EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon '08 - Race against climate change

Training Advice

If you are taking part in the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon then you need to make sure you are fit for the challenge. Training plans are available here and they are for runners of all levels – beginners, intermediate and advanced.

Top tips for all runners
Also included are some general training tips which you might find useful too. These tips have been provided by Tim Hutchings, a former international middle and long distance runner and a silver medallist at the World Cross Country Championships in 1984 and 1989.

Tim’s top tips are as follows:

Target Time
Be realistic about your ambitions; if you are very unfit, then aim to just ‘get round’ and if you’re overweight then see your Doctor for a check-up before starting. However, if you are finding a schedule too easy, then move up to the next level and pick up at the same point in time.

Keeping Track
Select a training level from those offered here and do the following:
1) Print it out and put it somewhere prominent, e.g. the fridge door, kitchen wall, or over you desk.
2) Use a bright highlighter pen to mark off the days as they go by, so you can see your training accumulating. This is very motivating and will enable you to keep track of your progress.

Setting Up
Make sure you’ve got some training shoes of a reasonable quality and comfortable clothes to run in

Stretching
This is still a subject for debate, with some experts saying don’t do it till after your run, while others say you should do a little before your run. A good compromise is to make sure that your muscles are warm before starting any exercise – so even on a summer’s evening, it may be worth wearing some tracksuit bottoms or tights initially – and then walking/jogging a few dozen yards before you start ‘the session’. Whether you feel a little tight and stiff or not, it is probably worth doing some very light stretching of the major muscles before running. Make sure you don’t make jerky movements or “bounce”.

Find Someone to Run With!
If you can, find someone to do at least some of your training with. This is probably more important in the early weeks when sticking to the schedule is tougher, but is equally important as an aid on your longer runs, particularly in the second half of the training programme.

Feel the Burn
Remember, that you burn around 100 calories per mile covered, irrespective of the speed you are going at. Serious long distance runners talk about “time on your feet” and this applies to everyone; if you feel you’re doing more walking than running, don’t worry – it all adds up!

Live Well
You are going to be making demands on your body that it is not used to. So it makes sense to:

1) Drink more water – most people don’t drink enough water anyway –
but remember it does not replace salts lost from sweating. A balanced diet will do this, though an isotonic sports drink every couple of days will provide insurance.

2) Eat less but more often – ideally small, healthy snacks (fruit and nuts for example) will keep your energy levels up. Don’t eat a big meal late at night – and don’t skip breakfast

3) Sleep is good for you! As your body is working more, try to grab an extra hour a night; just think, that’s 7 hours extra a week – almost an entire night!

4) If you can build your training in to a daily/weekly routine, it is easier to adhere to and your bodily functions will find their own rhythm too.

Enjoy Yourself
The great thing about an autumn running event, is that you have many weeks of long summer days in which to train. Work out which time of day to run suits you best and try to stick to it. Do what suits you – the most important thing is to do it and enjoy it.