Nationwide Swindon Half Marathon and Fun Runs
Training Preparation
Deciding on Your Training Route
The great thing about running is it’s free! Most people can simply step outside their front door and off they go. Most beginners start off by running around the block or down roads by their home, but ideal places are parks, running tracks or on grass (cut close and even). If you run on busy roads, make sure you run facing the traffic so you can see cars coming at you. Footpaths are safer; however, beginners may suffer from common aches and pains such as 'shin-splints' from running on hard concrete.
As your ability to run further increases, you can try more challenging areas such as hills or cross-country. Hills build muscles and cardiovascular strength while heading up and down dale can actually reduce injuries with its soft smooth surfaces. As the Nationwide Swindon Half Marathon is a hilly course, why not follow the actual course route – after all, preparation is key!!!
Is there benefit in using a heart rate monitor?
Yes there is! Well, if you are fairly serious about your training that is. If you are simply happy to get around the course, don’t worry about it. But here’s why some of you may want to consider them…
Distance running is a strange beast; ‘the harder you work the more you’ll gain’ isn’t always true. You can never run too ‘easy’ to get a benefit, but there are times when you can run too ‘hard’. A heart rate monitor is great for controlling when to run hard and when not to.
In the hard training days, a heart rate monitor can be useful to make sure you recover sufficiently and make sure your normal runs are done at the optimum effort without turning them into high intensity workouts.
Aerobic training is generally defined as around 75% of maximum heart rate. So your general steady runs should be whatever your heart rate would be for say 70 to 75% of its maximum. Similarly, long runs (longer than 90 minutes) and high-intensity runs need to be followed by easier recovery days. Generally, easy running is measured as lower than 70% of maximum heart rate.
By using a heart rate monitor to control your general running you can make sure you are achieving the right effort in your aerobic running, which is important, and even more importantly, make sure you’re recovering between those harder long runs and high-intensity sessions.
This is crucial. The biggest mistake people make is doing their aerobic and recovery running too hard and over time they are unable to do their high-intensity running hard enough. Using a heart rate monitor will help you avoid that trap.
