running

How To Train For Your First Half-Marathon

How To Train For A Half-Marathon Part 1: Training and Recovery So, you’ve entered a half-marathon? Good for you! Entering races is a great way to maintain motivation to keep active in these difficult times. You might now be feeling a little apprehensive about training to run 13.1 miles. Don’t worry, I am here to help! Read on for my top tips for training, recovery and motivation when it comes to preparing to run a half-marathon. Hint: rest days are…

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tips for new runners

7 Tips For New Runners

7 Tips For New Runners to help you get (and keep) running Are you a new runner? Maybe you started running more in lockdown? Me too, I have a race to train for (this is what happens when you work with runners!) Like many, I am not used to running. I am a power athlete; much more at home in the gym under a bar than splashing through puddles on the canal path. With that in mind I am trying…

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recover from a run

5 Things You Should Do To Recover After A Run

5 things you should do to recover after a run “We can only benefit from the sessions we recover from” Shona Halson If you’re wondering how to recover after a run, then you’re in the right place. Recovery is one of the most fundamental principles of training. A lot of people spend a lot of time worrying about what type of training is best, how much to do and when to do it, yet no time thinking about how to…

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sweet spot

How To Increase Running Mileage Safely: Finding The Sweet Spot

How To Increase Running Mileage Safely. Part 2: Finding The Sweet Spot In this blog I will outline how to manage training load and find the sweet spot to improve readiness to train and reduce the risk of injury. If you haven’t yet read part 1 then I’d recommend you head back and read it before moving on to this blog. You can read it here. Finding the ‘sweet spot’ We know that a high training volume is supportive of…

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increase running mileage

How to: Increase Running Mileage Without Getting Injured

How to: Increase Running Mileage Without Getting Injured Part 1: Monitoring your training load How to increase running mileage? It’s the age-old problem. How much is too much? With running we inevitably want to run faster or further but doing so often leads to injury or illness. This then requires a step back in training and progress is often lost. As a runner you want to do your best to avoid this. So how do you get the balance right?…

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How To Get Faster By Running Slower

How To Get Faster By Running Slower Want to know how to get faster by running slower? Part 2 of the ‘Physiology of Endurance Training’ blog series covers the different types of running training you should be doing and why. If you’ve not read part 1; ‘The Core Components of Endurance Training’, I’d suggest heading there now and coming back here later. Now we know what factors constitute successful endurance performance (if you don’t, head to the previous blog by…

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successful endurance performance

The Core Components Of Successful Endurance Performance

The Core Components Of Successful Endurance Performance In order to produce a successful endurance performance, you must first establish an effective training plan. In this blog I am going to discuss the basic physiology that underpins endurance exercise and the factors that contribute to successful endurance performance. Having this understanding is an important first step in executing a successful performance; whether it be run, bike, ski, row or swim. But first, back to school… When we undertake endurance exercise the predominant…

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strength workout

How To: Progress Your Strength Workouts

How To: Progress Your Strength Workouts There are three important principles of training that I consider when planning strength workouts. Is it getting harder over time? This is the principle of progressive overload. Will it move the person towards their goal? This is specificity. Am I allowing adequate recovery for adaptation to take place? This is the principle of recovery; and it’s a balancing act as giving too much leads to reversibility (when you lose your gains). In this blog…

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Running And Strength Training

How To: Balance Running Training With Strength Training

How To: Balance Running Training With Strength Training Concurrent training is when you manage strength training alongside running training. It is an effective way to bolster endurance performance but getting the balance right between the two needs some consideration. In this blog I will discuss the general consensus for how to programme concurrent training for runners, including why it is beneficial and some common concerns. First of all, it is important to consider what determinants constitute endurance running performance.  These…

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Run Strong members

How To: Get The Most Out Of A Virtual Class Or Membership

How To: Get The Most Out Of A Virtual Class Or Membership How many of you have started attended a ‘virtual class’ over lockdown? Having jumped on this trend too, I have to admit I love the accessibility and ease of the virtual environment. There is no travel time, I can work with people who live all over the world and, despite it being virtual, it still provides a sense of connection and community. And I say this as a…

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