Achill Blog 2: How to avoid last minute mistakes and use low intensity exercise to recover..

At this point in your training you may be recovering from an injury or ‘niggle’ or perhaps you have left it a bit late in the day to finish your ideal training for the Achill 1/2 Marathon on 7th July. Either way, don’t panic, here are a few options to help you to build up your fitness (and your confidence in your fitness) without overtraining.

Now is the time to treat your body gently. You probably still have a long run or two to squeeze in which is all the more reason to take great care of yourself through nutrition, massage, physiotherapy and/or active recovery which we are going to focus on today.

 

The big mistake to avoid at this stage:

The biggest mistake I see people make when it comes to training before an event is to succumb to fear that they aren’t prepared enough. I’ve see too many people to try to overcompensate at the last minute by doing huge runs. The danger is that you end up burned out or injured before the event even starts.

(Above: Fresh fruit and veg to pre-hydrate in a natural, nutritious way!)

In the final weeks before a race very few people feel like they’ve prepared enough. That is natural so don’t worry and let’s focus on what you can do! With three weeks to go then you can probably get two to a three long runs in before the event (assuming you are a runner/jogger of course!) I would personally, in an ideal world, take a full week of rest from running before a half marathon so I’d suggest doing your last run no later than Friday 29th June or Saturday 1st July. If you feel pain in the joints during the last long run then note it and get treatment if necessary but don’t keep running on it. What can I do with less than three weeks to go before the Achill 1/2 Marathon?  

 

3 low impact, low intensity forms of exercise

You can still build up your base levels of fitness around your long runs by engaging in low impact, low intensity training. This flushes out lactic acid from your muscles, strengthens the heart and prepares the body for a long day on 7th. Lactic acid is is a byproduct of exercising at a high intensity and it causes pain in the muscles. Lactic acid can be flushed out of the system by cooling down and eating healthily post exercise. 

I sugggest any of these activities as a form of ‘active recovery’ to loosen out the muscles, flush out lactic acid and improve your confidence in your fitness on days between your long runs.

• Walking a long distance at a slow pace (wearing appropriate footwear). This can loosen out the muscles, build your base level of fitness and at the same time build your confidence that you can cover the half marathon distance.

• Walking lengths (or widths if more practical) of your swimming pool helps improve fitness. It sounds easy but it is quite tiring. If you choose this option then make sureyou are hydrating properly before and afterwards.
  
• Cycling is a wonderful way to improve your run. It is low impact, it can activate the hamstrings (especially when using bike shoes) and if you don’t let yourself get out of breath then it burns stored fat and flushes out the lactic acid created from a hard run.

Posted via email from The Energy Coach Blog

How Jenny lost three stone in less than three months by changing her 'story' about herself and food..

(Training period - October 1st 2011 to December 28th 2011) 

“As a mother of seven kids I didn’t think I had time to think of myself.  My self image was at rock bottom and I treated myself like a dust-bin.  I felt guilty constantly.  I felt like an onlooker in my own life.  After years and years of yo-yo dieting I had achieved my target weight 3 times but then life kicked in and I would put the weight back on again.  I knew I could lose weight but I hesitated because I though I would end up putting it back on again because that is what I always did.  I kept thinking that if I lost the weight again - it would be like a house of cards that would inevitably fall down.

 

Everyone has their own personal inner pain and brokenness.  But for overweight people their brokenness is on display.  They have to wear the evidence of it like a shameful sign around their necks.  Many people hide their problems with anger or substance abuse but overweight people walk around with theirs on display all day long like a sign around their necks that says ‘I’m broken and I’m not worth it.’

 

During my mentoring with The Energy Coach I shared my story about food and self image for the fist time.  It was like I confessed everything! Seeing it on paper helped - I had never really seen it in the light of day.  I got annoyed about my old story about why I couldn’t lose weight.  I knew that I had to surrender now or keep going with the same behavior so I said ‘STOP!  I’ve had enough of this!’  The process of telling my story out loud made me feel that I am in control of my own destiny, more empowered. 

 

I changed the metaphors I had used to describe my life.  I felt that I had been treating my body like a bin.  I decided to ask ‘How would I treat myself if I felt like a princess!’  I decided  to focus on that fact that I am focusing on the real root causes of my weight issues.  Therefore this time I am building a house of bricks rather than a house of cards.

 

For the first time I really looked at the roots of my unhealthy eating.  I found out why I used food as a crutch.  I looked at my self image - Why I was doing that to myself?  Why was I feeling so disempowered?  

 

I was by no means starving during the three months I lost 42 pounds.  I ate lots of live healthy foods but I wasn’t perfect!  I did a couple of days drinking smoothies only when my weight loss slowed down because I wanted to hit my target quickly.  I didn’t stick to a specific regime/program.

During the hard moments I had to remember that I was worth it.  At times I didn’t feel like continuing.  People expected me to eat unhealthy foods and sometimes dropped in junk food as a gift which was tempting.  I remembered that feeding an emotion wasn’t going to heal the emotion - that helped me to avoid eating some donuts - that was a real breakthrough moment for me.  To get through a few tough times I thought about what cost would it have on my daughter if I treat myself disrespectfully again - she looks up to me and kids copy what they see! 

 

I recommend working with Michael & The Energy Coach because it was a safe place for me to tell my story.  He understood what it was like because he has been through the process himself.  He helped me to focus on the roots of the problem rather than just telling me what I need to do.  I felt that I had someone rooting for me.  The process was empowering.  It gave me the courage to go forward and the levels of follow up and accountability were exceptional.  It has helped my relationships and feeling more confident has helped me to go back to learning and focus on my career for the first time in years.”

 

Jenny, 

Dublin.

(Name changed to protect Jenny's privacy)

MarathonFlyer.pdf Download this file

 

Posted via email from The Energy Coach Blog

How do I give myself treats and rewards as I lose weight? How do I do it without feeling like I'm hanging on by my finger-nails?

Many people’s ‘reward’ themselves at the end of a hard day by self harming.  A cigarette, too much alcohol, a chocolate binge or a combination of all three.  This may emotionally feel rewarding momentarily but it is not rewarding your body - it is abusing yourself.  Like all addictive behavior’s the after effects mentally and emotionally are probably more destructive than the actual 'acting out'.

(5 ideas for healthy rewards at the bottom of the page)

[[posterous-content:pid___0]](Above - lunch in Cornucopia today - my treat for updating The Energy Coach Website and hitting my target weight before Ironman in 2.5 weeks)

 

Learning to treat yourself with dignity and respect takes time.  In my opinion regaining ones self-respect is the most fulfilling, dignifying and rewarding part of the weight loss process.  For both men and women, feeling like you are worth it and treating yourself accordingly, feeling worthy of respect and treating yourself according is an infinitely more enjoyable outcome than just being three stone lighter.

 

When people are trapped in addiction they feel like there is nowhere to go.  That they are ‘damned if they quit and damned if they don’t.’  One of our objectives in my Mentoring Groups is to  to establish a new way of thinking which is polar opposite to ‘damned if you quit and damned if you don’t.’  Our objective is that you feel that this process, the results, the speed of results, the steps themselves all feel; ‘too good to be true.’

 [[posterous-content:pid___1]]

(Above: Today's lunch which was a green juice, raw cold soup which sounds awful but tastes fantastic, salad, fruit salad, veggie pate with crackers. Total €11.95)

 

The key to sustainability is in finding ways to enjoy the new journey so that you wouldn’t dream of going back to your old behaviors.  We do this by ensuring the new way of living is fun.  What you initially anticipate as a painful activity (like exercise) may end up becoming the highlight of your day.  Beginners who start running but don’t know what they are doing can suffer initially (especially if they don’t have a mentor) but they cross the ‘pain barrier’ eventually.  One day they go out for their monotonous run and they get a ‘runner’s high’ and their mindset shifts forever - they love running!

 [[posterous-content:pid___2]]

If I’m totally honest I’m still learning healthy ways to reward myself. Let me know if you have some great ideas yourself!

5 things I use as a healthy reward are: 

• Time to chill out in the sauna and do some stretchs
• Expensive organic delicious herbal teas. We go to Les Palais Des Thes on Wicklow St and it is fantastic.
• A gorgeous meal in Cornucopia vegetarian restarurant which is also on Wicklow St
• Massage
• Damage control: If I'm desperately craving chocolate then I buy high quality dark chocolate like Butlers (Guess where there is a store?  -Wicklow St conveniently enough!). I find that I don't want to eat as much dark chocolate and it is a lot lower in sugar and dairy than milk chocolate.

 [[posterous-content:pid___3]]

Posted via email from The Energy Coach Blog

Achill Half Marathon: With 3 weeks to go - What should I be focusing on?

Achill 1/2 Marathon Tip: Don't panic - You can do this! 

Congratulations on Signing up for the Achill 1/2 Marathon. It is a spectacular part of the world and we're looking forward to a fun day of comraderie and gorgeous scenery. 

I'm delighted to be the official coach for the Achill Half Marathon. If you want details on my background please have a look at my website. 

Most people running an event like this start to feel 'butterflies in their tummies' with only a few weeks to go - that is natural - no need for healthy concern to turn to panic!  

We are aiming to post a tip each day to help you to stay relaxed and on top of everything. You can read along and tick a few things off your half marathon to do list each day. You'll know what to expect and be ready for it whatever your fitness level. 

If your nerves are really playing up then focus on the worst scenario logically for a moment.  Can you walk 21k slowly?  If so then let's celebrate that and stick to the plan, make sure you are there on 7th July wheter you are running walking or jogging. Let's get the distance complete and then you can use that time as a benchmark if you like. Enjoy the scenery and just get that medal!

 

Leave a comment below if you have any specific questions or concerns and I will try to answer them in the coming three weeks. Subscribe to the blog if you want to be emailed the tip every day. 

Tomorrow's Tip is about active rest days to give the joints a break but keep the fitness high. 

Posted via email from The Energy Coach Blog

10 Reasons to give the Dublin Marathon a bash this year (October 29th 2012)

• You’ve got plenty of time to do, and to do it right! With twenty something weeks to go you could do a marathon in late October even if you are a complete beginner to running or ‘couch potato’ now! (Run the idea past your GP first before going running, of course!)

• You’re more likely to regret the things that you don’t do in life rather than the ones that you do! Wouldn’t it be better to be able to be in better shape and say ‘Well I gave it a shot this year and didn’t quite make it’ than to say ‘I didn’t get around to it, again, this year!’

• For most of us, that first marathon seems impossible. Can you imagine how empowered you will feel after you’ve just done what previously seemed impossible? 

• We’ve got long evenings and the sun is up very early at this time of year. You might just be able to squeeze in a walk, jog or run before or after work.

• Mental health: Committing to a marathon is like committing to giving yourself a mental health boost a few times a week for the next few months.  The training will get you outdoors, meeting new people and maybe out of that rut!

• An enormous percentage of Irish people are enormous! I was one of them! Slow, low intensity exercise over a long period of time is the optimal way to burn off stored fat. I know because my gentle marathon training (combined with some intelligent eating) helped me to shed three stone in three months!

• 
  The social element of running a marathon can be wonderful. When you share a long run with a friend then talking helps to pass the time and to distract focus from the miles to go. Running is a very ‘real’ activity and the challenge of it helps to bypass superficial conversation, you get to know people quickly.

• Running relationships are a great way to multitask and hang out with those friends that are just too important to let go of but that you are too busy to see regularly. Some days you’ll be the encourager and other days you’ll need all the encouragement but either way the shared journey will be a bonding experience.

• The day itself is one of the most emotional, inspiring and encouraging experiences that I have ever had.  I loved the first marathon so much that I’ve done another four since then and I’ve another two booked this year. I’m not saying it will be pain-free but the pain fades away and is soon forgotten while the experience of comraderie and interaction with the spectators will lift your spirits every time you think back on the day.

• The finishers t-shirt, the medal and the bragging rights after the marathon! The medal is physical anchor which reminds you of this momentous achievement and a tangible reference for success and progress as you look back over your achievements in 2012. 
  
  

 

Posted via email from michaelrossney's posterous

10 Reasons to give the Dublin Marathon a bash this year (October 29th 2012)

• You’ve got plenty of time to do, and to do it right! With twenty something weeks to go you could do a marathon in late October even if you are a complete beginner to running or ‘couch potato’ now! (Run the idea past your GP first before going running, of course!)

• You’re more likely to regret the things that you don’t do in life rather than the ones that you do! Wouldn’t it be better to be able to be in better shape and say ‘Well I gave it a shot this year and didn’t quite make it’ than to say ‘I didn’t get around to it, again, this year!’

• For most of us, that first marathon seems impossible. Can you imagine how empowered you will feel after you’ve just done what previously seemed impossible? 

• We’ve got long evenings and the sun is up very early at this time of year. You might just be able to squeeze in a walk, jog or run before or after work.

• Mental health: Committing to a marathon is like committing to giving yourself a mental health boost a few times a week for the next few months.  The training will get you outdoors, meeting new people and maybe out of that rut!

• An enormous percentage of Irish people are enormous! I was one of them! Slow, low intensity exercise over a long period of time is the optimal way to burn off stored fat. I know because my gentle marathon training (combined with some intelligent eating) helped me to shed three stone in three months!

• 
  The social element of running a marathon can be wonderful. When you share a long run with a friend then talking helps to pass the time and to distract focus from the miles to go. Running is a very ‘real’ activity and the challenge of it helps to bypass superficial conversation, you get to know people quickly.

• Running relationships are a great way to multitask and hang out with those friends that are just too important to let go of but that you are too busy to see regularly. Some days you’ll be the encourager and other days you’ll need all the encouragement but either way the shared journey will be a bonding experience.

• The day itself is one of the most emotional, inspiring and encouraging experiences that I have ever had.  I loved the first marathon so much that I’ve done another four since then and I’ve another two booked this year. I’m not saying it will be pain-free but the pain fades away and is soon forgotten while the experience of comraderie and interaction with the spectators will lift your spirits every time you think back on the day.

• The finishers t-shirt, the medal and the bragging rights after the marathon! The medal is physical anchor which reminds you of this momentous achievement and a tangible reference for success and progress as you look back over your achievements in 2012. 
  
  

 

Posted via email from michaelrossney's posterous