Month: December 2019

• Running has been shown to be one of the best forms of exercise for managing weight
• Running tends to result in improved body shape and size
• Reduction in body fat and weight contribute enormously to prevention of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes
• A recent report suggested that those taking up exercise over 50 years of age could gain an extra 2 years of life
• Running uses about 100 kcals per mile or 500 kcals per hour
• Running is a weight bearing activity that can assist with the strengthening of muscles and prevention of the reduction in bone density in some bones
• Success in running gives increased confidence and self esteem especially when successful in completing a first event or achieving a personal goal
• Running with a social group brings many new friends for life
• Running can reduce isolation and reduce stress, tension and anxiety

*UKA published list

• Mental health benefits too. As a club we are extremely good at supporting each other especially the social runs and events

If you have a smart phone then you should check out the following apps which will track your runs in real time and give you lots of information.  All of them work on Android phones, Iphones and Mapmyrun will work on BlackBerry phones.  My favorite is Strava but give them all a try (and if you find another good app please let me know).

Strava

Run Keeper

Mapmyrun

If you plan to use your smartphone you might want to get an waterproof armband to carry it.  Its always a good idea to run with a phone if your by yourself!  Although they are a slight hassle to run with and of course you don’t want to get it stolen.

Some phones are better than others at recording accurate data and you might find yourself wanting a sport watch with GPS built in, we can give advice on these devices.

Another great app is Glympse, this is available on Android, Apple, Windows and Blackberry phones.  This allows you to send a link to someone who can track your location in real time.  You can specify how long the person should be able to track you for up to a maximum of 4 hours.  I can think of lots of uses for this apart from running such as sharing your location with some people you are going to visit in a far away city, they would be able to see how far away you are.  Or you could track your kids location.  Its free.

Don’t go out and spend a lot of money!

You need and you probably already have some of it:

• Running Shoes (a decent pair of trainers will do to start with)
• Shorts for when its nice
• Tracksuit bottoms when its cold or Lycra tights
• T-Shirt or vest (best to get synthetic fiber – cotton gets soaked in  sweat)
• Sports bra for the ladies
• Long sleeve top for when its cold
• Light weight jacket for rain protection
• Water bottle (you can leave this in your car until we start running further)
• If it is strong sunlight then lots of sun cream

You want to be as comfortable as possible.

Places like Aldi do good kit such as shorts, t-shirts, vests and light weight coats.  Don’t recommend their trainers.

If its above 10 degrees then you will likely want to remove layers after you have warmed up.

Not set in stone but a progression as you join the intermediates

Running 3 times a week is great and you will continue to benefit from this as you increase the length of your long runs.  Having 4 rest days will aid you in recovery between sessions.

When time allows try to fit in a 4th run, I personally recommend making this a fartlek (speed play) where you will keep varying your pace from slow to fast for a minute or 2.  Or do a long run.  Adding the 4th run you will see massive benefit to your running.  However don’t run on 4 consecutive days!

Following this plan will get you running for 1 hour and depending on your pace this will be between 4 miles and 6 miles.

I have put parkrun for the weekend runs just because we are there to support you and its nice to run with other people but feel free to do it elsewhere.  Similar duration to the Tuesday run.

If you feel an injury coming on ease back on both pace and duration and hopefully it will go away, if it does not then stop and seek advice.  As all our interval training is around lakeside if you are worried about a niggle you can run around the lake nice and steady.

When you can happily run for 60 minutes keep adding more building up to 90 minutes.   You can add a lap of the lake to the end of your run on Tuesdays.

The Doncaster Pacers specialise in beginner runners and to ensure you get the best support possible we limit our beginners courses to 2 each year, this is so when the beginners graduate we then put all our resources into helping them develop further to join our intermediate groups.  All our beginners courses have 2 coached sessions each week. We are part of Doncaster Athletic Club.

For anyone who is already a runner (6 minute miles to 14 minute miles no problem), we offer various training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to cater for ALL abilities, just call down at 6:15pm or call Martin on 07916 659740.  Try us for free for a few sessions, no obligation.

We are often referred to as a drinking club with a running problem, lots of social events in town and further afield (Belfast parkrun this year, Benidorm in 2020).

DAC4EVER 💙💚🤍