How to Improve Your Running Performance*

Hello! I have another contributed post for you today, this time by Beth Jones, all about running performance:

If you’re a runner, then you will want to raise your performance levels as high as you can. Here are some very simple ways to improve your performance next time you run.

Avoid All Dehydration

Many people don’t even realise that they are dehydrated, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not causing them damage. Even being slightly dehydrated can cause your performance levels to drop pretty significantly. It’s not something that you can really afford to ignore. It’s very easy to keep yourself hydrated when you are running though. You just need to make sure that you always take a full bottle of water with you and drink more in the summer when you are perspiring more. As long as you do this, your performance levels won’t suffer as a result of dehydration.

Wear the Right Shoes
What you put on your feet when you go running will have a huge impact on your performance. You can actually do severe damage to your legs and feet if you are running in the wrong type of footwear. You should be wearing shoes that are specially designed for running. And you should also be careful to make sure that you are wearing shoes that are the right size. Mistakes like wearing the wrong shoe size will stop you from running as fast and as far as you can.

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Look After Your Body Between Exercise

Looking after your body when you’re not running is vitally important. You can do all the exercise you like; but if you’re not looking after your body, it will all be worthless. The first thing you need to do is get your diet right. Obviously, you need to eat enough to keep your fuelled, and this should correspond to the amount of exercise you’re doing. You will also need to allow your body to rest and recover after you have been exercising. It can help to have a sports massage every now and then too.

Always Warm Up Properly

The most common reason for sporting injuries is not warming up properly. Your body needs to be prepared before you put it through its paces. All you have to do is some simple stretches to get your muscles in the right condition before you start running. It only takes a matter of minutes to do this, so it’s not something that you should ignore. By warming up, you will not only avoid more injuries, but you will also allow your body to perform as well as it can when you start running.

Develop a Schedule

If you keep training and training, but you still can’t achieve the outcomes you want, you might need a better schedule. A proper schedule will organise your time and ensure that you are doing the right amount of exercise consistency. You could even hire a personal trainer if you want to get a specialist’s perspective on your training schedule. They might be able to offer you tips and advice that will help you to improve.

How do you help to improve your performance? I must admit, I don’t agree with drinking loads of water because I think drinking too much is more harmful than drinking too little. I would rather get back from a run a little dehydrated, and make up for it after. I do agree that warming up and cooling down is important- I am making special efforts to stretch for much longer when I get home now as I think it is helping with my back. I also like the saying “you can’t outrun a bad diet”.