It’s Fit Five Friday!

WELOME to Fit Five Friday with with your amazing hosts – me, Darlene -My First 5K and More, Michele – Running With Attitude, and Jenn – Runs with Pugs !

Running again after illness, injury, surgery… you name it, we have ALL been there at some point, am I right?

This week our topic is “5 Ways to Get Race Ready this Spring” but not all of us are in that place right now, so I’m putting a little spin on it.

Five Ways to Get Run Ready After a Break

Y’all know I’m not an expert, right? And I’m certainly not a medical professional. But the last few weeks, these are the things I’ve been focusing on to be physically ready to run again (obviously the mental part is important as well).

Focusing on sleep

How annoying is it when all the experts tell you to “get enough sleep”? Sure, Janet, I’d love to do that but { insert multiple issues here } so it makes sleep kind of difficult. One way to focus on your sleep however is to have an evening/ bedtime plan and then religiously stick to it. And, you know, since I started doing these things about 6 weeks ago, it’s truly helped:

1. Put your phone away. Let me repeat that in capitals – PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY. And not at the time you want to hit the sack, at least an hour before that if not more.
2. Need your phone for an alarm clock? Go back to the old fashioned one. Then set it for when you want to get out of bed. No snoozes.
3. Your to-do list needs to end around the time you put your phone away. 9:30pm is not the time to start vacuuming or doing laundry.
4. About 20 minutes before you want to go to bed, start winding down. Wash your face, brush your teeth, etc. But do everything in a calm and non-rushed manner.
5. One thing I’ve been doing before my bedtime is my 10 minutes in my red light therapy mask. It gives my brain the signal that I’m shutting down.
6. If you like to read before bed, do that, but not on your phone or a screen.
7. Don’t drink caffeine or alcohol. I know. I’m the party pooper. Getting older sucks and honestly alcohol makes things really crap for us once we hit (peri)menopause.

Focusing on Nutrition

This one is probably a no-brainer but honestly? When I’m out of my rhythm sometimes I just don’t eat that well. Or I eat the bare minimum. I don’t pay attention getting my 5 fruits and veg or make sure I have enough protein. But as of 2 weeks ago I really thought it was time to get that in focus again. Lately I’ve been all about protein and fibre. As of next week I will be logging my food again just to see where I’m at with my daily caloric intake. Mind you I’m not doing it to be in a calorie deficit; I’m doing it to be aware of what I’m putting into my body and how I can tweak and improve. Runners need good fuel!

Focusing on Hydration

I don’t know what happened to me but I went from never being dehydrated to wondering if I even got in a liter of water a day. It’s crazy and I have the feeling that not hydrating enough is causing me a lot of cramping issues – especially in my feet! And while I have been trying… it’s not enough. So another thing I’m doing with my food log next week is logging the water. We need good hydration as runners!

Keep Moving – and then move some more!

Already walking? Great! If you are doing 1 mile a day, start to increase it to 2. Then 3. Then 4. You get the picture. Keep on moving and keep building up the miles in your legs. Cycling is good too. Whatever you are doing, do some more of that!

Other things to consider: strength training and mobility. But remember, when you first start again, you need to be mindful for recovery days. No one benefitted from going from 0 to 5KM in a weeks’ time!

Think about what you might want or need to start again

You may very well need a new pair of shoes (don’t we all?) or you may just want a cute new outfi to feel good about getting out there again. You may also need something to support your body like a knee sleeve, compression socks, or even some KT tape. Think about how you will recover as well once you start. Will you need to go back to sports massage once a month? Or PT to check in and make sure you are doing all right? Maybe you even want or need to have your form or technique checked. Don’t assume that after your injury you’ll be exactly the same as you were pre-injury. If you have the means, just remember you don’t have to wait for something special to happen to spend money on yourself if it will help you.

What would you add to this list? Anything you agree or disagree on? Let me know!

Here are the guidelines:

• Your link should center around some kind of fitness (exercise, wellness, mental health, nutrition… the possibilities are endless!)
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