Keeping motivated!
One of the hardest parts of any fitness regime is keeping motivated. Running is no exception although for many the main motivation, at this time of year, is starting to think of the spring marathon we've entered or another target race, such as the Coniston 14, which we regularly attend in fairly large numbers. What many Club members may not be aware of are the large number of on line resources that are currently available, which provide terrific advice, information and data to help support us with our running.
UKA's Power of 10 web site (www.thepowerof10.info/) provides a wide range of data including race times and finishing positions going back at least 6 years and regional and national rankings over a whole range of running distances. Apart from entering the site you don't really have to do a great deal more because all of your results, from qualifying races, are automatically included. Also supported by UKA is Run Britain (www.runbritain.com). Run Britain's remit is to support road running in Britain through a variety of activities including organizing events and training for race organizers and information and support to individuals to help them achieve their running goals. As a motivational tool perhaps the most useful is the handicap score, which is based on the principle of the golf handicap system. It provides great information on what you need to do to improve your handicap score, including advice on training programmes etc. Again, you don't have to do a great deal apart from registering for this particular service. Some members may already be aware of this site but for those who aren't the Runners World Pace Calculator (www.runnersworld.co.uk) is a free facility that allows you to calculate likely race times over a range of distances based on current performance. Just as helpful is the training pace predictor which, based on current performance, will give you target times for a range of training runs from long slow distance to tempo runs. It is uncannily accurate.
Lastly, a plug for the benefits of Park Runs (www. parkrun.org.uk) and a point in the direction of the South Staffs Athletic Network (www.ssan.org.uk), which should shortly include details of a recent presentation by National Endurance Coach, Martin Rush on planning and improving 10k, half marathon and full marathon performances. Our local Park Run is at Conkers Waterside at 0900 hrs every Saturday morning and I know there are a number of Club members, particularly Gerry and Cath, who are regular attendees. The runs are free, well organized and very simple to get involved in. You just have to register, print off your bar code and bring it along to each event. The run is described as a 5k timed run (not a race) on the Moira Furnace trails and is great for measuring improvement, assessing fitness or just a run for fun. The Martin Rush presentation notes will be very useful because they set out in very simple terms the individual elements involved in preparing for the distances referred to above.
All of the above websites stress that they are about improving the enjoyment of running for all abilities and are not the exclusive preserve of racing snakes. Definitely the last word on this subject...... there are a number of qualified coaches at the Club including Dave York and myself who are both qualified to Level 2 and a number of very experienced runners who are more than willing to offer advice or to listen to any suggestions you may have for improving your enjoyment of running generally or running on Club night specifically. Just ask