I’m going to tell you something that you might not want to hear! Hard sessions hurt! They DON’T get easier the fitter you get. You just learn to get on with them! A hard session is a hard session whether that’s running 1 minute at a time longer than you did last week, or running a short interval faster than you did last week. And, yes, I frequently have days when I think ‘I really don’t want to do this today’. I also swear at myself in races and tell myself never again!

But if you want something badly enough then you’ll dig in and do it. If you really want that PB then you know it is worth a little bit of pain!

That said, I have learnt over the years, ways to keep myself digging in when all I want to do is stop. Here are a few samples that may work for you, whether it’s during a training session or a race: 

1. Visualise the aim. If it’s a certain time that you want to be able to run a certain distance in then visualise the number, make it bigger, make it smaller, make it bright, change the colour. This will give your mind something to think about while reminding you of your aim. Or visualise yourself crossing the finishing line and how great it will feel to achieve your aim… it’s enough to keep you going!
2. Sing. Get a song in your head and play it over and over again! I’ve been known to sing out loud on occasions when the i-pod in my mind gets very loud! Pick a song with a good beat or words that mean something to you. My songs of the moment are ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen and ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem.
3. Count. My favourite, and apparently Paula Radcliffe’s too! I count up to 100 over and over again! It gives you a rhythm to stick to.
4. Be inspired. Think of someone who runs faster than you and you want to emulate, or, someone who runs slower than you but who you know works really hard at their running. I never fail to be inspired by my clients. When I’m running up a hill and it hurts I remember the client I was with the day before who wanted to stop but pulled another minute out of the bag and kept going.
5. In a race break the distance down. 10k becomes 5 x 2k or 2 x 5k, a half marathon becomes 2 x 4 miles and a 5 mile etc. Once you reach one chunk tell yourself that’s 1/5^th of the way etc. Check you pace and how you feel to see if you are over or under doing it. Being honest this one works best towards the latter half of the race!
6. In a race, find someone ahead of you who you think you can catch, aim to pass them. Once you do that pick someone else and aim to pass them etc.

Hopefully you’ll find something that works for you and it’ll help you along the way!

Running often gets a bad name. How often do you hear people saying e.g. ‘running gives me bad knees’ or ‘if you start running you’ll get injured’ and such like?

But there’s no better way to shed a few pounds, or keep them at bay. Running’s a great way to get in cardiovascular shape, and it also has loads of mental benefits – relieving stress, improving confidence, raising self esteem.

So running can’t be all that bad! Yes, it’s a high impact activity, but it’s not running that’s going to cause injuries, it’s muscular imbalances, inappropriate training and/or insufficient stretching that will!

Muscular imbalances develop because of poor body mechanics, causing certain muscles to become overused (a common trait in runners), while others become underused. This can result in a variety of ailments from lower back pain to hip, knee and ankle problems.

One of the best exercises to compliment running is pilates.

Pilates exercises create a stronger, more flexible spine and core, increases range of motion and overall strength and balance. 

For a runner, posture is one of the key ingredients to success. And posture is very dependent on a strong core. Pilates develops a strong core by supporting and strengthening the muscles of the torso, hips shoulders and pelvis. These can eventually lead to a huge positive difference in your posture, technique, balance and stability. It enables you to focus on where your head and neck are in relation to the spine and pelvis, on down through the legs and toes. This all adds up to more efficient movement and less chance of injury.

A stronger and more stable core will help you to run more efficiently, breathe fuller (so you’ll get more air in for less effort) and you’ll take longer to fatigue.

Pilates movements are very subtle and it can take a while to ‘get it’. A good teacher will use visuals and metaphors to help you to understand what you should be feeling. If that teacher’s methods don’t work for you, try another. You will find one to whom you can relate.

Pilates classes are held in specialised studios, yoga centres, gyms and many great teachers run classes themselves from church halls etc.

Your body provides internal cues as to whether you're running too fast or too slow. Ignore them and you're likely to blow up early or deliver a sub-par performance.

When you start a race or training session too fast, your heart rate, body temperature, and breathing rate all rise, and you sweat. It's the equivalent of revving your engine. You can maintain these levels for a short time, but if you don't soon back off on the accelerator, fatigue will set in.

If you start off running too slow, you burn fewer calories, you won’t reap the benefits of conditioning your heart and lungs (i.e getting fitter) and if you’re in a race you’ll kick yourself when you get to the end and realise you could have run harder and got a faster finish time!

There are several ways to monitor your running pace by listening to your body.

The most important is breathing. Most runners breathe in a rhythm that coincides with their stride rate. If you're taking three to four strides for every inhale and the same for every exhale, you're running at a very slow pace--one that should be reserved for warmups and cooldowns. A running rhythm of two strides per inhale and exhale usually indicates a good pace for longer runs and races. When you're taking two strides while you breathe in and only one while you breathe out, you're probably just slightly slower than your 10k race pace. Finally, one stride per inhale and one per exhale means you're laying it all on the line. Only when the finish line is in sight is this breathing rate appropriate.

It's also important to check on your legs mid-run. Your running speed is determined by two things: your stride length and the number of strides you take per minute. The number of strides has the more impact on speed than your stride length. However, as you get tired, it can be the stride frequency which is slowed rather than the stride length decreased. When you start feeling tired or you feel the intensity rising too high, keep the rhythm of your run the same, but shorten your strides slightly. Running with a quick turnover of your legs is a key to running at a faster pace. Aim to take AT LEAST 160 strides per minute (a good way to check this is to count every time your right leg strikes the ground for a minute and then double that number).

The tension in your shoulders, arms, and hands while you run is also a good indication of whether you're pushing too hard or not hard enough. As you get tired, your shoulders and arms often rise and tighten up, which can make breathing harder. When your upper body tenses up, drop your arms to your sides and gently shake them out as you forcefully exhale. Of course, if you take stock of your upper body mid-run and you find your arms aimlessly dangling, you might be running too relaxed. Make the most of a powerful arm swing by pumping your arms briskly. As your arms go, so go your legs.

Many runners find that they can’t run with food in their stomach, or find that they prefer to run light.

Running is often held up as an activity which can make you feel more energetic. But running on empty can detrimentally affect your energy levels when you run and can even kick your body into starvation mode so that it starts to literally eat at your muscles for fuel. Clearly that’s not good!

If you are thinking about going out for a run and it’s been over 4 hours since you last ate, or you already feel hungry, then you will definitely benefit from having a small snack before you go. If you are planning to run for more than an hour then you will also need to ‘fuel up’ while you run but that’s a subject for another article another time!

It is possible to train yourself to run with a small amount of food in your stomach. You essentially need to get used to the feeling of food inside you and really, it’s a case of experimenting to see what works for you.

Start with only a small amount then increase this gradually. Start by eating a couple of mouthfuls, for instance a bite or two of a banana, half an oatcake, or a couple of bites of toast. You can have the rest of the snack when you get back in to refuel your system. Once you’re comfortable running on that then you can try to increase the amount gradually until you are able to eat a whole banana, slice of toast or a yoghurt.

If you still find this difficult then you may want to try something such as a small amount of raisins, or a few jelly babies/beans which have a very high glycaemic count. This means they provide the carbohydrate you need, but it’s broken down really quickly by the digestive system. Sports drinks can be a good choice also for this reason. Sip at a sports drink for the hour or two before you run. 

Another tip is to start your run off slower so that you are allowing the digesting process to start taking place rather than just eating, hitting the intensity straight away and discovering your food comes straight back up.

Persevere and your running will feel easier and your body will thank you with more energy!

The half marathon is a great distance for those who have done some 10ks and are looking for a new challenge. It’s also a good midway step for those looking to take on the full marathon at some point.

Often when people get fed up doing 10ks where the only challenge become getting faster, a step up the 13.1 miles is the natural progression.

The great thing about the half marathon is that the distance is a challenge, but the time commitment is not as arduous as it is for the full marathon.

For a full marathon you are realistically looking at doing a minimum of 4 runs per week and with 3 months to go til the big event you will be carrying out a long run once a week of anywhere between 90 minutes and 3 hours.

For a half marathon you can get away with running 3 times a week and you’re really only talking about doing 3-5 runs in total which are longer than an hour, your longest being around 2 hours.

If you are a competent 10k’er and are aiming to do a half marathon for the first time then consider doing the following 3 types of runs each week:

1.  Endurance

This is the long run where you will build you’re mileage up. You longest run should be around 11-12 miles and you should not do this in the 2 weeks before the event. You longest run the week before the event should be about 6 miles.

2. Pace run

This is where you work a little bit harder over a shorter distance (anywhere from 4-6 miles). An example would be doing a ‘fartlek’ run where you run at a steady mainly but add in some increases in pace, lasting from 30 seconds to up to 10 minutes at a time with adequate recovery.

3. Strength run

Hills! This will give you greater strength on your legs which will help you to cope with the distance as you tire. A good example of a running session to get strength is to simply run a hilly route. The terrain itself will determine the intensity. Alternatively you could carry out hill repetitions, running steady up a hill for 60-90 seconds and jogging back down. Each week add in one or two more repetitions.

If you are running more than 3 times per week, your other runs should be at an easy or steady pace. Too much hard running or increasing volume too quickly can lead to injury. Always make sure you stretch after your running sessions.

Personally for me the half marathon is my very favourite distance. If you are about to attempt your first one on March the 16^th then I wish you the best of luck and hope you too will learn to love the half!

I’m often asked whether it is ok to run on a treadmill rather than outside. My answer usually differs to each person because it depends why they are asking me the question but there are pros and cons for each. So here are my general thoughts on the subject:

Running outside may be better than running on a treadmill when:

You plan to do or have entered a running event
If you are aiming to do an event running outside then you need to get used to running outside. A treadmill helps you run since there is a continual ‘pawing back’ motion through the belt. Effectively part of the running motion is done for you therefore you do not develop the strength through this section. You will over-develop some muscles relative to others which will make it feel increasingly harder for you to run outside if you get too used to a treadmill. It can be easy to convince yourself not to run outside when it is, say, raining hard or blowing a gale. But if you train for weeks or even months for one event only to wake up on that day and discover a downpour then what are you going to do?

When the session you want to do is a long endurance one
Whether a long run for you is 30 minutes or 3 hours it can be really boring doing it on a treadmill. Running outside tends to pass quicker since you have a variety of views and terrain to keep you occupied. In addition, usually our longer runs are a training session for some kind of distance event so I refer back to the last point! Also consider long training runs for half or full marathons where you need to learn to drink and / or eat on the run. If you’re going to have to carry things in the event then the place to work out what is best for you is on a training run in similar conditions.

When you want to consolidate your running
I usually include in my clients training programmes a regular ‘run as you feel’ run. This allows you to pull all your running training together. It may mean pushing hard up a hill because you feel strong or really letting the run stretch out on the flats because you feel flexible. Or it may even mean easing back the pace just becasue you feel a little tired that day. It lets your body respond to its muscles and your fitness while allowing you to just enjoy running (which should be the number one reason we all do it!) with no fixed agenda or target. This is much harder to do on a treadmill as your legs respond to the pace of the machine, rather than your pace being a response of your mind and body.

When you plan to run an off-road event
A treadmill has a flat, smooth and bouncy surface. It doesn’t ‘feel’ the same as grass, sand, gravel or mud under your feet. If you are planning an event on non-road surfaces then you need to get used to running on these surfaces. It is good practice to run on various surfaces anyway since the differences in terrain gives your lower limbs a better strength and stability workout. This means all the supporting, smaller muscles around your ankles and knees are worked more, making them stronger and keeping you more resistant to injury.

When the weather is nice and you have spent all day inside
Speaks for itself really! Why would you want to stay cooped up inside with lots of other sweaty bodies when you could be outside in the fresh air?

Running on a treadmill may be better than running outside when:

You are returning from an injury and want to try your running out
Running outside to some extent will strengthen your muscles up but from time to time we can suffer from injuries and niggles. If you have had a set back then it is may be worth building your running back up on a treadmill, especially if the injury has been caused by the impact of running. Treadmills nowadays all have shock absorbers to lessen the impact. In addition it is easier to just stop the session completely, if needs be, when you are on a treadmill than if you are outside and discover you can’t run anymore when you are 3 miles from home!

When you only want to include a little bit of running in your overall workout
If you run mainly for fitness or you do a lot of cross training then you may want to just include a short running section within an overall cardiovascular workout. Logistically it makes much more common sense to just do 10-15 minutes on the treadmill so you can then move to another piece of equipment as easily and quickly as possible. 

When you just cannot seem to get your speed up outside
This for me is the best reason to use a treadmill. Most of us start out running at one speed, which we find hard to vary. Then we develop to 2 paces; our normal pace and flat out. As we develop as runners we find we can vary our paces considerably depending on the session. However, there can come a point where we struggle to increase our ‘pure speed’; the flat out pace. Interval training on a treadmill can really help here as your legs are ‘forced’ to go to a faster pace until they learn to do it on their own. 

When it’s icy outside
Save yourself a broken leg and use the treadmill instead! 

When you are trying new trainers out
Most good running shops will allow you to bring their trainers back after a test run as long as you don’t use them outside. Proper trainers are the best running investment you can make so be sure that they feel right for you.

I am a fan of treadmill running when there is a specific purpose to it. I include one treadmill session a fortnight in my own programme, but given I am doing 5 or 6 running sessions a week the proportion of treadmill running is quite small. Since my clients in general don't have the need to do so many sessions I tend to discourage them from using treadmills often, for the reasons I have stated above. However, at this time of year it can be hard to motivate yourself to go out in the cold and dark. And as women we have to question the safety of running alone in the dark. So, when all is said and done, if it’s a case of a treadmill run or no run then I’d pick a treadmill one every time!