Final countdown to the Pennine Lancashire 10k

The Pennine 10K is a great opportunity for you to get out across Burnley and take part in the event. 

We know from the past events that there are runners from all levels of experience participating in this years event.

Some may have completed numerous marathons, ultra marathons and other physically challenging events and for some others, this may be their first 10k. It’s those participants that I am targeting today and in order to assist them I thought I would offer this advice.

So what should I do in the final week? 

Hopefully you will have been training and preparing for the event so what we don’t want to do at this stage is try something new! this includes trying new trainers! Run what you have trained in and know you feel comfortable in.

Take note of the weather forecast for the event and dress accordingly.

When you exercise your core temperature starts to rise, if you have overdressed (due to a cold morning) you will soon begin to feel uncomfortable, so make sure you dress in the correct gear.

So now all your preparation should be done, therefore I suggest that you keep your mileage low as your priority now is getting to the start line injury free.

Don’t stop training though, maybe do a few 6k runs at easy pace, I suggest that you don’t try a bigger distance. If you’d want you could time your runs to be less than 30mins and don’t run after Thursday. 

If you have been reading my articles you will know how much I focus on nutrition.

This week I can’t stress enough the importance of eating a nutritious diet and drink lots of water.

Hydration is extremely important pre and post run. This week, pay extra attention to your hydration levels, if you have been practicing your runs with a certain brand of sports drink, take one with you on the day. It’s usually not a good idea to try new supplements during the run as thof on teis could upset your stomach so stick to water.

Familiarise yourself with the route and drink station so you can take the opportunity to quench your thirst en route.

Pay particular attention to you overall nutrition this week, include complex carbs, wholemeal rice. pasta and bread, plenty of vegetables and rotein eat a variety of foods from various sources to ensure optimum nutrition, (this doesn’t mean order a pizza or curry on Saturday night). 

Don’t drink alcohol on Saturday it’s one night have a day off. 

Get an early night, sleep is an important factor when training, not to get too scientific it is how your body repairs and prepares itself.

On the morning of the run, make sure that you warm up to prepare your body for the work effort. 20 minutes before the run, try to find the opportunity to do some jogging and squats if you can’t find space to jog make sure your jog on the spot. Do some gentle stretches and prepare your mind and body, tell yourself you are ready and off you go.

After the run has finished make sure you cool down and stretch gently.

Eat something and be proud of what you have achived.