General strengthening and fitness
General strengthening and fitness play an important role in helping me to prepare for my half marathons as it assists in providing a strong foundation for my body to build upon and ensuring my muscles are adapting to my increased workload.
I often use short intervals to help build up my speed in conjunction with some long runs to build my overall fitness and ability to run further without feeling tired. Furthermore, I strengthen my lower body including my calves, hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps to ensure that my muscles are strong and have the capacity to sustain repetitive muscle contractions over long duration events.
Comfortable shoes
Comfortable shoes look different for everyone and are pivotal in helping me to prepare for a half marathon. Just because shoes cost $300 and they are for “performance” doesn’t mean that they are right for you. It is more important that shoes are chosen for comfort rather than looks or status as they will provide you with the most support during your runs leaving your feet and legs feeling much better.
Setting aside time for myself
Setting aside time for yourself is the key to success. We often get caught up in our busy lives including myself whereby I struggle to train either at the gym or run. Something that has worked very well for me is planning out my week to ensure that every day I’m setting aside at least 30 minutes for any form of exercise. I find this a much easier way to set time aside for myself as it is a much smaller time I have allocated to myself rather than needing to find 2-3 hours of free time in a day.
Getting a good night’s rest and ensuring a balanced diet
A good night’s rest along with a balanced diet goes a long way in helping my body to feel recovered and ready to run. The night’s sleep in conjunction with a balanced diet provides my body with the necessary nutrients to ensure an adequate recovery from a long day of work or gym/running session.
Ensuring I focus on all these aspects allows me to train and recover to my full potential readying me for my general training and race day. If you are not confident or need assistance in any of these areas reach out to us EP’s at MOS.
Joel Mascioli
Accredited Exercise Physiologist
