Self Assessment For Running Training! Trivia Questions Quiz

Training plans work best when connected to a run goal. For example, when you decide you want to run a half marathon in two hours in six months from today you can follow a plan to make it happen. You can't work out which streets to drive home on if you don't first specify your destination.

You can't train properly if you are fatigued or worse still injured. Recover is vital to good quality training and race performance. As well as rest days you program should include easy days and cross-training. Running on a treadmill is not a rest day for runners.

Developing self-awareness is a vital skill for runners. In the early stages, some runners stop running due to soreness and pain. Often this is due to the normal training effect or can be as a result of wrong shoes or doing too much too quickly. At the other end of the scale experienced runners often overlook serious or soon to be serious injuries as normal training soreness. Sustainable running is a key aspect of Partnerunning and learning to modify your training when sore, ill or injured is vital too ongoing running success. As you learn your running craft it is better to take rest days and see advice than blindly follow your run plan and end up being unable to run for a long period (or ever) due to injury. It is easy to be attracted to stories of "streakers" who run every day or those who "run 20 miles" they day after the marathon. These are high-risk activities and are not wise for most runners. Take breaks and enabling your body to recover will enable you to keep running for many years to come.

No matter how experienced you are a second opinion will help you learn and improve. A second opinion may help avoid mistakes and injuries. Discussing successes and problems with others also helps confirm when you are on the right path and provides increased confidence.

Cross-training provides a mix of cardio, endurance and strength improvements. At the same time, it can work different muscles and rest your body from the weight-bearing activity of running. Two of our favorite cross-training activities are indoor cycling and water running. We find indoor cycling good for running and especially hill climbing. Water running helps running form and is "weight-bearing free".

The more weight you carry the harder it is and the more impact running has on your body. It makes keeping cool in hot conditions tougher as well. Just following a run program alone may not reduce your weight, - for many of us, it does not. As you go up in distance and start to eat more you may even gain weight! Including a healthy eating plan as part of your lifestyle will help with achieving desired weight which will, in turn, help your running. For many of us, the key to going further and faster is dropping a few pounds or kilos. The results are much better than hours spent running extra miles and doing speed work at the track. We strongly advise consulting your doctor and a dietician to find what works for you in terms of weight and diet. Finally, we find the foods that work for some do not work for others. Bread and pasta are often seen as staples for runners but for some of us, they have a negative impact. Test what works for you.

Core strength helps running performance and can reduce the chance of injury. Including 2 to 4 core strength sessions, each week provides many benefits including posture, strength, run performance, injury reduction, and enhanced recovery.

Sound health and fitness practices involve an annual checkup. This is quick and easy and provides the peace of mind that comes from knowing everything is ok. Alternatively, it enables you to quickly find and remedy problems as they arise. Keeping yourself healthy and in good shape is important for sustained running success which in turn helps you stay fit and healthy.

There are many benefits of a partner or group run. It provides variation and additional commitment. For some, it provides pacing or racing benefits and can also be a good time to learn and compare running issues.

A training plan is a system or process for enabling you to achieve your goals. With a good training plan all you need to do is complete the work, manage other variables like your weight, rest, diet, hydration and race strategy and you can expect to achieve the results. Due to the number of variables involved in running it can't be 100% certain your training plan will deliver the exact result it is designed for however good plans like those used in the Partnerunning Academy have a high success rate when followed closely and other factors are managed.