Thursday, March 11, 2010

How to Train For a 10k Run

Running is an activity which is taken up by many people, often early on in the year as a New Years’ resolution, or due to a promise they have made as the year closes. Whether you are looking to partake in a 10k run as a celebration of getting back into shape, or if you are doing it for a more serious cause such as a charity run; it is imperative that in order to perform to the best of your ability and also prevent an injury from occurring, that you take up a specific training plan. For some, a training plan may have to begin well in advance if they feel they are not fit enough to start at a later date. If you have any qualms about your physical state-especially if you have not participated in any physical activity for a while, it is a good idea to visit a local gym and ask to speak to a trainer there who can give you an ideal time frame of how long you would require to train for, taking all of your personal and fitness factors into consideration.

An individual with a reasonable level of fitness will be able to jog for 20 minutes without any real difficulty. If you are able to do this, then you will require a time frame of around 4 weeks to train for your 10k run. If you feel that you will need a bit more time, start a month earlier, making your training time a total of 8 weeks. For those who struggle with gentle exercise, 8 weeks of training is a realistic time frame. With a time frame such as this, it should be quite easy to fit your training around your lifestyle and other commitments you have. This being said, aim to stick to your plan as best as you can as if you become lazy or miss too many training sessions, this could lead to your run taking longer than initially envisioned, and could also result in an injury occurring during the final run.

Those who currently run on a frequent basis may feel that simply taking up more running at different speeds and gradients is sufficient enough for their training. If you are an experienced runner or have a high level of fitness, this could be enough for you, but for those who are bringing exercise back in to their lives or have a low level of stamina, a variety of different heart raising exercises will be best as this will stop you becoming bored with your routine. Once you have devised a plan which works well around your lifestyle, whilst also being a realistic goal, aim to complete your plan three days a week. The three remaining days of the week can be used as alternative exercise days such as swimming which will aid in keeping the training interesting. It is imperative that you also leave one rest day a week to help your body re-energize itself.

When beginning your training, aim to keep a good, steady pace for a time limit of 25-30 minutes. Every week, add an additional 5 minutes on to this to help build up your stamina and strength. As your stamina grows, look at slowly eliminating your other activities from the training program, focusing more on duration running which will help you in terms of the length of the race. If you are partaking in the race with a friend or loved one, go for regular runs with them which will help your motivation, as well as making your runs all the more enjoyable.

When it comes to sporting events such as a 10k run, training is imperative in order to make the event more manageable, as well as eliminating the chances of an injury. By taking up a training program, you will not only be more prepared for the run, but are also more likely to enjoy the experience too.

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