill is much more stressful on the body than running on the flat.

Don't get too hung up on any of this, just enjoy your running.

350 Fish

IMG_0585
Originally uploaded by Anthony's World

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