Help!

Question
Well thank you very much for your advice. I like the jog in the morning idea so will give this a try.

I was planning a run tonight but my muscles are still very sore from Sundays run. I guess there is no point trying to run until they are back to normal (would a light job be benifical to my muscles in there current state, or just prolong there recovery)?

Finally, which fruit is best, and how much? I now know bananas are not recommended, so what would you say is the best muscle food for the race?

Cheers,

SD

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Followup To

Question -
Hi Ryan, thanks for the reply. Yes, Sunday was my first training run (8k in Richmond Park). The last time I ran seriously was back in my school days. My estimated speed based on the nike chip result is 57 minutes for the 10k (from the nike run london site).

Thanks for the last minute running advice. I will run a long jog Tuesday night (12k) and a harder run Thursday night (about 6k).

I have heard that a jog the day before the race can help remind your body what you'll be doing the following day. Is this true?

I will try the carb-loading idea you mention. I will eat pasta, potato etc with no meat 2 days before the race running up to the event.

Bananas cause gas... Hey maybe I should pack out on those... It will help me shave a few minutes off my time ;o) But seriously, what do you recommend nutritionally before the race for peak performance in a 10k?

Cheers,

SD

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Followup To

Question -
I have the nike 10k race next week in London. I have been to busy at work to do any proper training. I do swim often, but the last time I did any serious running was 15 years ago for the school (cross country). I ran a training 8k yesterday and feel quite stiff today!

Anyway my question is this, In the short time left I want to improve my performace. I have a light joke planned for Tuesday night, and a 6k for Thursday. Apart from this I wondered if food would be the answer to improving my performance? I will eat a good pasta based meal the night befoe the race, and a few bannanas 45 minutes before I run. But are there any other tips you can give for me to improve my performance in this last week?

Cheers,

SD

Answer -
Hi SD,

VEry interesting question. How long have you actually been running for this event? Was the 8k your first run?  

Swimming is excellent for fitness and can be a great supplement to running. However, they use to totally different muscle sets. This is why if you just started running again, you find soreness and stiffness. In such short time, there is not very much you can do to improve fitness. Running is a sport where you are either fit or you are not. You can not "fake" fitness, especially for a 10k distance. You are however pretty fit due to swimming.

If I were you, I would do one long, slow jog this week of maybe 12-14km if you could. Also maybe do one day of maybe 40 minutes with pickups (not sprints) of 30 seconds each. Do a total of 10, with 1 minute slow jog between them. The rest of the runs I would do easy and try to get 30-40 minutes in.

Through college and my professional career, I've come to see that there isn't much you can do in the last week to two weeks before a big race that will help, however, there is a lot you can do that will hurt your race.

Definitely eat carbs for about 2 days before race day and drink a lot of water. I would not recommend eating more than one banana, as bananas have a tendency to create gas in your stomach. Hope this helps.

Ryan

Answer -
Hi again,

Some people prefer complete rest the day before, some run.  I always ran the day before. I think the most important part of training is consistency. Always run the day before or never run. The body responds to consistency and memory.

I also used to run in the morning on race day. I am not talking warm up, I did that too. I would get out about 3- 31/2 hours before race time, jog 5 minutes or so and do a gradual buildup of about 400m. This would end at near full speed for a short time. The purpose of this was to get the blood flowing and to clean out any toxins left from hard training. It also opens the capillaries of the body. It is short enough that it will not affect performance.

I would then usually eat my snack ( fruit is good as fruit sugar is easy to break down to fuel) and maybe a bagel or english muffin. Water is preferred but maybe gatorade also.

At 45 minutes before the race, I did my warm up lightly of maybe 10 minutes followed by a fast 150-200m pick up again.

For you I would recommend either:
1) run 10 minutes the day before and finish with maybe 30 seconds fast (gradually building to faster speeds) and stretching      OR

2) don't run the day before. Instead on race morning wake up and jog 5-7 minutes and do a similar pickup. Do this about 3- hours before race time.


Ryan

Answer
SD,

If you are still pretty sore, you definitely should not do very much. A very light jog of maybe 10 minutes and drinking a lot of water may help. A light jog will get the blood flowing and will help the body eliminate toxins and lactic acid buildup. Water also helps flush out the system. For fruit, I have always liked cantaloupe or strawberries. Watermelon is also good. Also a little bagel or muffin may be good.

Ryan