Ready to head out for your first run? Make sure to always:
- Start your practice with a warm-up
- End each session with a cool-down, i.e., walking as your heart rate slowly decreases
- Drink plenty of water – you need to replenish all the fluids you’ve sweated out
- Follow your training with a protein-rich meal – naturally, you should also eat healthy all week long.
Strength training, endurance training, and effective rest days
Let’s go back to the time in between your runs – it’s as crucial as the days you reach your planned kilometres.
Why does resistance training matter for runners? It helps you address any weaknesses and imbalances which could lead to injury the more you run, and the longer these issues remain unaddressed.
What kind of activity should you engage in? Things like lifting weights and performing lunges and squats will all be great, as they’ll help you build muscle and create that functional ‘core’ needed when you run longer distances.
Endurance training – and intervals, in particular – on the other hand, can be a great way to quickly enhance your cardiovascular health. If you struggle with completing a distance on a single attempt without running out of breath, you could introduce a sequence, like a two-minute run, one-minute walk, five to ten times. You’ll cover the same running distance, but the walks in between will help your heart recoup.
Increasing the distance and shortening the low-intensity parts of your intervals gradually will help your body adapt to long-distance runs – and potentially contribute to a better time on the finish line.
Finally, there’s the topic of effective rest days. Don’t skip them, as that’s when your body recovers from your runs and strength training, enabling progress.
Set aside time for enough rest to enjoy an injury-free half-marathon.
Stretching & nutrition
While being in great shape isn’t necessary to take part in a half-marathon, being able to complete it in less than 4.5 hours requires good fitness. And this not only means exercising regularly, with stretching included, but also following the right diet.
Ideally, you should pay attention to what you eat throughout the year, but if you can’t, then try to modify your eating habits while preparing for the run. You need to stock up on glycogen – this means eating vegetables, fruits, starches, and proteins. Stay away from fatty foods, as they will negatively impact digestion, and as a result your performance.
Let’s take a closer look at the foods you should consume.
- Fresh fruits and veggies – try to eat twice as many vegetables as fruit to avoid too much sugar. Both are great energy boosters as they provide a lot of fibre and vitamins.
- Carbohydrates – earlier we mentioned that you needed a lot of glycogen, and carbohydrates are a great source of it. Try to eat them with every meal, on a daily basis, and pick wholemeal foods (including bread, rice, and pasta) as they have more fibre.
- Proteins – you can eat both animal and vegetable proteins – whichever you prefer. However, if you love meat, then try to stick with poultry rather than red meat as the latter is harder on your digestive system.
A few more tips: Use olive oil for cooking, reduce butter, and eliminate saturated fats. Drink plenty of water, and try your best to limit your alcohol intake.
Healthy diet is just one part of the equation. Running regularly might strain your muscle, which is why you need to stretch regularly. It will help you with:
- Preventing injuries – stretching is great for warming up your muscles. They become more elastic and flexible, which reduces the risk of injuries including strains and sprains.
- Improving performance – it loosens up your muscles which enhances your range of motion and muscle efficiency, resulting in better performance.
- Enhancing blood flow – stretching causes muscle oxygenation, which has a positive impact on your physical performance.
- Reducing muscle stiffness – as it improves range of motion and flexibility, stretching reduces muscle toughness, so you can run more comfortably without worrying about injuries.
- Activating key muscle groups – running is heavy on your joints and muscles. Dynamic stretching can help you wake up your key muscle groups like glutes, hamstrings, and calves, so you’re ready to perform at your best.
Listening to your body and common injuries to look out for
Every half-marathon training plan is designed in a way to improve your muscle fitness and performance. And while it’s created to build endurance progressively, which should be safe, sometimes injuries happen. These can be as innocent as blisters (although sometimes they can be a real nightmare), joint pains and sprains, or as serious as fractures, shin splints, and Achilles tendonitis. It’s important to recognize injury symptoms to act and manage them quickly to minimise damage. For example, pain and inflammation might suggest stress fractures or tendonitis.
It’s really important to listen to your body. Do you feel pain or fatigue? You need to learn how to differentiate regular muscle soreness from persistent pain. If you notice any unusual symptoms beyond simple muscle tiredness, such as sharp pain or swelling, it’s best to see a healthcare professional who can provide proper guidance.
