Running Insights: Going Long in 2015

1. Plan for a new, longer distance. 

Time for 5Kers to notch it to 10K, and 10K lovers to look at a half marathon.  Start the year with a 90-day distance goal.

2. Don’t obsess (too much) over nutrition. 

Avoid overkill immediately before or during the race.  Find an easy-to-digest food or nutritional product and experiment only when training. Distances under a marathon are less fine-tuned and more about “don’ts” before the race rather than “dos” during the event.

3. Consider replacement insoles. 

Short of custom-made running shoes, the orthotics inside the model allows you to experiment with fit, balance, breathability and weight.   Active Junky favors spending $20-$50 per pair, planning on trying at least two to dial in what works; budget $50-$100 for insoles.

4. Learn to recover in motion.

While cyclists can shift gear and change positions to go aero during descents, runners needs to maintain their cadence.  Each runner needs their own strategy; one of our runners significantly shortens their stride mid-climb, increasing cadence and reducing strain; near the top, acceleration is their strategy.

5. Create your lexicon of mental mantras.

High performers across athletic disciplines use both visualization and self-talk to overcome pain or avoid falling into sub-par performance.The grunts of tennis players and shouts of martial arts athletes trigger higher output levels.Long distance runners require toolkits to endure the miles without drifting to lower output levels.