Hey guys! I hope you are having a great day so far… I have a few pictures from our day and a few things that help my workouts to go better:
10 miles @ 8:22 pace.
Off to scuba dive!
Eating all of the popsicles and…
slushies.
My favorite part of yesterday.
Skye’s too.
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Fall races are right around the corner and I thought I would share with you (and hope you’ll share with me) a few of the things that help my speed workouts or long runs go much better than if I don’t do them:
*Eating a bowl of cereal before I go to bed. I’m not sure if this actually really does help (or if it has all been metabolized by the time I go run in the morning) but I just feel more energetic the next morning when I do this. I still eat some bread/banana/ucan before I head out for my run but I just feel like with these longer workouts, I feel so much better when I get in more carbs and calories right before I go to bed.
*I start before my brain fully knows what is going on:). This means I usually start pretty early but it also means I try not to overthink it or procrastinate. Just start. I try to cut out the excuses and get moving and a lot of times I tell myself I’m only doing the first interval anyways… and once I do the first one I keep taking them one at a time! I fool myself the whole way:)
Calm the mind and the body will follow:
*I program the workout into my watch if I’m doing it by myself. With my group now I always have people ahead of me to copy but when I am on my own, that workout is in my watch ready to tell me what to do. Less thinking= more energy for my body to do the work;)
*Just like I make a goal for paces, I make a goal for how much sleep to get before/after workouts and races. If we really want our goals, sleep is going to really help us to get there.
*If I do a few strides that I gradually build into with each one, it is pretty much a sure thing I will feel better during the workout. Going straight from the warm-up miles into the workout is a lot harder for me than doing a warm-up, a few 20 second strides and then starting the warm-up. The strides help my body to prepare for the fast paces rather than just jumping right into it.
*Wearing the gear that I KNOW I will feel my best in. Nothing too tight, too heavy or too stiff… I need my pieces to feel like I’m not wearing anything (besides my sports bra, I like feeling like I’m wearing that haha). Clothing that you don’t think about during your run is my favorite type of clothing because that means it isn’t bothering you anywhere.
If it makes you smile when you put it on, you know you are wearing the right things;)
*As one of my old coach’s used to say… Junk in= junk out. The more nutrient/calorie dense meals full of carbs, protein and fat that I eat before big workouts, the better I perform. Never ever will I cut out food groups or treats but I absolutely notice my workouts go so much better when I’ve had tons of water and some awesome meals that I make at home.
*Pain today = less pain on race day (or you run faster with the same amount of pain;). I don’t know about you but for me, races are what gets me motivated to do speed work in the first place. If I don’t have a race I’m working towards, I stick to mostly easy running and forget about the hard workouts. Going into a workout thinking about my race and goals pumps me up to do the work.
*Caffeine. Caffeine always helps my legs to move a little faster. And the less often I use it during the rest of the week, the more it helps me during a big race or workout!
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What are some things that you like to do to make your hard workouts go better?