Part 4 : Activating the extensors

By now you should be training almost every day for approximately half an hour. Once a week you should be running for 40 -50 minutes. You should vary your course terrain so that there is some uphill as well as downhill. It is also a good idea to vary the surface and ensure that a couple of training sessions each week are on a firm surface such as the cycle path so that your body gets used to the feel of it. Have you checked your resting pulse rate to see if it is slowing down as you become accustomed to regular training?

It will help you to vary your speed in preparation for participation in the fun run, so that you know how to speed up and slow down. It helps to know your bodies “gear system” and you can learn this by playing with speed over short distances. For example, increasing the effort to 75% , for two hundred meters or so, or to almost 95-100% for a short distance and then dropping back to 50% in order to recover. Get comfortable with these variations in speed.

During a race, and especially at the start, it is important to know that your pace is sustainable. If you use too much energy in the first couple of kilometers when everyone is fresh , and the atmosphere is excitable, you can find yourself very much in debt with your energy levels for the remainder of the race. This “speed play” is an excellent way to increase your fitness levels as well as prepare you for racing conditions.

When walking and running, most of the connections between the hips and the shoulders operate through the muscles of the back. Last week we learned how to incorporate the muscles of the lower back to ensure spring and shock absorption. In this session we will be exploring muscles along the spine to the neck and shoulders.

Lie on your stomach, face turned to the left. Place the palm of your right hand on the floor under your face, and the palm of your left hand under the right, so that your right ear rests on the back of your right hand . Now lift the right arm with your head off the floor a small amount ( only 2-3 cm) Do it slowly and gently and repeat it 10 times.
Rest a little, and then repeat the lifting of your right arm at the same time as you lift the left leg off the ground, keeping the knee straight, and set both down again. Observe how your centre pushes into the floor as your leg , head and arm lift. Observe your breathing and find a way to keep this easy.

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