·
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!
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