You have visions of running like a world class athlete. The reality is you have as much grace as Bambi on ice. Not to mention after a few faithful sprints you’re gasping for breath and realising that the trek ahead is going to take some training.
Well, we’ve signed up with Glenisk who are supporting the Marie Keating Foundation team at this year’s Flora Women’s Mini Marathon. Glenisk have gathered a team of experts including Aveen Bannon of the Dublin Nutrition Centre and the fitness trainers over at Bodybyrne to provide us with nutrition and training tips for the lead up to the marathon. From stretches, nutrition and posture to mapping your route – we’ve got you covered.
Week 7 – Tapering back your training
You have now conquered the major bulk of training and for the next few weeks, it’s time to prep your body while staying fresh and able to manage the 10km distance come race day. From now until race day, it’s important not to over-train and burn out too quickly.
Taking this into consideration, we will be changing running schedules for all levels this week, with two shorter interval sessions for both levels followed by one long run. This will be our last week of interval training, with the following weeks concentrating on tapering the miles right in to race day. As with previous weeks, keep your strength and core session as this will aid recovery. This will also help move waste products from the body along with your short recovery session.
The experts at Bodybyrne.ie advise getting a sports massage this week. As well as being well deserved, it will act in soothing sore muscles.
Beginners/ Intermediate/ Advanced
Session 1 and 2 – This week, both your first and second session will focus on interval training. Both sessions should last around 25minutes, including a short warm up and a cooling down period. For these session perform 30 seconds of fast running, followed by 90seconds jogging for eight sets. This should last roughly 16minutes in total.
Session 3 – This will be your long run of training this week. Aim to reach 10-12km – this should be your biggest run of the plan.
Session 4 – This session is aimed at increasing your body strength and core and will follow the same routine as last week. This will be a short 20 minute session, and will work in maintaining posture throughout the 10k run.
Perform 4 sets of each exercise with the desired reps below.
Circuit:
1) Body weight squats – 10 reps
2) Push-ups – 10 reps
3) Body weight lunges – 10 each leg
4) Plank – hold 30 seconds – 1 minute
5) Back extension – 10 reps
Nutritional Tips This Week:
Now that we’re in week 7 of our training schedule, we share some top tips to keep your body in check for the weeks running up to the race.
1) Stay hydrated around runs and throughout the day.
2) Leave at least 2 hours after eating to run.
3) Get comfortable in your running gear now.
4) Avoid stimulants such as caffeine when running as it dehydrates you.
5) Stretch regularly for injury prevention
6) Know your target overall time and your individual kilometer pace.
7) Stick to your training plan and don’t overshoot it. Sometimes less is more.
Meal time and recipe suggestions:
- Breakfast should be a mix of slow digesting carbohydrates (oats, granola, wholegrain bread, etc) and fast digesting carbohydrates (bananas, berries, drizzle of honey, etc) to kick start your energy levels and maintain them throughout the morning.
- Pre workout: About 2 hours before your workout you should have a meal consisting of complex carbohydrates (oats, brown, rice, etc) and a good source of protein (chicken breast, turkey breast, eggs, etc).
- Immediately post workout; within 30 minutes of finishing a workout you should have a fast digesting protein source. The best is a good whey protein.
- Post workout meal: Within 1 hour and 30 minutes of finishing your workout you should have a meal similar to your pre workout meal.
- Your afternoon or night-time snack should be small and made from a good protein and a good fat source.
For more clean food inspiration, check out some of the delicious and healthy meal options in the Glenisk recipe section.
