You did it! Building an off-season program.

If you just ran the Naperville Half Marathon or 5K, or are soon running a different fall half marathon or other goal race, you have trained hard and tapered carefully for the race. To stay healthy and injury-free, it is equally important for you to follow a good plan for recovery on race day and in the days and weeks following your race.

Race-day and post-race activities:

1. Get your medal(s). The Healthy Driven Naperville Half Marathon and 5K have fantastic finisher medals, with additional medals for multi-race distance challenges and consecutive year finishes. Make sure you get all the medals for which you are eligible.
2. Get your Finisher photo taken. You will want the finished photo as a keepsake, so take the time to wait in line and get this photo taken, even if you feel like you are just too tired.
3. Keep moving immediately after the race. Keep walking slowly and/or keep standing and moving, even in line for the race photo. You don’t want to sit and run the risk of cramping or tightening to the point where you can’t stand or walk.
4. Immediately after the race (within 30-60 minutes), replenish with fluids and a small protein and carbohydrate snack once you feel that your stomach can handle it. This will give your body the tools it needs to start repairing the tissue you damaged during the race.
5. Continue with frequent, small carb and protein mini-meals and with ample hydration throughout the remainder of race day.
6. You may want to consider running cold water over your legs and hips or standing in a cool swimming pool later in the day. This will help limit the extensive amount of inflammation your body produces after a difficult race. [Note that you only want to do this after your race, not after every long run. Recent studies have shown that cool water treatment can interfere with the rebuilding (inflammation and recovery) that your body undergoes in response to long run training. So, after long runs,  let your body recover naturally from the run to make you stronger for the next, more difficult long run.]
7. Consider some very light foam rolling if you are experiencing significant tightness in certain areas, but don’t be too aggressive. Your muscles and other tissues are susceptible to injury right after the race.
8. Wearing compression clothing later in the day may help reduce inflammation and help with recovery. Compression socks (knee-high or higher) or tights are especially useful if you have to fly home from a destination race on race day or the day after.
9. Do some very light stretching later in the day – be gentle.
10. Consider some very light activity later in the day such as walking the dog or a casual stroll in your neighborhood. This will help keep your muscles loose.
11. Celebrate your success. Enjoy your healthy post-race meal and savor your accomplishment with friends and family.
12. Try not to do anything stressful during the remainder of race day. If you are on a destination race trip, save the sightseeing for the next few days and don’t be a tourist on race day.
13. Get a good night’s sleep. You probably slept poorly the night before the race, so try to get a full night’s sleep the night after the race.

1-3 days post-race:

1. Try 10-15 minutes of walking or jogging or another light exercise the day after the race if you aren’t feeling injured. If you feel any pain or unusual discomfort, stop right away.
2. You may want to schedule a very light massage two to three days after the race. Make sure your massage therapist knows you are two to three days after a strenuous race and that the therapist is experienced in working with post-race clients.
3. Continue to wear compression clothing if it makes you feel better and wear compression socks (knee-high or higher) or tights if you are flying during this time frame.
4. Post your photos and commentary on social media. Continue to celebrate and share your accomplishments with your friends and family – you earned it.
5. Avoid NSAIDs or other pain medication if possible – it may mask any injuries you might have and may interfere with your body’s natural healing process.

3-7 days post-race:

1. Continue with light activity – walking and/or short bouts of easy jogging are perfect.
2. Follow the ‘one mile per day’ rule: on any given day, don’t run more miles than days after the race. For example, 1 week after the race, do not exceed seven miles running on that day.
3. Expect more deep fatigue than earlier in the week. The adrenaline rush of finishing the race may be wearing off now, so don’t be surprised if your soreness and/or fatigue increases during this period.
4. Expect Post-Race Syndrome. 

The mental game – Prepare for Post-Race Syndrome

You may be surprised at how you feel mentally after your half marathon or 5K, especially if it was your first race at that distance and/or you achieved a personal record. Instead of feeling excited about your accomplishment, you may feel depressed or anxious, or you may feel like you don’t have any motivation. This is common and stems from your depleted physical state in combination with the fact that you have lost one of the major goals and sources of structure in your life (your race training plan). Here are some tips on how to break out of Post-Race Syndrome:

1. Analyze your race result and process – this will help you determine what you need to do differently (and/or the same) in your next race.
2. Set another goal (not necessarily a race or running goal). You need to restore the structure in your life that you have lost now that your race training is over. You may not want to do another half marathon or other race as your next major goal, but set some kind of new goal. Perhaps a shorter race or an accomplishment in another sport or hobby.
3. View rest as part of your training plan. Remind yourself that during this month of recovery, you are following a plan – a recovery plan. This plan is every bit as important as your ramp-up of your long runs. It is critical to follow the recovery plan to avoid injury and allow your body to recover from the stresses of the race.
4. Ease into some cross-training. Be gentle, but starting a new and different physical activity will help break up boredom and spark your interest in something new. Physically, this will also help prevent overuse injuries that might arise from more running.
5. Continue to eat a healthy diet and hydrate to aid your physical recovery as well as your mental recovery. Strenuous racing can deplete your immune system and other body processes and a healthy diet is crucial to the repair and recovery of these systems. In addition, feeling better physically will aid with your mental recovery. 
6. Appreciate your accomplishment. This is key – take some time to think about what you have accomplished and how special it is. You worked hard to complete your goal race and you deserve to feel great about it.

1-3 weeks post-race:

1. Ease back into your training – this will be similar to your taper, except in reverse:

1. Stick with easy work the first week – 25-35% or normal mileage (or less if you really pushed it during the race).
2. Continue to follow the ‘one mile per day’ rule discussed above.
3. 35-60% of normal mileage in week 2
4. 60-80% of normal mileage in week 3
5. It will take 2-3 weeks for you to achieve a full recovery.

2. Eat a healthy die. As discussed above, your body needs high-quality fuel for the repair of tissue. This continues to be the case for a month after a strenuous race. 
3. Hydrate. Your body continues to need adequate hydration to flush inflammation from the body and for the repair and rebuilding of tissue.

4 weeks post-race and beyond:

Now is the time to start thinking about your winter training plan. If you followed the recovery plan above, you should be back to your base running mileage – 2-4 days per week and 12-20 miles per week. If you want to get a jump start on spring racing, it is best to maintain this base mileage throughout the winter. Some things to keep in mind:

1. Limit speed work during the winter. Give your body a break from some of the stresses of race training.
2. Continue with strength training. This will help you get stronger and avoid injury in preparation for your spring racing season.
3. Continue with hill training. This will build strength as well. 
4. Prepare for the elements with a plan to layer for outdoor running or by finding a good indoor track or treadmill for your winter training. 
5. Consider maintaining a long run every 2 weeks through the winter. This will keep your endurance high so that after an early spring ramp up, you can run a spring half marathon (or late spring marathon.)

By following these tips, you will get through winter ready to ramp up for spring racing.

Planning for Race Day

You’ve done all the training and your fall half marathon (or 5K) is next week. That’s very exciting — and probably a bit scary. Here are some tips to get you ready to go the day and night before the big race:

Fueling and hydration. Hopefully you have been keeping track of your hydration and fueling the night before long practice runs and determining what works the best. If you haven’t, here are some general guidelines:

• Food: Your night-before meal should be balanced. Aim for 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat. You can eat slightly more than normal, but don’t go crazy. You should probably avoid fried food, red meat, dairy, nuts and other high-fiber foods for 1-2 days before the race to avoid gastric distress during the race. On race day, keep any eating light, or use Gatorade or a similar sports drink to provide pre-race fueling and hydration. 

• Hydration: Continue to hydrate well. Your daily intake should be approximately 0.5 ounce of water per pound of body weight every day (including the liquid in food). As a rule, for race day, two hours before the run, drink between 17 and 20 ounces of water. About 10 minutes before you run, drink another 10 to 12 ounces.

Activity. Limit your activity the day before the race. Unless you are an elite runner, you probably don’t want to run at all the day before. You should also limit any other physical activity:

• Don’t do any big house projects or lift any heavy items. If you feel like you need to do something the day before your race, go for a short walk (0.5 mile to 1 mile) and leave it at that.

• If you go to the Race Expo the day before, try to limit the amount of walking you do there.

• If you stretch regularly, some light stretching the day before will help you feel less stiff and sluggish.

Generally, try to relax the day before the race; watch a movie, read a book, do whatever relaxes you and will get your mind off of the race. Remember in my last article, I mentioned that the mileage taper might leave you feeling antsy, bloated, irritable and possibly achy and stiff. Make sure you move around a little bit periodically throughout the day before the race to avoid getting too stiff. 

Homework and Preparation

• Review the course map and weather forecast. Make sure you know the course, including the locations of the water stops. Determine if you will need any extra layers or rain protection before or during the race.

• Lay out clothing and equipment. The morning of the race you will be nervous and forgetful. Lay out everything you will need the night before (if not earlier). This includes:

• Your race outfit. This should be the outfit (top, bottom, socks, shoes, hat/headband/ponytail holder, sunglasses, watch or smart watch, etc.) you ran long runs in, so you don’t get any unexpected chafing, blisters or discomfort. Lay out your Bodyglide or similar product if you use it. Attach your timing chip to your shoe per the instructions and pin your race number on your shirt or shorts. If you pin it to your shorts, make sure you can get the shorts on and off with the race number pinned on them. You might need to use a port-a-potty on the racecourse and you won’t want to be unpinning and re-pinning your number during the race. 

• Cash and ID.  Always bring these when you are racing – you may need to find your own way home. Some of the larger races are very crowded at the finish and it may be difficult to find your friends and family after the race. Make a plan with your support team about exactly where you will meet after the race. You might also consider bringing your phone if you have trained for the race while carrying it.

• Gear check bag. Consider bringing throwaway clothing layers (in case it’s cold before the race), a plastic garbage bag (you can make holes for your head and arms and wear it in case it rains or you can sit on it before the race if the ground is wet or damp), toilet paper, Bodyglide, sunscreen, masks, morning and pre-race hydration and fueling and a course map for last-minute reference. You will be able to check your gear check bag filled with any unused items at the start line before the race. Include some of those extra layers in your gear check bag for after the finish. Make sure you don’t put anything too valuable in your gear check bag.

• Your keys. Set your car keys next to your gear bag for the morning if you are driving yourself to the race. You don’t want to be rushing around race morning looking for car keys. 

• Set two alarm clocks. You can go to bed a bit early, but no more than an hour early. Don’t expect to get a great night’s sleep the night before. Don’t worry, you will be sufficiently rested from the nights leading up to the race. You can always take a nap on race day afternoon after you get home.

In the morning, you should be able to get up, get dressed and grab your gear bag without worrying about forgetting something. Get to the race starting line early so you have time to find parking and warm up. Finish your pre-race hydration and fueling and then relax and get ready to enjoy the race!

The Final 2 Weeks: What You Need to Know

By now, your long runs are getting longer. Depending on your training plan, your longest training run may be 12-14 miles for the half marathon or 3-6 miles for the 5K. It’s time to start final preparations for your race. Here are some tips for these last two weeks.

First, use your final long run (or two if you have time) as a rehearsal for race day. Here’s how:

·        Meals. Dinner the night before your long run and your morning pre-run meal should be exactly what you plan to eat before your race to make sure it will not upset your stomach and/or cause unplanned bathroom visits. Make sure the meals fuel your muscles sufficiently for the long run effort with a balanced mix of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. Use the last few long runs to experiment with quantity, type and timing of food to determine what works best for you.

·        Hydration. Similarly, your fluid intake the day before and morning of your long run should mimic your race-day hydration. As a rule, for race day (and long run practice days), two hours before the run, drink between 17 and 20 ounces of water. About 10 minutes before you run, drink another 10 to 12 ounces.

·        Fueling and hydration during the long run. During the long run, drink 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10-20 minutes. Adjust this as necessary based on your own “sweat rate.” For half marathon long runs, consider replacing half of the water with an equal amount of electrolyte drink (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) You can mix the water and electrolyte drink for convenience and digestibility. Here again, mimic the quantities and frequencies of fueling and hydration that you will use on race day. Pay attention to the location of the water stops in your goal race and the type and location of nutrition (sports drinks, gels, etc.) that will be provided during your race. This information should be on the race website and on the course map. Practice with the specific brands of nutrition prior to the race to make sure they agree with your stomach. The Naperville Half Marathon serves water and Gatorade Endurance Formula and will have six hydration stations approximately every two miles (they are marked on the course map.) The Half Marathon will also have Cliff Shot Energy Gels at mile 8. The Naperville 5K will serve water and Gatorade Endurance Formula at one water stop near mile 2.

·        Attire. For your long run, you should wear the outfit you plan to wear during the race: shorts/tights, tops/jog bra, socks and shoes. Also practice with hat/headband, sunglasses, smart watch, face mask and/or hydration belt/pack if you are planning to use any of these in the race. I recommend using a fairly new (but broken in) pair of shoes for the Half Marathon or 5K race. A common strategy is to wear a new pair of shoes for one or two of your shorter mid-week runs, then use them for one or two of your longest runs and then wear them for the race. This will give you shoes that are broken in but still with plenty of cushion and life. Make sure you wash any new clothing and practice with all race day clothing to ensure you know how to combat chafing and blisters with your chosen outfit. Bodyglide is a great product to combat chafing, but you will need to practice with race day clothing to determine where and in what quantity to apply the Bodyglide.

·        Terrain. Mimic terrain/running surface, elevation changes, climate/temperature and especially the time of day of the race for your long run. If you are currently running in the afternoons, now is the time to switch your long run to a race time start (7 a.m. for the Naperville Half Marathon and 7:15 a.m. for the Naperville 5K). If possible, run part or all of your long run on the actual course (traffic permitting, of course) or run it on a similar surface (primarily asphalt for the Naperville races).

·        Pacing. If you are going for a specific goal time for the Half Marathon or 5K, practice your race pace for at least the final few miles of your long run. Also, practice an even or negative split (running the second half of the long run faster than the first half.) This type of pacing will help you to maximize your performance and not burn your glycogen reserves too early in the run. If this is your first half marathon or 5K, you should not have a goal time and instead focus on finishing with an even pace.

Practicing these elements of your race during your final long run will help you to finalize the best strategies for you and reduce your race-day anxiety by ensuring you are as prepared as possible.

Other ways you should prepare leading up to race day:

Sleep:

• Shift your sleep schedule to race-day wake-up time requirements over the final week before the race. That way when you wake up on race morning, your wake-up time will feel natural.
• Try to get adequate sleep during the weeks leading up to the race. For most people this is 7-8 hours per night.

Other Exercise:

Don’t begin a new exercise program within 4-6 weeks prior to the race. Specifically, avoid starting any of the following:

• New sports
• New cross-training mode
• Major, physical house project
• Weight training (Note: If you already weight train, maintain current weights, repetitions and sets for the 4-6 weeks prior to the race. Don’t increase weights, etc. Stop weight training 5-7 days before your race.)

Stress: Try to limit significant life stresses during the weeks prior to the race. If possible, avoid job changes, household moves, significant travel and other disruptions to your normal lifestyle.

Running mileage: 

• Follow a two-week taper for the half marathon. During the taper, even though you are decreasing mileage, maintain the intensity (speed) of your runs. The runs will just be shorter. Here’s what your two-week taper should look like:

• Week 1: 30% mileage reduction
• Week 2: 60% mileage reduction

• Run little or no mileage 2-3 days prior to the race. If you feel you must run to loosen up the day before the race, don’t run more than a mile.
• For the 5K, you can do a one-week taper, reducing your mileage for the week before the race by 40-50%, again keeping your speed the same as prior to the taper. 

Fueling and Hydration:  Prior to the race, either follow your normal diet (during which your mileage reduction will allow you to store glycogen) or a carbohydrate-loading approach (where you slowly ramp up carbohydrate consumption and decrease protein and fat consumption during the final week before the race). The carbohydrate-loading approach is probably unnecessary for the Half Marathon or 5K unless you ran into problems maintaining your energy level during your long runs. Regardless of which approach you take, follow these guidelines 2-3 days before your race:

• Stay well hydrated throughout the week.
• Drink water freely and often during the 24-48 hours before the event.
• 2-3 days before the race: Eat low-fiber, low-glycemic index foods.
• 1-2 days before the race: Consider avoiding fried foods, red meat, dairy, nuts, roughage to avoid gastric distress during the race.

How you will feel during the taper: The reduction in physical workload during the taper will take an unexpected toll on you. Your body is used to exercise and your body will react to its absence. You will likely experience symptoms such as:

• Feeling “antsy”/hyperactive/anxious
• Feeling bloated, fat and sluggish
• Irritability
• Muscle twinges, aches and tightness

If you feel any and all of this, good job. Your taper is going according to plan and you’re on track to be able to do your best on race day. More important than anything, stay relaxed. Do a bit of stretching to loosen any tight muscles. Consider scheduling a sports massage a few days before the race, but only if you have previously had this treatment earlier in your training program.

If you have followed a well-designed training plan and have prepared well, you are ready to have a successful goal race.

Self-care for runners

Running is hard on the body, especially if you are new to running or are training for a race. The longer the distance of the goal race, the harder the training demands on your body. To stay healthy and prevent overtraining, incorporating self-care is just as important as following your running plan. Here are key areas on which to focus:

Sleep: Sleep is one of the key ways your body recovers from the demands placed on it by your running program. Everyone is different, but you need 7-9 hours of sleep each night to properly recover from your workouts. Going to sleep at the same time every night, staying away from screens (tv, phone, computer) for a few hours before bed and eating dinner several hours before bedtime are all helpful in assuring a restful, restorative sleep. It’s also best to sleep in a cool, dark room. If you have anxiety at bedtime or have trouble “shutting off” your mind, consider a weighted blanket.

Eating and nutrition: Eating enough calories and the right nutrients provide the building blocks your body needs to recover from training and injury. It is important to pay attention to total calories, macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to ensure that you are getting enough of each. There are several phone apps (My Fitness Pal, My Plate, Fooducate) that can help you keep track of your food intake and make sure you are getting adequate nutrition. Alternatively, consult a registered dietitian for a meal plan tailored to your specific needs. As you ramp up your training, monitor your weight. Unless you are on a specific weight loss plan, your weight should be staying stable within a range of 3 – 5 pounds. If you are consistently losing weight as you increase miles, add some additional high-quality protein and carbohydrates to your daily diet. 

Hydration: Adequate fluid intake goes together with proper nutrition in giving your body the tools it needs for training recovery. Make sure you hydrate properly before every run: two hours before the run, drink between 17 and 20 ounces of water. About 10 minutes before you run, drink another 10 to 12 ounces. During your run, drink 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10-20 minutes. Adjust this as necessary based on your own “sweat rate.” For half marathon long runs, consider replacing half of the water with an equal amount of electrolyte drink (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) You can mix the water and electrolyte drink for convenience and digestibility. In addition to your running-related hydration, try to stay hydrated throughout the day. Everyone’s daily hydration needs are different, so the easiest and best thing to do is pay attention to the color of your urine. Pale or clearer means you’re well hydrated. If it’s dark, drink more fluids.

Stress management: Running stresses the body, so it is important to minimize other sources of stress in your life during times of intense training in your running program. It is difficult to avoid stress but, if possible, avoid things like moving to a new living space, job changes and other disruptions when you are in the most difficult portions of your training and in the weeks leading up to a key race. Since life disruptions are difficult to prevent, try stress management techniques like meditation, yoga, deep breathing or general relaxation. There are lots of stress management phone apps (Calm, Headspace) that can help you learn to relax and meditate. These practices can help improve your recovery from training.

Body work (massage, physical therapy, etc.):  One way to increase your work capacity for running is to seek active recovery services from a sports physical therapist or certified and licensed massage therapist. Modalities such as compression boots (Normatec, Rapid Reboot), vibration massage (Legiral, Hypervolt), manual therapy (from a physical therapist or sports chiropractor) and massage therapy (from a certified and licensed massage therapist) are great ways to accelerate your recovery from hard workouts.

Time management: Running takes time out of an already-busy schedule. A big part of self-care is managing your time so that your life isn’t overbooked and you have time for everything important to you. Keeping a calendar (readily available on your computer and phone) is a great way to manage and evaluate your priorities and activities. Make sure you schedule your runs on your calendar and include free time in your schedule. Your calendar will give you a structure from which to turn down activities that overburden you and/or are not high priority.

Cross-training: Running works your muscles in a specific way. Cross-training (exercise other than running) helps balance the muscles of your body. Learn more in my injury proofing blog. Additionally, low-impact or upper-body intensive cardio (such as cycling, rowing or elliptical trainer) are ways to give your running-specific muscles a break while continuing to elevate your fitness.

Good self-care will allow you to train harder without breaking you down with illness or injury. Focus on these areas to ensure training success.

So, you have decided to sign up for the Naperville Half Marathon or 5K with only two months until race day. You will need to be efficient with the time you have remaining in order to be properly prepared. Here are nine tips to take your shortened training window to the next level:

Assess your current fitness level. Based on how much you are currently running, you can determine your goal race distance and a realistic goal pace. Make sure you don’t ramp up your mileage too fast. If you are already a runner, 10% per week is about right. If you are a beginner or experienced and the “10% rule” doesn’t get you to a weekend 10-12 mile run 2-3 weeks before the race, consider switching to the 5K race and run/walking it if necessary.

Focus on your key workouts. The most important run each week (particularly for the half marathon) is your weekend long run. Focus on that run and make it a quality workout. Get plenty of rest beforehand, eat high-quality food the night before and the morning of the run. If you get busy and have to skip workouts, don’t skip this long run.

Customize your training route. Since you have limited time, it’s important to do your remaining training on surfaces and terrain that are similar to your goal race terrain. Find out if your race is hilly or flat, asphalt or crushed gravel, in hot or cold temperatures, morning or evening, and train under conditions as similar as possible to your goal race. If you can’t do all your training under race conditions, at least do your long runs that way. If possible, run part or all your long run on the actual course (traffic permitting of course) or run them on similar surfaces. (This is primarily asphalt with some hills for the Naperville races). Be prepared for a variety of weather and temperature conditions since the Naperville races are in October and it could be cool or warm on race day.

Practice your meals. Dinner the night before your long run and your morning pre-run food should be exactly what you plan to eat before your race to make sure it will not upset your stomach and/or cause unplanned bathroom visits. You also want to make sure the meals fuel your muscles sufficiently for the long run effort with a balanced mix of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. Use the last few long runs to experiment with quantity, type and timing of food to determine what works best for you.

Practice your hydration. Similarly, your fluid intake the day before and morning of your long run should mimic your race-day hydration. As a rule, for race day (and long run practice days), two hours before the run, drink between 17 and 20 ounces of water. About 10 minutes before you head out to run, drink another 10 to 12 ounces. During the long run or the race, drink 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10-20 minutes, adjust this as necessary based on your own “sweat rate.” For half marathon long runs, consider replacing half of the water with an equal amount of electrolyte drink (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) You can mix the water and electrolyte drink for convenience and digestibility. Here again, mimic the quantities and frequencies of fueling and hydration that you will use on race day. Pay attention to the location of the water stops in your goal race and the type and location of nutrition (sports drinks, gels, etc.) that will be provided during your race. This information should be on the race website and course map.

Practice with the specific brands of nutrition prior to the race to make sure they agree with your stomach. The Naperville Half Marathon serves water and Gatorade Endurance Formula and will have six hydration stations at approximately every two miles (they are marked on the course map). There will also be Clif Shot Energy Gels at the 8-mile point of the Naperville Half Marathon. The Naperville 5K will also serve water and Gatorade Endurance Formula at one water stop near mile 2. You can check out the aid station and other course details for the Naperville Races on the race website.

Choose your race attire. For long runs, wear the outfit you plan to wear during the race: shorts/tights, tops/jog bra, socks and shoes. Also practice with hat/headband, sunglasses, smart watch, face mask and/or hydration belt/pack if you are planning to use any of these in the race. I recommend using a fairly new (but broken in) pair of shoes for the half marathon or 5K race. A common strategy is to wear a new pair of shoes for one or two of your shorter mid-week runs, then for one or two of your longest runs and then for the race. This will give you shoes that are broken in but still with plenty of cushion and life. Make sure you wash any new clothing and practice with all the race day clothing to ensure you know how to combat chafing and blisters with your chosen outfit. Bodyglide is a great product to combat chafing, but you will need to practice with the race day clothing to determine where and in what quantity to apply it.

Get your timing right. Mimic the time of day of the race for your long runs. If you are currently running in the afternoons, now is the time to switch your long runs to a race time start (7 a.m. for the Naperville Half Marathon and 7:15 a.m. for the Naperville 5K).

Practice your pacing. If you are going for a specific goal time for the half marathon or 5K, practice your race pace for at least the final few miles of some or all your long runs. Also, practice even or negative splits (running the second half of the long run faster than the first half.) This type of pacing will help you to maximize your performance and not burn your glycogen reserves too early in the run. If this is your first half marathon or 5K, you should not have a goal time and instead focus on finishing comfortably with an even pace.

Go virtual. If you are concerned about crowds, physically can’t make it to the starting line on race day due to travel or other issues, or don’t like getting up for a 7 a.m. race, Naperville Half Marathon and 5K has a virtual racing option that can be run any time in October. Check out the details here.

Incorporating these tips will help you maximize the remaining time before your race and ensure success on race day.

Injury-proofing your training program

Injuries are a concern when running, especially as runners increase mileage or train for a race. The risk is even higher for new runners and runners training for their first race. Consider the following five steps to minimize your chances of getting hurt.

1. Build a solid foundation. Follow a professionally created program that increases your mileage slowly and methodically from your current fitness level to a level that supports your goal race distance. There are several reputable websites that have running programs (some are free and some involve ongoing coaching for a fee) that you can tailor to your needs. Alternatively, work with a certified running coach to have a customized program created just for you. They key is to follow a program that:

• Starts from your current fitness level.
• Increases your workload gradually – no more than 10 percent mileage increase per week or per session.
• Includes a slow, methodical increase of long runs to a run length consistent with goal race. For example, marathoners should ramp to a long run of 20 miles; half marathoners should ramp to a long run of 12-14 miles and 5K runners should ramp to a long run of 3-5 miles.
• Includes a slow ramp up of speed training based on current fitness level. If you are a beginner, your initial running program should contain no speed work.
• Includes runs of different length, speed, running surface/terrain and hilliness – variety is important to prevent injury.

Also, be realistic. If you are a new runner, build your running base and run regularly for at least six months before attempting your first half marathon and for a year before attempting your first marathon.

2. Be consistent. Now that you have your training plan, follow it closely. Consistency is one of the keys to preventing injury. This doesn’t mean you can’t miss a workout occasionally, but if you find yourself missing a week of runs, this can be a recipe for injury. Try to stay consistent by keeping the number of runs and miles per week close to your plan. If you miss a week, ease back into the plan (possibly by repeating the previous week in the plan and proceeding from there) or work with your running coach to get safely back on track.

3. Develop good running form. It is difficult to “force” yourself into perfect running form and it can be dangerous, especially if your muscles aren’t prepared for that method of running. However, to prevent undue force on the body, landing with each foot underneath your body – instead of in front of your body – is usually associated with lower ground forces on the body resulting in lower injury rate. The easiest way to achieve this is to shorten and quicken your stride. If you find you are an overstrider, practice shorter, quicker strides with feet landing underneath you on a regular basis.

One way to do this is to practice “quick feet” running drills which increase your cadence (the number of times your feet hit the ground per minute) and minimize the amount of time each of your feet spend on the ground. Some people call this the “hot coals” drill since running on hot coals would certainly quicken your stride and shorten your foot strike time. Try practicing this drill a few times per week by doing 30 second intervals of “quick feet” followed by 30 seconds of “normal” running and repeat five times for a total of five minutes.

4. Strength train. Running is a very repetitive sport. As a result, it creates a high probability of overuse injuries. To prevent these injuries, strengthening and mobilizing key areas of the body are important preventive measures. Focus on these areas:

• Core: Strengthen the lateral (sides) and anterior (front) core with exercises such as plank and side plank variations.
• Hips/glutes: Strengthen the legs, glutes and hip stabilizers with exercises such as lunge variations, deadlifts and glute bridge variations, along with resistance band hip abduction work (such as clams). Also, keep the hips and hamstrings mobile with key stretches for those areas.
• Ankles/calves: Strengthen the ankles and calves with exercises such as calf raises, jumping/plyometrics and banded ankle work. Also, keep the calves mobile with calf stretching. Try doing some of this foot and ankle work barefoot for added benefit. A strength training program for runners, such as RunSMART can help you work on all these areas.

5. Make pace a priority. To avoid overtraining and injury, most running should be at a slow, conversational pace. Many people overtrain on their easy days and carry fatigue into their hard runs. Make sure you keep your easy days easy, even if you are a veteran runner. Following the pacing of your running program, as well as the distances, helps keep injury at bay.

These five key steps will help you avoid injury and have a great race season. However, even when a runner follows all the rules, they can still become injured. Injury rates among runners are fairly high, primarily because running is a repetitive, high-impact sport. You may still become injured despite being careful to follow your program, eat right, get plenty of rest and strength train.

So, you’re injured. Now what?

See the doctor. First, any nagging or lingering pain needs to be properly diagnosed. A bit of soreness is normal after difficult runs, but if pain persists over a few runs, worsens when you are running, is keeping you awake or is significant in terms of intensity, it is time to seek help from a medical professional. Depending on the injury, they may do a manual exam, take X-rays and/or do other types of testing and analysis (MRI, etc.) to make a diagnosis.

Ask questions. Once you have a diagnosis from the doctor, ask some follow-up questions:

• Can I run? Chances are you will get a “no” to this question, at least for a while.
• How long do I need to stop running? At this point, the answer to this question might be unknown.
• Can I do other activities? What would those be? This is an important question, as the answer will allow you to formulate a cross-training plan to preserve your fitness.
• Do I need physical therapy? Medication? Surgery? Immobilization/casting? What treatment options do I have along those lines? Depending on the injury, there may be multiple options. Your doctor may have a recommendation but be sure to ask what all the options are and discuss the pros and cons of each.
• What are the next steps regarding medical follow-up? Make sure you make and keep any subsequent doctor’s appointments.

Follow the doctor’s plan. The doctor may prescribe medication (such as anti-inflammatories), immobilization/casting, physical therapy, meeting with a specialist, etc. Make sure you follow the agreed-upon plan.

Create a cross-training program. Based on your doctor’s recommendations about what activities are acceptable while injured, create an exercise plan. Being a runner and not being able to run can be difficult, but it is important to find exercise that you can do to preserve your fitness. This will help you return to running more efficiently once your injury is resolved. Ideally this exercise plan will include some form of cardiovascular exercise and some form of strength training. Alternative forms of cardio that your doctor might suggest could include biking, swimming, walking, elliptical trainer, etc. Strength training options from your physician will likely avoid the injured area. For example, you may need to do upper body and core strength training only for a while. It is important to maintain these muscle groups as you are recovering. You may be told to “let pain be your guide.”  In that case, be aware that the pain may manifest itself during the activity, or it may show up that night or the next day. In all of these cases, the offending activity needs to be discontinued.

Take care of your body. As you are recovering, it is important to eat nutritious foods and to get enough rest. Be careful not to overeat (out of boredom or sadness over your injury) as weight gain will compound problems down the road. Try to minimize other stresses in your life. Your cross-training program can help with minimizing stress.

Return to sport. Once your injury is resolved and you receive your doctor’s permission to resume running, you should return to running cautiously. Don’t jump back into the training load you were doing when you got hurt. Depending on the amount of time you were injured, you may need to resume with a beginner’s program. Consult your physician for advice on how aggressively to return to running. You may also want to consult a running coach or fitness professional to help you create your return-to-running program. With a good plan and a little time, you’ll get back on track.

Don’t push your pace in the heat. If all else fails, you have no other option and you must run in the heat and humidity (and you are not acclimated to the heat), hydrate (as discussed above) and slow your pace. One of the main purposes of the long run is to teach your body to handle exertion and energy expenditure over a long period of time. In the heat, exertion levels and energy expenditure will be much higher for a given running pace. Hydrate properly before your run and go as slowly as necessary to complete your long run, taking frequent hydration breaks (including both water and electrolytes) and walking breaks. If you have extra water, pour some on your head and neck to keep cool (don’t use electrolyte drink). Don’t worry about your pace or time; the training effect is occurring and in your next long run, weather permitting, you will do and feel much better. 

Don’t let sweat get into your eyes. Sweating is important in running; it’s how your body keeps cool. You don’t want to prevent or discourage sweating. To keep sweat out of your eyes, try a headband or an absorbent hat. There are baseball-style running hats on the market that do a good job of absorbing sweat and shield your head from the sun. Some newer hats even use fabrics with cooling technology such as UA Iso-chill.

Don’t suffer from chafing. Chafing can really be an issue in the heat due to sweating. For chafing you already have, try a healing ointment such as Aquaphor. To prevent chafing going forward, try an anti-chafe balm such as Body Glide. Apply this to any areas where your clothing rubs against your body (or you have body parts rubbing against body parts.) Common areas include inner thighs, inside of upper arms, bra lines/seams for women, nipple area for men, etc. Apply before every run but especially for longer runs. Anti-chafing products wash off very well in the shower after your runs.

Don’t ignore hot spots and blisters. Running in the heat can aggravate blistering due to the extra sweating that occurs. To minimize blisters, make sure you have a pair of properly fitting running shoes. If you are uncertain, go to one of the local running stores (Dick Pond, Road Runner Sports, Naperville Running Company). Next step, socks. I personally prefer double-layer socks (Wrightsock is the brand I wear) as they are virtually blister proof. Body Glide or a similar anti-chafing product applied to the toes and other hot spots can help prevent blisters as well. For blisters you already have, if they aren’t serious (no broken skin), Compeed or similar blister cushions provide great relief. If you have already developed more serious blisters with broken skin and/or infection, seek medical attention.

Stay patient and confident through these hot summer long runs and when the weather cools, you will reap the benefits of difficult training in summer weather.