New Year: Running Resolutions

At the start of a brand spanking new year, we've come up with these inspirational ideas to help you fulfill your 2013 potential...  

 

Simple ideas to help you get more from your favorite sport.

Make it a milestone

Whether it's your very first race, the decision to tackle fells, a 5k, a 10k, a marathon, or a triathlon, make 2013 a year to remember by challenging yourself to completing a huge milestone of a race – the year'll fly by!

Big targets will give your year a structure as you build up to the big day, replete with smaller targets to tick off. Think of the pride you'll feel as 2013 is marked out as 'the year you…'

Tackle a mileage challenge

If you don't have a big race in your sights, it can be hard to stay focused. Challenge yourself, or join others with weekly, monthly or annual mileage targets. By setting yourself a mileage challenge you can combine the motivation of having a target with total flexibility in terms of how and when to clock up those miles. 

Start a training log

...and keep it up all year! Plot your improvement over 2013, and just think how proud you'll be when you look back in December.

A training log is unbeatable for motivation – it'll help you focus on long-term goals, and you'll notice improvement as it happens. You can also customize your log in line with your aims for the year, whether you want to lose a specific amount of weight or get set for a new distance.

Stretch

The best way to get into the stretching habit is to do it whenever you have a minute. Whenever you boil a kettle, do neck stretches or hoick your foot onto the worktop and stretch your legs. If you find yourself in a queue, do some more neck stretches or work those arms!

Get kitted out

Use the New Year's sales as an excuse to kit yourself out in the right gear – appropriate running shoes, a technical top or two and gloves and hat for the wintery months ahead.

If you're running in bog-standard cotton, sweat will stay on your skin and make you chilly. Technical tops, in contrast, are made of quick-drying fabric which cleverly wicks sweat away from the skin. Psychologically, covering your head and hands makes you feel warmer too so keep toasty in chilly weather with a fleecy hat and gloves.

And last but certainly not least, don't delay – get your gait analyzed at a specialist running shop and make sure you're wearing the right trainers for your running style. 

Take someone under your wing

Training a newbie runner or an improver can do wonders for your own running self-esteem. And it's much harder to shirk off training if missing a session means letting your pupil down!

Love your cross-training

It's great that you love running, but balance out time on your feet with other training and your favorite sport will benefit. Take up yoga, for example, and as well as benefiting from improved posture and zen-like calm, you'll be getting in quality stretching time too.

Listen to your body

If you're feeling tired, don't push things. Make 2013 the year that you tune in to what your body's telling you rather than just following instructions from a training log written by someone else.

Forget that old nonsense 'no pain, no gain' – your body's pain mechanism is there for a good reason. If you're feeling more than the usual stiff muscles, make sure you pay attention and respond to what it's trying to tell you! 

Make your lifestyle match your running

You work hard with regular running, so why make it harder for yourself by slowing down your body with booze and junk food? Check out the nutrition basics on runnersworld.com, start a food diary, and let a new lean, mean runner emerge.

With the right mix of all-important carbs, protein, good fats and greens inside you, you'll instantly notice how much more energy you have, and in training, you might just surprise yourself! But don't worry, there's still room for treats – nutritionists suggest a ratio of 80:20 'sensible' food vs naughty treats! 

Train yourself fit

If you've been sidelined by injury, there's no point sitting at home feeling frustrated. Try to view your physio exercises just as you would a training schedule – if you were in training for a big race you'd probably follow your training plan to the letter, so why is rehab any different?

Rather than something extra to do when you have time, view your rehab as your number one training priority. Whether you're plugging the gap with cross-training or not, it's the exercises you've been given for your injury that'll get you back out on your feet! 

Join a running group

If you take the plunge and join a club, you'll get the benefits of great coaching, a bunch of like-minded teammates, and company on chilly winter days! 

Reach out

If you're already a club runner, give something back and help out with races organized by your club, or even bigger events. As most runners already know, enthusiastic marshals can turn a race from fine to fantastic. And it's a two-way street: without marshals, it would be impossible to stage races!  

 

Go green

Leave the roads behind and get back in touch with nature. Running on grass or trails, as well as getting you pleasingly muddy, will do wonders for your leg strength and core muscles as they adapt to the uneven ground.
Even if you're a committed urbanite, cast your net wider than the usual pavements, and leave the city streets behind with a run to your nearest park.

Be kind to the planet

Swap your wasteful plastic bottles for a classy reusable one. And if you're practising using gels on a long run, don't drop litter – unlike on race-day there aren't any helpful people to pick up your discarded packets and bottles. Plastic bottles and bags are made using oil and take hundreds of years to degrade. They can also cause damage to the eco-system of the area where you drop them.

Recycle

It's still hard with sportswear, but endeavor to buy environmentally-friendly kit as far as possible.

Get off on the right foot by recycling your old kit – join over two million others worldwide and recycle your trainers to help Nike build new children's playgrounds (find your nearest drop-off point at www.nikereuseashoe.com).

Fabric recycling banks for your worn-out tops and tights can often be found by the more familiar newspaper and bottle banks.

Spread the love

If you say hello to every runner you pass, it'll lift your spirits as well as theirs, and make the mean streets feel a bit more friendly. Smiling has been found to release the 'happy hormone' serotonin as well as endorphins – so it's good for you too!

Reward yourself

Don't forget that if you're running regularly, you're doing an awful lot more for your body and health

So don't feel unworthy if you miss a session here or there, or if you don't feel up to marathons (yet!). As you complete another block of tip-top running (such as a month, or preparation for a race), reward yourself by doing something that makes you happy. Go to the theatre, book dinner at a fab restaurant, go wine drinking – whatever it is, give yourself a pat on the back for staying active! 

Finally... enjoy! 

Sometimes it's good just to forget about PBs, paces and targets, relax into your stride with a smile and enjoy that 'runner's high'!

You'll probably know and love those endorphins by now, but just a reminder: running triggers masses of happy-making endorphins, as well as keeping you fit and trim, relieving stress, helping you achieve amazing feats of speed, endurance and determination… and of course, getting you from A to B!

Credits to Alice Palmer, runnersworld.co.uk