Wednesday, April 30, 2014

How I prepared for my first half marathon

I have been actively involved in fitness and have done all kinds of exercise in gym or outdoor. But running was never my thing. I found running very boring and never enjoyed it. Some people are natural runner but I am not. I was only doing it for warmup before my workouts with weights. Out of the blue I signed up for half marathon which was just 15 days away.

Not only I finished 21K in a record time, I was filing like I can do it once more at the same time. Preparing for 21K in 15 days was not easy- I did lots of research on internet and found out that one of reason why I do not like running is because my running technique and posture was wrong. I am listing down few dos and don't that helped me achieve my goal of 21K.



Me sharing long running tips with Fortis Healthcare Doctors

1. Before the event - make sure you eat a good carb filled meal a night before. Make sure you are well hydrated before the run. Drink two glass of water an hour before; and empty your bladder before you start. 
Do not try any new meal before the race. Take a good 24 hours of rest.

2. Warm up: You need to warm your whole body (lower body + upper body). Just few stretch is not enough- you need a good 10 minutes warm sessions with brinks walk, lunges, stretches, deep breaths 

3. Start up slowly. Do not try to compete with others. Start slowly and try to come up to your natural pace. The goal is to reach the finish line without injury and healthy.

4. Body posture. Maintain a good body posture and avoid these running mistakes 

5. Breathing- You need to learn deep breathe when you feel like you are going with short of breath
    start taking deep breath using nose and exhale using mouth. Try to make a rhythm and aline it with your         steps. Sip some water if your throat is getting dry

6. Cool down- do not stop immediately once you have reached the finish line. Keep jogging or walking for        2-4 minutes, moving hands and doing some stretches.


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