It’s a New Year and time to plan your race schedule for 2016. If you have run races in the past you know that half the battle of staying fit, is getting out, signing up and staying committed. The easiest part about it is planning your schedule. In order to hit a new personal best PB on a race circuit, in a 5k or even at a marathon race you need to be prepared. Let us help you get there.
Plan it!
With the dizzying array of events and food comas that happen around the holiday season every year, it is easy to fall off the treadmill, almost literally. Especially when it gets cold and you dread the indoors treadmill over running out in the crisp, clean and refreshing air; now is the time that you have to get up and plan your year’s race schedule. Gearing up, initially is simply making the commitment to join in the race. Whether you like to run marathons, competitive 5 or 10ks or simple local runs, planning in the first months of the year will get you back on track and excited for earning that new PB.
In the beginning of the race season choose races that you have done before or are a little shorter in duration then you are used to. This will really help you get that PB in the first race, the most important one of the year. This sets the tone and pace for the rest of the year. Progressively get longer and less time in between races as you plan for the rest of the year. Of course remember to leave sufficient healing time in between races. If you are going out of town be sure to add in the planning for travel, take along food for race day and be comfortable with where you are heading.
Train it!
Now for the most important part; get back to training. If you took December off for the holidays and still have not gone back to training, now is the time to start. With a month or more off for the holidays, remember to start back into your regimen slowly. Remember when you first did couch to 5k? Most programs get you there in 7 weeks. You generally will not need that much time if you have ran in the past, but starting slow can ensure you do not create injuries before your first race.
Pick an app, fit accessory or old fashioned stop watch timing to help you get to a training goal. Remember to get back in shape, may take some time at a rate lower then you were used to before. But just like riding a bike, once you get a week or two of running back under your belt, you will start climbing towards your PB in no time.
Run it!
Make sure you stick to your schedule of races. The only thing that can beat you, is you. The best way to ensure this is to get running buddies to run with and announce your race schedule on social media. This helps keep you accountable for your race schedule. When you do arrive on race day, above all else have fun and race to beat your PB.
Bluefin Software Blog 