It’s the summer time and time to get outdoors and get active. Whether you are looking to satisfy a competitive streak, trying to stay fit or just looking for something new to do with friends, competitions are great to look forward to. Tough mudders, Hell and back challenge, Color runs, triathlons and marathons are increasingly popular events. But where to start if you want to compete and complete one of these? This article is aimed at helping you to get yourself into a position where you can compete, have fun and finish the race.
Step 1: Make a plan
Decide what kind of race you want to do. Do you like the slow steady aspect of a marathon or the variety and challenge of a tough mudder. This will decide a lot of what you need to do to prepare for your race. Pick a realistic timeframe in which to train and a distance which is realistic for you right now.
Step 2: Buy a heart rate monitor (HRM)
There are many merits to heart rate training which have already been discussed in previous articles. To keep things simple a HRM will allow you to make each session efficient and make every bit of effort count towards your performance. Running on how you feel will only get you so far and a lot of your efforts might not necessarily be helping. HRM will make your training a lot more beneficial.
Step 3: Start
Sometimes showing up is half the battle. Just by getting out and getting a few runs will have a very significant benefit. Often the start is the most daunting part. Getting a few runs in will help get you over the break-in soreness of new exercise. It can also help prevent blisters and other nasty issues that can ruin your first race experience. The initial response to training is also quite remarkable. Just a couple of runs could turn what could be a living hell into a quite manageable and enjoyable experience.
Step 4: Pace yourself
Once you get started the next thing will be having discipline. A gradual increase in training is more sustainable both mentally and physically. Beginners have a great tendency to go all out for their first week only to be too sore and tired to get past week two. Let yourself recover and be in a situation where you want to do more rather than dreading the next session because you are so sore. Over time this will be better than beating yourself into the ground each time. It will also help the lazier types who will dread their next session a little less if they enjoyed the previous one.
Step 5: The next step.
Once you become comfortable running or doing whatever the activity is, you now need to become organized with training to keep moving forward. This is where the HRM comes in handy. While you may not be ready for HR zone training you can start getting familiar with how the monitor works. Try doing your regular run whilst maintaining a nice steady heart rate. It can take practice to learn how to manage your pace and breathing to stay in a heart rate zone. Beginners often go off and run as hard as they can letting their heart rate jump up and down. This has little benefit to them; by focusing on keeping their heart rate nice and low and steady they will be prepared to use their HRM better and more effectively for their next race.
The most important thing about racing is that you enjoy it. It is harder to enjoy something which makes you feel like you are about to die. In order to enjoy your hobby you must prepare yourself enough to make it possible. Things take time and you should realize that by just getting moving you’re heading in the right direction. Don’t think of training as a dreaded necessity; it is your hobby, enjoy the sessions and gradually build yourself up. Don’t leave it to the week before a race to train, you’ll only risk disaster and possibly ruin the whole experience for yourself.