How to Keep Training in the Rain

It's rainy season once again (at least here in the Philippines). Therefore I would like to encourage all beginner runners to keep on training despite the weather.

I just feel for all newbie runners out there who just started out their running journey and beginning to catch the habit but then suddenly slowed down by the wet season. I'm with you and it reminds me of the days when I was training for one of my first 10K races and it was raining so often. Instead of running on my usual route and taking on hills as part of my training, I ended up running on our office’s covered parking. It’s frustrating.

I know how hard it is to follow our training plan when the weather is not on our favor, so please allow me to share a few thoughts on how to keep on track in this kind of season.

Train in the rain

How I hope I can push runners to try out running in the rain. It's feels like going back to my childhood days when we always have fun doing all kinds of stuff in the rain. However, it's not very advisable, not everyone would want our gears to get wet and all the inconvenience and the safety risks that comes with it.

That's why I dedicate this post to give an alternative but still could very be a part of our training and could also help improve our running as well.

Treadmill Run

The most ideal way to stick to your training when it's pouring rain is to settle for a treadmill run. If there's an accessible local gym or fitness center near you then treadmill is the way to go. This way, you can still log some miles and at the same time giving your feet some kind of a break because treadmill is a lot kinder than pavement.

Cross-train

Cross-training can be any sport or exercise that complements our running. In the case that we can’t run outside, we could instead find exercises that we can do in-doors. One of my favorites is core training because I can simply do it on my room and it could be done quickly. Working on our core can also improve our running because core strength, to put it simply, holds our important running muscles together so that we don’t get out of form when running.

If a pool is more accessible to you than a gym, then swimming could be the perfect cross-training for you. Swimming helps your running muscles to rest because swimming uses different muscle groups while still working on your cardiovascular strength.

Cross-training is actually a broader topic altogether and I just want to give an overview here and I believe that it could really be a vital part of our running. I’ll be posting more about it soon, but for now, I hope this post helped runners out there to keep on running and training even if it’s raining!

If you have more tips or questions on how to keep on training in rainy season, feel free to drop a comment!

Newbie Guide to Basic Running Gears

It's been three weeks since I jumped start my running journey and still a couple of weeks more from starting some serious training. I'm happy with the way I was able to follow my running plan and I could say that I'm slowly getting the running habit.

My short term goal for now is to go out and run at least three times a week. I usually run early in the morning near our place to make sure that I get to run before I become busy with work and have excuses not to do it. It's just a blessing that this sport we love can be done almost anywhere and anytime!

Although it's true that running is so easy to do, we still have to invest something to get the best out of it though.

I always tell my friends that one of the cheapest sports is running. Yes, because as long as you have a good pair of shoes you can run almost anywhere. But if we really want to maximize our running and prevent injuries, we should at least spend on the most basic running gears.

Running Shoes

Running shoes is the most important gear of a runner. This is our best investment in running. Lots of injuries come from running with the wrong shoes (tennis shoes, sneakers, etc.) making it's so critical to know the appropriate type of shoes specifically for our running.

The best way is to visit the nearest running specialty store and get our feet assessed. They will be more than glad to assist us in finding the perfect running shoes that we need.

Running Clothes

Proper running clothes depend heavily on the weather. But the simplest rule is to avoid cotton shirts, shorts and even socks simply because they tend to absorb our sweat and gets heavier as we run. Choose clothes with moisture wicking fabrics which will make us feel more dry and comfortable while running. To save money, buy running apparels at the end of the season when stores usually put the old season’s line on sale.

Optional Gears

Aside from the two gears mentioned above, I think everything else is optional. Sunglasses and other head gears can help when the sun hinders our view when running by daylight. Running watches helps in improving and monitoring our performances. Hydration belts will come in handy on long running days. The more we advance on our running journey, the more we will appreciate some of these gears.

Good thing in running, the most expensive gears doesn't always mean it’s the best gear for us. It's best to wear running gears we are comfortable in. Everyone perform their best when they feel comfortable. Please keep that in mind.

I’m sure I wasn't able to cover everything we need to know about running gears so if you have something else in mind, please feel free to drop me a comment!

Why Rest is Good for your Running

If you've been following my blog the past few days, you'll know that I am trying to crawl my way back into a running lifestyle. So far, so good.

I'm slowly but surely getting my legs back by doing easy runs the past week that I'm planning to do for a month. This is my way of building my endurance base before getting into some serious training or significantly extending the duration of my runs.

However, with all the excitement that comes with running, I'm a bit guilty of having the tendency to push myself hard and run more often than my body can handle at this stage. With that, I would like to emphasize the importance of rest in our running journey, most especially for newbies like me.

Why rest?

Rest should be an integral part of our running routine or training. Injuries often occur when we over train or push ourselves too much. Thinking long term, having enough rest will also enhance our performance. It is while in rest that our bodies recover and rebuilds the muscles and also adapt to the increase of activity.

A good practice is to make sure we don't do consecutive days of hard runs. We can either do easy runs, cross train or skip any activity at all after a day's hard run to allow our bodies to rest. In keeping our momentum, it's better to limit our rest days to a maximum of two consecutive days. As much as possible, we don't want to have no running or exercise for more than two days.

Currently, I'm balancing my week so that I will be able to log miles but at the same time, have some ample days off as well. So when you miss a running day or two, don't be discouraged. Just simply treat those rest days as part of your training, no worries.

Any questions or more tips about the importance of Rest in Running? Drop me a comment!