Training Tip #1 - Make Training (and fundraising) a Habit

Training Tip of the Week: Make Training (and fundraising) a Habit

Completing the training for an endurance event requires dedication and discipline. In fact, many people consider the training to be more difficult than the actual event.  For many of you, the training will require more running than you’ve ever done before.  Thus training will require you to break out of your normal habits and routines and make some changes in your life. The reality is that you have to do the hard work of training during the weeks and months ahead in order to successfully cross the finish line.  However, if you follow the training program, starting now, day by day and week by week, I promise that you will be successful this fall.  So avoid the temptation to skimp on the training program and really focus as best you can on two things in the coming months – training and fundraising (family and work obligations aside!).

When to Run?

Find a time during the day that works best for you to complete the training runs, and stick with it. This time may be morning, daytime, after work, whatever time is best for your schedule.  Treat every run like an appointment or assignment and include them on your weekly schedule.  Check each run off when completed.  One note about the weather – training for a fall event, means you will experience summertime heat. When training in the summertime heat, training in the morning is preferred over running in the heat of the day, which leads me to the next topic:

Morning Running:  If you have not run in the morning before, now would be a good time to consider it!  Running in the morning is the best way to assure that your busy schedule does not interfere with your training (and it allows time in the evening for fundraising!) Furthermore, the morning is the coolest time of day, so that will be very helpful coming soon.

If you decide to run before daylight  (or after dark), please consider your personal safety.   Wear reflective clothing, use a headlamp (you can purchase them for as little as $20 at REI or Alpine Shop) http://www.alpineshop.com/ and run with a partner (if possible).  I love to run before daylight on the trails near my house, and use a headlamp and wear reflective clothing.  I started using the headlamp a few years ago after I stepped on rock and rolled my ankle badly!

What If I Have to Skip a Run?

You should consider the training schedule to be somewhat flexible.  In a perfect world, you would complete 100% of the training runs on each required day.  Unfortunately, life has a way of getting in the way of our plans.  For a variety of reasons, you won’t be able to follow the program exactly and that’s expected.  Feel free to move around your rest days as necessary depending on your schedule.  The most important thing is to get the weekly mileage in. If you can complete at least 90% of the training runs, you will be good to go on October 21^st.