WHY?

One question you are going to ask yourself time and again is:  WHY am I doing thi

Whatever your reason you will need to be specific, open and honest, not only with yourself, but those (family and friends) who question your sanity.

1.              Establish your GOALS: short term (next few months) and long term (next year).

2.              List them – in clear, measurable statements

3.              Make them SMARTER – Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely Enjoyable Rewarding:  for example –

“ I Woody B Runner will run 1 mile non-stop by 27 May 2009.  I will celebrate by eating chocolate cake and drinking red wine”

Running is unlikely to achieve your goal all on its own and you need to think about a few other important things like: food, drink, clothing, stretching, core strength and finally, your own safety and that of others.

DIET

You are what you eat.  This is particularly true of athletes/runners.  To run any distance your body needs to draw on stored energy.  This is a very complex process so to keep it simple, let us accept that the body gets its long-term energy from Complex CARBOHYDRATE.

Your diet should consist of approximately:

§  60% complex Carbohydrate – pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, fruits, vegetables and breakfast cereals.  (Simple Carbohydrates – refined sugars, jams, honey, sweets and cakes are not good sources of long term energy.)

§  20% Protein – fish, dairy products, meat and nuts are all good sources of protein, which is essential for repairing and maintaining the body.

§  20% Fat – yes, Fat is an essential part of our diet and is needed to store nutrients and supply energy. 

§  Remember that 1gram of carbohydrate or protein contains 4 calories while 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories.  So the above proportions must be based on calorie intake, not weight

Some general guidance on good eating:

§  Variety – eat as many different things as possible.  (Eat foods from each of the major food groups: dairy, meat, vegetable, fruit and grain) every day

§  Often – eat little and often, this actually helps to burn calories and keeps your metabolism going.

§  Always eat breakfast, lunch and an evening meal.

§  Graze between main meals on fruit, nuts, raw vegetables and low fat cereal bars.

§  Eat starchy carbohydrate foods, less fat, sugar and salt.

§  Eat some carbohydrate immediately after training (a banana or tuna sandwich).

Finally, to lose weight you simply need to burn more calories than you consume.  As a rough guide: ladies should eat about 1500 calories, men 2500 a day.  Regular exercise will demand more calories, so keeping your calorie intake the same but increasing your exercise level should lead to a loss of weight.  Be careful to maintain a healthy balance, if you eat unwisely or eat too little you will not be able to exercise effectively and will impact your immune system, making yourself ill.

 DRINK

 Sorry, we’re talking about WATER. Most people don’t drink enough water and spend the best part of their lives in a state of dehydration.  Normally, this does not really matter, but to an athlete / runner it is very important.  Even a small % loss of body fluid will seriously reduce your performance and could actually damage your body.

How to keep hydrated:

§  drink little and often

§  drink up to 2 litres a day, more when exercising/training

§  drink 500ml 10 minutes before training or racing

§  drink immediately after a training session (to wash down that tuna sandwich)

Water is obviously the cheapest and easiest but many sports drinks are also available.  However, you should be careful at first as many sports drinks contain a lot of sugar and are meant for specific purposes.  You may have heard the term isotonic (Isostar is a well-known brand name).  This means that the fluid has the same concentration as body fluid and is absorbed at the same rate or slightly faster than water.  This is good for general all round use (before, during and after exercise).  As you run longer distances and become more sophisticated in your training, you may want to explore energy replacement drinks containing carbohydrate, but more of this later.

A simple home-made isotonic drink recipe is:  300mls of pure orange juice, a pinch of salt topped up to a litre with water.  The salt (or sodium) is very important in replacing salts lost through sweating.  So always have a drinks bottle with you or at least in your kit bag.  As you begin a simple bottle of water will be fine!

 CLOTHING

Much of this is common sense, but it is worth mentioning a few key points.  You are about to become a ‘runner’, a special breed of individual revered and admired by other human beings, so LOOK THE PART.  Above all, clothing should be comfortable, loose fitting and durable.  There is a lot of good, reasonably priced running gear available, much of it specifically designed for certain weather conditions – keeping you warm and dry when its wet and cold, and cool when it is hot.

Examples of club kit will be available on the night.  As a club member you will get a good discount on club kit and when you enter a race as a BEDFORD HARRIER you should wear the club colours.

Probably the most important part of your running kit is your shoes.  Good shoes will stop all the problems of bad knees, aching back, sore shins that you hear people complain about.  They are not cheap, but well worth the investment.  To help you find your way through the technology of today’s running shoe maze, we have photocopied a page from a popular running magazine –‘Running Fitness’.  This magazine is an excellent read for those starting out on the running and fitness road.  Follow this guide and you won’t go far wrong.  Good socks are also very important to stop blisters and to give that extra support.  Very necessary support can also be gained from a good sports bra or jock strap.

One very important piece of advice at any time of year is to wear something bright and visible. 

BE SEEN, BE SAFE is a good maxim.  High visibility vests are available from the club kit shop and are mandatory on club nights in the winter months.

STRETCHING AND CORE STRENGTH

Finally, you will be introduced to a number of stretching routines as part of the ‘programme’.  Warming up before you begin to exercise is very important.  More important is a gentle, structured warm down afterwards.

Begin each session by gently jogging and doing a few basic stretches of the major muscle groups beginning from the head down.  Major muscle groups include your shoulders, abdomen, back, thighs, hamstrings and gluteals (buttocks).  These stretches take only about 10 seconds each and should be preceded by a good warm-up.

At the end of your session warm down, possibly by jogging the last few hundred metres and then repeat the warm up routine only take about 30 seconds for each of the stretches.  A routine like this will stop you being stiff the next day and help towards building good core strength.

 *****************************************************************************************************************************