What's On Your Pre-Run Checklist? How To Plan & Prepare [TTfR Series]

Last week, I introduced the Top Tips for Runners (TTfR) Series with an infographic showing the main topic areas that I will be covering in the weeks/months ahead.  If you haven't seen it. you can check out the blog post here>> https://www.be-fit-coach.co.uk/blog/so-much-to-consider-top-tips-for-runners-ttfr-series, or download a PDF copy of the infographic here>> TTfR Infographic (PDF)

This week, I am going to jump straight into the first topic area of having a pre-run checklist. 

This doesn't need to be as formal as actually having a checklist that you tick off before heading out for a run (although, it can be if that works for you).  It could simply be a mental checklist of things to consider.

Whatever form it takes, having a pre-run checklist is a great way to ensure you set yourself up to head out for a successful run.  Benjamin Franklin said it better than I could...

So when it comes to a pre-run checklist, what are the things you need to consider?  We are going to be covering 4 areas in the coming weeks, and these are:

1. Session planning/preparation
2. Prevention of common problems
3. Personal safety
4. Eating and drinking

This week, we will start with "Session planning/preparation".

Whether you are going out for a nice easy recovery run, a tough technical session, or even a race event; it is always a good idea to have a clear idea of what the session will look like.  Some questions that might be useful to ask yourself include:

• Are you clear on the plan/structure for the session (distance, timing, pace, elevation, etc)?
• Do you have a route planned that will fit the requirements of that session?
• How will you remember the route (if it's a new one)?
• If needed, how will you manage timing for any intervals?

For your training to be as effective as possible, all of your runs should have a clear purpose - whether that purpose is to just have a nice easy recovery run, to push your lactate threshold, or for any other reason.

As a running coach, I like to ensure that I can answer these 2 questions for any running sessions that I schedule for clients:

"Why this session?" And, "Why this session now?"

Then once you are clear on what the session looks like in terms of its structure, it's a good idea to ensure that the route you have planned will be suitable.

For example, let's say you are in a VO₂Max (Aerobic Power) development phase of training and your planned session is 1.5 miles at an easy pace (9:30-10:30 min/mile) followed by 6x intervals of 1km in a target time of 4:30 mins, with 0.25 mile recovery jogs (12-15 min/mile), finished up with 1 mile at easy pace.

So, what do you need to remember for the session?

• The sequence of intervals
• The distance for the easy runs at the start and end (1.5 miles and 1 mile)
• The distance for the fast intervals and recovery jogs
• The pace targets for each interval (Jog: 12-15 min/mile, easy: 9:30-10:30 min/mile, fast: 4:30 min/km)
• The number of fast intervals (6)

That can be a lot to remember, particularly when you are starting to get fatigued.  Then you need to consider how you are going to measure the distances needed when you are out running (complicated further when some targets are in miles and others in km).  You may be using a GPS device, but they can usually only be set to show either metric or imperial measurements (so you'll need to convert to your preferred units).  

Don't forget you also need to monitor pace throughout, great if you have a GPS device, but what do you do if you don't?

How about the route?  Can you ensure that your faster 1km intervals are not interrupted by obstacles such as having to cross a busy road, or passing through a gate?  Will the 1km intervals be consistently flat so that you can hit your target times?

Okay, I appreciate this example might seem a bit extreme to some but hopefully you get the idea.

There are a number of ways you can make life easier for yourself when running a session such as this, including setting up a "workout" on a Garmin device, where you can recreate every step of your session (including targets for pace, distance, etc) and then your Garmin will guide you through the session.  That's a bit too much to go through in this post but I will try to create another post soon to explain how to create a "workout" on a Garmin device.

If it's the route you're more concerned about, then there are tools out there that will help you explore the area around you and plan something in advance.  If it's remembering, the route that worries you, then you can create a "Course" on your Garmin device which will guide you every step of the way.

I am only familiar with Garmin GPS devices (hence the references to Garmin throughout), but I am sure other manufacturers will have similar facilities - if not, I definitely recommend Garmin devices 😂.

Once you have the session and route planned out, a couple of additional questions to consider would be:

• Have you checked the weather and chosen what to wear appropriately? (we will cover more on clothing in a later blog post in the TTfR series)
• Have you charged your tech? (e.g. phone, GPS watch, Bluetooth headphones)

A bit of planning and preparation is going to make your running sessions go as smoothly as possible.  There will always be unexpected things that you can't predict, but you can remove a lot of obstacles (and excuses) by thinking about your sessions ahead of time.

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This is never going to be a "one size fits all" series, but hopefully, it will be comprehensive enough to provide something for everyone!

Is there anything you think I've missed, or that you would like to see included?  Let me know (in the comments, or send me an email - [email protected]), I'd love to hear from you.

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Chat again soon

Barrie 

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