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

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

The biggest obstacle to weight loss and how you can solve it in 10 seconds!

They say that; ‘what is measured will improve’ and in almost 15 years of experience as a personal fitness coach that is true about monitoring food intake for weight loss.  I also ask my clients to measure their BMI, weight and Heart Rate daily, but food intake is the most important performance indicator by far.  I use a system where my clients information is captured instantly by camera rather than poring over food diaries for hours trying to remember what they ate for breakfast last weekend!

(Above: Watermelon - I need to drop 12 lbs in the next 3 weeks in preparation for the Ironman triathlon Austria so I'm taking in lots of fruit and water)

As soon as we start to strictly monitor what we eat then weight loss becomes rapid which starts the vital positive feel good cycle.  Clarity on the specific quantities and quality of what we eat helps us to be in reality rather than in denial.  The challenge is how long it takes to monitor our dietary intake in a traditional pen and paper or even using a digital document.

Why is monitoring my food intake is the most imporatnt motivator and performance indicator in losing weight?

The weight loss process is a bit like when someone needs to get out of trouble financially.  Both problems usually only happen if we've been eathing too much or spending too much consistently (barring unusual circumstances). We eventually realise we're in trouble. Despite the warning signs it can end up feeling like like someone jumped off the other side of our see-saw and we hit rock bottom. How did I get to this place? (A bit like the Irish economy!!)

(Above: Mint, avocado, apple and carrot smoothie that Cara and I had on Tuesday. It was gorgeous by the way!)

Both problems are caused by being a little bit careless and/or unconscious about our eating or spending.  If you've ever been in debt then you'll know that the thing that needs to be monitored is your daily financial expenses. To get out of weight trouble the important performance indicator is your daily intake of food and fluids.

With finances, when we spend a bit less than we earn eventually things improve and we get out of detb.  Weight loss is just like that - it is science! If you eat a bit less food than what your body burns off today then your body will find the extra energy it needs in your fat reserves. Fat is actually a much more efficent fuel source. When you train your body to use fat as a fuel source you get more energy as a byproduct. As an endurance athlete I try to train my body to burn fat rather than sugar. 

(Above: When I'm dropping weight quickly I eat lots of oranges - probably too many if that is possible!)

Clarity on exactly what you are eating means that your coach or dietitian can be employed to serve you even more efficiently.  We can adress the real issues rather than trying to guess if food is the cause of the problem.  Food almost always is the cause of the problem.  Reducing quantity of empty foods while improving quality of food in 95% of my clients is the fastest way to shed weight!

(Green salad with dressing and Avocado and bean Salad - Lunch during the week)

The problem with keeping a traditional food diary is that the theory is great but the practical application is hard. Everyone should keep a food diary until they hit their ideal BMI range - right?  

But the practice is another thing - who remembers and bothers to actually fill in how much water they drink every day?  And if you backdate your food diary for last week then let's face it you forget half of what you ate! It is human nature to forget the sneaky secret treats too!

Backdating your food diary is better than nothing but it can give your coach/dietition the wrong information. The solution is so simple - photograph everything that you eat or drink with your mobile phone and store them for that appointment or else email them to your coach..

Every good personal fitness trainer that I know of, every dietitian and many other types of therapists insist that their clients use a food diary despite the obstacles because it is just so important but most people never fill it out.

I’ve been asking my clients to fill out food diaries years but it is like getting blood from a stone! Let’s face it, who wants to stop after every meal and find the document and write it all down? It is boring, repetitive and feels fruitless.. and yet we all know that if we just did it that the weight would improve, the quality of food would improve, the quantity of food would probably lessen due to the accountability aspect and the increased awareness. 

(Above: People are always asking me for weight loss tips - here is one: I ate this many oranges instead of sweet treats like dark chocolate in the last week and lost 5 lbs!)

So here is the solution that I ask my clients to use. They take a photograph of every single meal they eat and send it to me and to their private accountability team. This way is so faster it is almost instant so it saves you time, it saves on paper, the accountability is even higher because the quantities are obvious to see in the image and it strengthens those vital relationships between coach and client and between them and their peer group. 

Make sure that you 'like' The Energy Coach on Facebook & Follow me on Twitter because I post different some content on each platform! 

Posted via email from michaelrossney's posterous