We give you some Chatty Sparkly tips that will help you answer the key question – how do know your running is improving?
Feeling that you are getting fitter and running faster is a great motivator. But how do your recognise that feeling ?
Improving as a beginner
When you are a beginner and building up your running, it’s easy to tell when you are getting fitter. Each week you will be walking less and running more. You will also notice that you can run all the way to the top of a gradual hill that you had to walk up a few weeks before. About six weeks into a beginners programme you may also feel the benefits in your daily life. Instead of trudging up the stairs you may start to bounce up. Walking up hills may also seem easier.
You can find out how to start running the Chatty Sparkly way here.
Improving as an experienced runner
Often experienced runners just know by feel, that they are improving. However, there are key signs that reinforce this. You can run the same speed at a lower heart rate or you can run faster at your usual Chatty pace. Alternatively, you could find that you can run at an easy pace for much longer than before.
If you run a set route and may notice that when you finish you have run it a couple of minutes quicker! Perhaps you also feel you are running more fluently and cruising along without thinking about what you are doing or focusing on keeping Chatty. Once you get to this stage you can run with people you don’t usually run with. That’s a great feeling!
Significantly, the fitter you are the quicker you recovery time becomes. You may find that it only takes you a day to recover from your long run when this happens. There is then a knock on effect in your daily life as you have more energy.
What if you don’t feel you are improving?
If there are no signs of improvement, perhaps you are doing too much or running too fast. This will mean that you are not recovering sufficiently.
We explain about the importance of recovery time here.
You should notice improvement every six weeks and sometimes every three weeks. It’s important not to get fixated on it though. Just keep your runs Chatty, build up gradually don’t overdo it and let improvement happen.
You can find out how to build up your running here.
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