Good Morning Sports Fans!
Today is the day…It’s the London Marathon!!! Woooooo Hoooooo!!! Good luck to everyone running today! You’ve put in all the hard work and training, now it’s time to enjoy it!
After working with BBC Hereford and Worcester this week to produce some video’s for runners and those who fancy starting running I just wanted to share a few more points with you all… so lets get started!
Enjoy it all! The best tip I can give is to enjoy race day, enjoy the build up and enjoy the journey! Simply by having an attitude of positivity and being proud of yourself will make a ton of difference! If it’s your first Marathon just be super grateful that you’ve had the ability to get there! You’ve had time to train, you’ve got the health to do this! It’s an awesome achievement! Celebrate your awesomeness!
Even if you’ve trained, but don’t feel you’ve done enough, maybe you got a cold and missed a week of training, let it go and simply be proud you got this far! In my opinion, even if your training didn’t go to plan, there should still be a base level of fitness there to get around the whole thing, even if you have to walk a little, you did it!
Visualise it as if it’s already done Believe in yourself, see yourself as fit, healthy, strong, an athlete in your own right! A bad-ass that wild animals couldn’t stop! You were born for this! Own it! Love it! You are a runner! This strong, positive state will weed out any doubts, any fears and stomp on those who might try to put you off! You can do this!
Look after your Feet, Hips and Upper Back most runners do calf stretches, hamstring stretches and maybe a shoulder stretch, but what I look at creating with my clients are fantastic feet, hips and upper backs, to run you don’t actually need to be super flexible, you need the ability to move in a way that suits running! You want feet the react well, hips that move well for running and your upper back should be proud and open, this will help you to feel light and move your energy forwards, not to feel heavy and that you have to drag yourself around. I’ve seen amazing results with people simply by opening up their upper backs!
I had one client who’s foot always hurt when he hit 6 miles, by opening his upper back we got rid of that ‘niggle’ in a session or two!
Hopping and Knee Boxing these two moves are your best friend to improve your running! Running is a movement which causes you to only ever be on one foot, therefore hopping is a fantastic training tool for you to improve your running and to actually make running easier. Knee boxing is also wonderful, it’s a tough one on the lungs, which will improve your fitness levels and it is also a great move for the upper back, it gets hip flexors firing and creates a little tension in the abdomen, helping efficiency!
Hydrate I know a lot of people use those running drinks, but to make a super healthy version which is far cheaper why not try a mixture of water with lemon and lime squeezed in and a pinch of pink Himalayan salt. This is a natural isotonic drink that will hydrate your body even better than just plain water!
You can also try adding in young coconuts and vegetable and fruit juices while you train and see how much better you feel!
Carb Up! Ok, so most people get excited about carbing up for running, pizza, pasta, you know the drill. But I personally prefer to use much more natural, non-processed foods, which are far more easily digestible like fruits, greens and tons of veg, so why not try a green smoothie? They are natural, full of vital nutrients and great energy, plus they are anti-inflammatory, alkaline, refined sugar free, gluten free, dairy free and delicious!
Also greens help feed the blood, increase oxygen levels (your cardio health will shoot up) and will fill you full of iron!
Check out my new book, ‘Nourish with Aimie’ for a whole host of delicious recipes which have massively helped boost my fitness levels!
Game Day Rountine I recommend doing your long run every Sunday when you start training, build and awesome routine that you can carry on through to the big day! You might wake up, drink some water and lemon juice, maybe a great green smoothie/ juice. Listen to the songs that make you excited, have a specific warm up rountine, then head out, have a playlist you enjoy and maybe a few power songs you can switch to when your mind is trying to talk you out of it. Then as you build up the miles over the weeks try different things to keep you going. I know the gels are popular, but you could try taking a raw juice with you and see how you feel on that.
I personally believe that you want to nourish your body with incredible nutrients, not pump it full of chemicals that we still are unsure of the long term effects of, just to get a time. Your body is your only home, please take care of it!
Cheerleaders We all need them! So get your name printed on your T-shirt and get that crowd to back you all the way! Be a rock star for the day and let the energy carry you through!
So good luck to every runner out there!
The fact your doing this is amazing!
To anyone who fancies starting running we run a specific running session on the first Saturday of every month at Aimie Smith Personal Training, so if you want to come and join the fun, we would love to help!
Have fun and keep moving!
Love Aimie xxx