Introduction
Have you ever wondered what to do before the big day? If you have seen my “Meet” beat story, then I barely explained what happens at the meet, but it’s the matter of how to train for it that matters. So, how do you train for running long distances and/or run REALLY fast? I am going to tell you how you can prepare for these long-long-LONG minutes of running.
Exercises
When preparing for the big day, you need to exercise your legs to prepare for long minutes of harsh running. Here are some of the exercises that I would suggest doing: Strides, you run around 100 meters back and forth going slow-fast each dash. Scoops, you will bend your hips and make a scooping motion below your feet and continue this until the mark the coach sets for the exercise.
Drills
To make sure your legs are ready for the big day, your coach will train you to build up to the 2-mile run, so he makes you run the trail one time to make sure you can do one mile. But then, he will have you do some strides to get your legs ready for 2 miles. Then the coach will make you run the trail two times (two miles) with a little bit of encouragement.
Stretching/Diet
Stretching after the run will definitely help the pain that you WILL have in your legs. Some of the stretches will be, Planks: Get down on your arms and toes in a pushup position and hold your arms in an L shape and hold it there for 30 seconds. Butterfly: Put your feet together in an arch and push them onto the ground, then hold that for 20 seconds. For the diet, I would suggest drinking lots of water and eating regularly. (not like I did much of this lol.)
Conclusion
So, what would you do to help benefit you in the race? I would suggest doing the exercises and cooldowns to help your legs grow and develop to do better next time. If you need to talk to the coach about anything after the race or before, that would be great because the coach would love to give you some advice:). But also, focus on drinking lots of water, it will help you out in the “long run”. Just remember to use the buddy system when doing exercises and running, it will encourage your friends to teach you how to run.
