10-WEEK PROGRAM: WEEK 1
January 9th – 15th
Training
- Monday: 20 min walk (2km)
- Tuesday: rest
- Wednesday: 20min walk (2km) and 7min jog/run (about 1km)
- Thursday: rest
- Friday: rest
- Saturday: 20min walk (2km)
- Sunday: rest
HAPPY new year and welcome to the first in a series of 12 training articles aimed at getting you fitter, healthier and ready to take part in the 2012 Herald Sun-CityLink Run for the Kids event.
The date for this year is Sunday, April 1, and that is no joke. So put it in your diary now as a fixed goal for you to work towards. Again, we have two courses from which to choose: the long course is 14.38km and the short, 5.7km.
I suggest that you might want to follow my program for the first few weeks and then decide which event you are better suited to completing; at about this time entries will be opening, so it gives you a little breathing space to pick the right distance to ensure a realistic challenge is set.
What is amazing to me is that we are now up to our seventh event -- it seems just like yesterday that we were planning the inaugural race and hoping to make a worthwhile financial contribution to the Good Friday Appeal.
Now your participation ensures a significant donation of about $1.5 million and we aim to continue to increase this amount. So not only are you setting yourself a good personal goal, but you are also part of an overall group of people supporting a wonderful cause.
The run has become a Victorian institution and a must-do event, and what better time to start training? You will get a buzz by taking part on the day and you will also revitalise your body after a bit of Christmas and new year cheer. I always advise people that the first training session is a visit to your local GP to make sure you are in good physical health. This will help you to get the maximum benefit from your commitment.
It might be a bit difficult to arrange this so early in the year, but it is a sensible place to start. Think of it as your annual medical check-up and a positive way to get the year up and running.
Events such as the Run for the Kids should be looked on as the prize for the hard work we do -- the destination of a journey made -- and this journey will prepare you adequately to run the event on April 1. It will also have the added benefit of improving your general fitness and wellbeing.
I personally find it much easier to keep motivated in this area if there is a goal that I am chasing. Hopefully, when race day arrives, you will be ready to run, but might also have made a lifestyle change that will benefit you long after the event.
Why not get a few others to join in, because the group training effect will be good for everyone. Make sure you begin slowly because it is a bit like a marathon over the next three months. The gun has gone off, but the race is not won in the first few kilometres, so be patient -- more like a tortoise than a hare.
Now dust off those runners and get out the door for the start of our journey.
