Tip No. 6
When it starts getting tough, try and focus on the physical things you can actually do to make things feel better, like running-form or breathing. Concentrating on these small things will take your mind away from the negative thoughts in your head.
Tip No. 7
Find a training partner, this is probably the single best thing you can do if you want to improve.
Tip No. 8
There’s always time to run. If you think you have no time to run, get up earlier.
Tip No. 9
Get your family involved in your training. It will not only improve your fitness, but also improve your family life. Arrange to meet them at a beach or restaurant after the run. Or run home after a day at the beach.
Tip No. 10
Keep yourself motivated by entering races.
Tip No. 11
Make sure you give your body a rest after a race.
Tip No. 12
If you have knee problems, you can try walking around bare-foot as often as possible. This will correct your walking style and relieve the knees.
Tip No. 13
Build yourself a mileage base slowly but steadily. Once you have a good mileage base you can then start to “turn it on”
Tip No. 14
Constantly self-talk, always try to fulfill your training goals, even if it means walking. Don’t get into the habit of giving up and listening to the negative side of your mind.
Tip No. 15
Increase your mileage by 10% per week. If you have a good mileage base, you can maybe up this to 15/20%, but don’t go mad, you will just get injured!
Tip No. 16
Stay enthusiastic on life and your running will stay fresh. If you’re stale on life, you will have no motivation to train.
Tip No. 17
Improve your times by doing total body workouts or circuit training often.
Tip No. 18
Hydrate
Hydrate
Hydrate
Tip No. 19
Interval training is the quickest way to improve your fitness
Tip No. 20
Increase your workouts progressively, don’t let your body get used to just one pace.
Tip No. 21
Develop long term running goals, punctuated by achievable goals.
Tip No. 22
On long runs, try to eat real food as often as possible.
Tip No. 23
Dedicate the tough kilometers to those less fortunate. It will help you pass the time and the pain.
“This kilometer is for my uncle Bob who is sick and can’t walk”
Tip No. 24
Caffeine can bring you back from the dead, so have it handy.
Tip No. 25
If you want to avoid muscle damage after a race - train harder!
Tip No. 26
Just remember in a race, it’s not only you that feels shit, so push through it!
Tip No. 27
Take salt as often as you can.
Tip No. 28
Unless you’re injured, never drop out of a race. Dropping out for not achieving your personal goals is a huge moral killer. You will feel much better for having pushed through and finishing, and you will bounce back quicker!
Tip No. 29
The hardest part of training is getting out the front door, so make this your principle goal.
Tip No. 30
Trail running requires as much mental fitness as physical fitness, so work it. Coach your mind as much as you train your body.
Tip No. 31
Use gravity as much as possible when running down hills.
Hill techniques:
Tip No 1.
Uphill: take short quick steps (baby steps) as if riding a bicycle in low gear. Use your arms in a straight back and forward motion to help lift your legs and you opposite hip. Concentrate on relaxing your upper body and keeping your shoulders down.
Tip No 2.
Downhill: go for it! Lengthen out your stride to take advantage of the hill. Land on the balls of your feet with your knees bent. Swing your arms more across your body to help keep your balance and to rotate your hips to improve stride length. Keep weight forward by having your hips over the landing foot. Concentrate on using the muscles in the backs of your legs and coming up off your back toe to push you forward. Remember you can go a lot faster than you think and still be under control.
Tip No 3.
Transitions: strive to make a smooth but immediate transition in your form as you go from uphill to downhill or as the slope changes. Anticipate the changes in terrain and change your form and stride length accordingly.
Tip No 4.
Attacking the Uphill: a quick ticket to oxygen debt. You must concentrate on relaxing and metering out your energy over the hill. Many hills are steepest at the bottom and flatten out near the top. A well run hill has you picking it up at the top and into the downhill transition.
Tip No 5.
Overstriding Uphill: remember that the muscles of the legs are major pumps for the blood supply of oxygen and fuel while running. A short quick stride uphill helps supply more fuel and oxygen than a long slow one. This is the same reason that it is more efficient to use low gears and fast cadence when riding a bicycle uphill rather than high gears and a slow cadence.
Tip No 6.
Resting or Holding Back on the Downhill: if you do not accelerate on the downhill, you will lose the opportunity to get something for nothing. If you don't believe this, try running downhill with a pulse rate monitor and notice how much faster you can run at the same pulse rate than on the flat. A sure sign that you are holding back is the sound of "plopping" from your feet as you downhill. Work on increasing stride length and using your arm swing for balance. Landing on a straight leg results in knee pain, so remember to keep weight forward and land on a bent knee.
Tip No 7.
Look ahead for variations in the slope up or down and adapt to them immediately. If you have to wait until you are tying up from lactic acid uphill or hear the "plopping feet" downhill to change your form, it's too late and you have already wasted energy.