23 FEBRUARY 2020

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For those who read the article in last week’s Islander, this is the second article.  For those who are seeing this event for the first time, you’ve already missed a week’s training so have some work to do!!

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By now, you should have moved yourself forward for a mile and should rightly feel very pleased with yourself. 

 

As I said last week, this training programme is for beginners and your New Year resolutions may have included getting fitter or setting yourself a challenge; this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting on!  This week’s challenge is to move yourself in a forward direction for 2 miles to build on the mile you’ve already completed.

 

This might seem daunting but it is necessary if you want your Dew Pond Challenge to be trouble free. Try to include a hill or two in your route (for obvious reasons) and the best way to do this is to measure a mile from a set point using your car milometer and just run/walk to that point and return.  It doesn’t really matter if you run all the way, walk all the way or a combination of both but as long as by the end of the week you have completed the distance and raised your heart rate.

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It is important to mention hydration here.  If you haven’t run a distance before or exercised to this level, you won’t have much idea of your hydration needs which is why training is so useful for your body.  You will see many adverts promoting electrolyte replacement fluids, energy drinks and powerburst potions all of which claim they will enhance your performance – what rubbish!  A glass of water with a small pinch of salt and some sugar stirred in is exactly the same thing although it won’t have a brightly coloured bottle or a million pounds of advertising behind it to convince you otherwise.

 

Real ale enthusiasts can sup from the nearest armpit.  Plain water is best and unless you are performing at an elite level, isotonic or energy drinks are unnecessary.  How often do you see elite runners in a 10k event in international games drinking anything on the track?   This is why training and testing your body is so important. 

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We are moving quickly towards the big day – nothing to worry about!  It will all be about taking part and doing your best on the day.  Next week will include some dos and don’ts on the day to help you prepare more and, as you might expect, encouragement to cover 3 miles – nearly half way up the hill!

 

Good luck with your training, see you next week.......