Reflection of Training

Reflection of Training

Factors I would change in my training programme and leading up to the run:

·         I followed my training programme, except the recovery weeks. Having recovery weeks would have prevented getting the flue and burning out in week five and six. Progressive overload sessions wouldn’t have been delayed, restricting improvement.

·         Having more of a variety for CRF, training was mainly running which was specific however including more time on the bike and cross trainer would mix it up as I had got bored of running towards the end.

·         Muscular endurance was planned in trainings but not always carried out; sticking to this could have prevented injuries along the way.

·         A nutritious diet is essential when training for a half marathon, when I started my no carbohydrate and sugar diet for my skin I soon became weak and found it difficult to have energy for long run. I was lucky I had a few days to have carbohydrates before the race day.

 

Factors I would keep in my training programme and leading up to the run:

 

·         Motivation was a key ingredient to my success of achieving my goal. Wanting to gain a higher level of fitness and lose weight really motivated me to keep active. I trained at every gym session and was focused along the way due to my motivation.

·         In body comp was a very valuable tool to have at the start, middle and end as it showed my progress along the way. Results showed I had lost weight, gained muscle and my waist to hip ratio had gone down, it was clear that improvement was being made which encouraged me to keep training.

·         I would keep the every four week recovery sessions as learning the hard way they are the most important factor for improvement and energy. I would keep them in my training program but also do them.

·         Map my run was a great app that Brendan introduced me too, this app mapped all the runs I did with the duration, distance, intensity and calories. It was a key tool in showing my improvement throughout the 11 weeks.

·         Music when running for me helps keep the pace up and take away bad thoughts e.g. hearing yourself breathing, I’m tired, always looking at the time. I made a play list for the race day starting off with motivation music then last 6km up beat fast music to keep me going till the finish line. I would definitely keep using music when training.

·         GU gels were used on race day, these gave me the essential electrolytes needed as I was running. They were also a mental factor thinking ‘cool I have had my gel, keep going Nat’. I think they were a real success as I kept a steady pace the whole way and towards the finish line still had energy to push.

·         Having a goal to train towards definitely helped with motivation to train. Before this goal I found it difficult to find the motivation each day to make the effort to do exercise however aiming towards a half marathon with a time limit got me excited and focused. I will definitely use goals in the future to keep a high level of physical fitness.

 

Completing the half marathon with 27min to spare in my goal time was such an amazing feeling. I am very happy I chose this challenge as it had shown me I can do anything if I put my mind to it (and train hard), and I am very happy to be fit and active again. During the journey I lost 4kg, I have more energy and feel more confident within myself which is cool!

Principals of training:

Principals of training that applied to my training program:

Due to my level of physical fitness at the start of my training program I used the principal of training concept (F.I.T.T.) to improve my fitness and adapt my body to running. The overload principal states that ‘Physiological adaptations to exercise occur when individuals focus the body to demand greater than what the body is used to.’ 

 Progressive overload is important in my training to ensure my body and physical fitness is ready for high performance running such as a half marathon.

F.I.T.T. principle states that fitness is improved by performing the appropriate frequency, intensity, time and type of activity. Ignoring one of these components could decrease benefits of training.

                                   Table showing Components of fitness in training program wk1-11.

 

Frequency: Increase the number of time you train per week:

This technique was used as every third week another training was scheduled into my training program. By adding another component of fitness this would increase the amount of CRF increasing my physical fitness, training closer towards my goal.

 

Intensity: Increasing the difficulty of the exercise you do:

I made sure the intensity was increasing progressively to ensure progress was being made. I was running 6km/h at the beginning of my training however as I got a good base of physical fitness the intensity of training would increase to 5.30km/h and 5km/h.

In the gym increasing squats from 1x20reps – 2x20reps – 3x20 reps over a period of time showed improvement and overloading preparing the body.

Leg press: Starting off with 1x8pres and increasing to 3x8reps.

 

Time: Increasing the length of time that you are training for each session:

By increasing the time I was running each CRF session this lead me towards my goal. Training started off running 15-20 minutes and increase up to an hour in the final weeks.

 

Type: Increase the difficulty of training you are doing.

I progressed from jogging for 15min to running for 40-50min a session. Training days including running fast 4:40km/h increase intensity for 20mins. Increas ing the number of reps to improve Muscular Endurance to gain endurance training for long runs.

 

Specificity:

CRF: Running

Muscular Endurance: Leg press, squats, lunges.

Core strengthening: Crunches

Flexibility: Stretches for recovery and to prevent injuries.

 

When planning my training program to complete a half marathon it was important I incorporated specific training components appropriate to the sport I was training for. Components used were, CRF, muscular endurance, core strength and flexibility.

 

Cardio respiratory system refers to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory system to supply oxygen to skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity. CRF training involved running as I was training for a half marathon running was the most specific training. Duration and intensity was increase as the training progressed.

 

Muscular Endurance is an important health-related component of physical fitness. ‘Muscular endurance is defined as one’s ability to perform many repetitions with a sub maximal resistance over a given period of time.’ Therefore muscular endurance prevents undue fatigue and allows success. The muscular endurance training I completed was the leg press, body weight squats and lunges. As these focused on the muscles groups, quadriceps and gluteus. There are two type of Muscular Endurance; Dynamic Endurance and Static Endurance. I focused on Dynamic Endurance as it is a muscles ability to contact and relax repeatedly.

 

Core strengthening: Crunch exercises were used to strengthen the anterior abdominals. Focusing on this areas improves running technique and avoids back injury as the abdominals support the back muscles.

 

Flexibility: refers to the range of movement in a joint and length in muscles that cross joints. Stretching is a common exercise component to maintain or improve flexibility. Flexibility maintains the body’s ability to move well, where the mobility of joints, elasticity of tendons and ligaments, relaxation of muscles are important. Helps prevent injuries from occurring and stabilizing the body.

Energy System:

Energy System:

The targeted energy system used is the Aerobic energy system (long-term energy system). This energy system relates to my challenge (1/2 marathon) as it is an endurance run therefore the long-term energy system is required. The food we eat such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins, is used as fuel for reactions in the body to keep us functioning. To use these fuels for muscle action, the body converts them to a common energy currency called adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP). There are two mechanisms for producing ATP, the aerobic and anaerobic pathways. I will be using the aerobic energy system. There are three different fuels used when doing endurance running, 1. Creatine phosphate is energy used within the first few seconds, 2. Glycogen stores are used for energy until this runs out, 3. Fatty acids are used for energy for the rest of the endurance time. All these fuels break down to make ATP which is crucial for muscle action and is crucial to my training and when completing my ½ marathon. It is important that I fuel my body with the correct nutrition before the run to make sure I have the energy for the ATP system to work and for good muscle endurance.

 

Race day!

                                                           Race day!

Nerves were flowing the night before I had a good dinner of steak, potatoes and vegetables, drinking plenty of fluids of course! I had my bag packed and drinks ready. Waiting at the starting line for the gun to be shot was nerve racking, there were very few people participating, they all looked fit and all kitted out in their gears, I thought wow this is going to be interesting. We started off; I kept at the back keeping a steady pace not wanting to burn out too early. Every five km there were water stations, as I approached these I took a GU gel followed by water. Once I got to the ten km I had already passed a few people and after the 10km I kept a steady pace and slowly passing people. This was good for my motivation to keep going. Finally we hit the 15km mark and the wind was behind us, I kept chugging away and was excited that there was not long to go. Getting closer to the finish line and starting to see supporters made it clear I was nearly done. Running up the finish line finishing my first ever ½ marathon in 02:03:00 was an awesome feeling.

My goal time was 02:30:00 and I completed it in 02:03:00, therefore achieved my goal. The training had paid off and I had a good running day.

                                          Night before nutrition intake- steak, potato and veges!

                                      Pre - race photo, argh nerves very high. Sunny day out in Outram

Finally running towards the finish line...21.1km is a looooong way!

 

Outram half Marathon nailed! BOOM!

 

Training Journey

Trainging Journey:

Wk 1-3: The first weeks of training were very difficult, I was tired after running 15-20 minutes. This gave me a base line of my current physical fitness; I soon learnt I was going to have to put in a lot of training to achieve my goal 02:30:00min.

During the three weeks I slowly increased the time and intensity, by slowly increasing these two factors I was avoiding overloading and good recovery time until my physical fitness improved to the stage of overloading being positive.

                             

                       Training over the farm in the holidays...best place eveeeer!

 

Wk 4-6: Every fourth week was made a recovery week by decreasing the daily load this would allow by body to recover, as my body was adjusting to running it was important I gave myself the rest to carry on. However this was not the case I ignored the recovery week and continued with training increasing running time. This was due to not feeling like I had made much improvement however as shown in my training program I ran for 40mins showing an improvement from the first three weeks.

Column graph showing: Recovery Wk 4 planned and actual exercise completed.

 

Consequences of not have a recovery week soon paid off, I came down with the flue in week five continuing to week six. Affects on training that occurred were a decrease in training time and intensity due to low energy levels. I realised that recovery weeks were very important and they should not be ignored! I was very worried that I had lost the base fitness I had built in the first weeks of training; Brendan assured me this would not be the case.

Table of wk 6 - sick week, I came down with the flue due to being run down and not having a proper rest week. Is marked in red as the trainings that were completed were very low impact and trainings planned some where not completed.

                                                           

                                                One of my favourite places to run - the reservior

Wk 7-9: Week seven I had recovered and was back into training running 30-40minutes with an intensity of 6.  From Thursday onwards mum came to visit for the weekend to watch the AB’s game, this was a weekend of drinking and yum food so training went out the door ohooo! In week seven I strained my left leg, this caused a sharp pain up left side of my body. Due to this injury I seek chiropractic help to support my training. I was advised to ice and stretch after each training.  Week eight was another recovery; I decreased the amount of trainings with a few light trainings however kept one or two intense trainings in there to keep me going. Week nine training stepped up to completing 10km – 13 km at this stage I was focusing on endurance and getting long runs in to prepare for 21.1km. Good training week felt really fit and happy with my progress.

 

This harbour track was a training route for me, great scenery and track except for when the wind picked up!

Wk 10-11: Training in week 10 was similar to week nine, high intensity and duration to prepare my ability of endurance running. After running I had pain in my Achilles tendon in my left leg, I iced and massaged with deep heat. This helped towards my next run but had to continue this after each run otherwise I would be in pain.

Graph showing wk 11 tapering week:

 

I went on a special diet for my eczema which included no yeast products, carbohydrates and to cut out sugar as this was making my eczema really bad. Training became very difficult and I had no energy...soon realizing that all these components are essential to carry out physical fitness. I became very stressed and realised that I need to increase my carbohydrate intake before the run to ensure I have energy.

Week eleven I started tapering with only four different trainings with a low intensity. Midway through the week I started to increase my intake of carbohydrates and fluids building up to the race day Sunday!

 

                   Beaut of a day while completing my 10km route round the harbour.

Improvement throughout the 11 weeks.

Figures, tables, graphs showing improvement throughout the 11 weeks.

Table and graph above show improvement in training over the 11 weeks. It is clear in the middle of the graph that the first recovery week is not completed therefore in week 5 and 6 there is a dip or medium in the graph where no improvement is made due to getting sick. However towards the end it picks up and shows duration and loading increasing.

Graph and table above showing below the progress made every 3 weeks in the training program. The graph starts off improving slowly this was while I was getting a base fitness then the graph takes off from wk 6 - 11 showing these weeks increasing the duration and intensity to achieve my goal.

Pie graph above showing the distance progress over 11 weeks. Starting at wk1 with 10km, progress is made however at week 6 the distance covered is down to 10km again due to being sick. Progress is shown again with week 9 at 31km and week 11 at 33km.

                                             Inbody tests and results - Natalie Cameron

 

Inbody compostion results from start, middle, end of my training journey results shown in table above:Results from the inbody test show positive improvements from continuous physical fitness. Results show that throughout the 11 weeks, a weight loss of 3.9kg occured, Muscle Mass increased by 3g and my Body Fat Mass decreased by 4.5kg. These results align with the specific exercise I was training in - running as weight loss and muscle mass improved. BMI improved by decreasing 1.4kg, Percentage body fat decreasing by 4.6%, WHR decreasing by 0.04 and BMR icnreasing by 12 kcal. All of these factors meant I had lost body fat therefore I was lighter making it easier to run.  As muscle mass had increased this showed me in test 2 that the Muscle Endurance I had been doing was working, and that the long endurance runs were adjusting my body to running. All of these results encouraged me to continue with the training as the results were showing progress and the hard work I had put in was paying off and I was getting closer to my goal.

 

 

Reference

Reference:

Web:

Top end sport (10/19/12) Energy Systems Interactive Learning Resources: Retrieved from: http://www.topendsports.com/medicine/systems.htm

Lecture Slides (2012) Exercise Prescription and Programming Theory. Retrieved from:

·         http://moodle.op.ac.nz/course/view.php?id=2167

·         http://moodle.op.ac.nz/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=145529

·         http://moodle.op.ac.nz/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=146251

·         http://moodle.op.ac.nz/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=146871

 

Training Principels (17/09/12) Brian Mac – Sport and Coaching. Retrieved from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/trnprin.htm

Books:

BIZLEY, K. (1994) Examining Physical Education. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers

Otago Polytechnic (2012) Gym – Based Training Techniques Resource manual. Otago, New Zealand.

SMARTY GOAL:

Tables showing overview of weekly daily loading and components of Fitness targeted:

 

 

Specific:

What: Complete a ½ marathon within 2:30min.

When: 14.10.12 at 9am

Why: To achieve a physical challenge, increase my fitness level and lose weight.

Who: Natalie – Me.

Where: Outram, Dunedin

Measurable:

The training program has planned out how many runs, Muscular Endurance, flexibility a week and the intensity completed. Logged next to this will be what exercise actually happened. This allows the trainer to see how they are measuring towards their final goal, do they need to increase/decrease their training.

Attainable:

The goal will be accomplished by 11 weeks of training with every fourth week being a recovery week to let the body recover and continue with energy. The training program starts at a low intensity and builds up over the 11 weeks to ensure endurance is being achieved but also fatigue doesn’t kick in a few weeks into training from over training. The correct strategies leading up to the run will be followed, e.g. food, fluids, tapering, to ensure the goal will be accomplished.

 

Relevant:

The goal set is very relevant towards what is wanting to be accomplished e.g. increase fitness level and lose weight. Brendan wanted us to choose something outside of our comfort zone and that will challenge us. I usually don’t run to keep fit and have not entered a competition like this therefore I think my goal is very relevant towards what is being achieved.

 Timely:

I have 11 weeks to train towards the ½ marathon. Completion date is: 14.10.12

A training program is set with training times to keep on track to achieve my goal.

 Yourself:

After completing the half marathon I will reward myself by having an awesome dinner, massage, and a few days rest. However will continue exercising as it is a good routine to keep.

Follow my journey towards completing a ½ marathon.

I (Natalie) have chosen to train towards completing a half marathon, my goal is to complete the Outram ½ Marathon within 02:30:00. I have chosen this challenge as it is outside my comfort zone and will be very challenging to train towards. I would like improve my current fitness level and lose weight; ideally I would like to have an active life style like I did before I went on my O.E in 2011.

Enjoying the fine foods of Italia - Pizza and Beer!

Arriving home with having had a variety of different cultural foods, plus extra kg's!!