Lindfield Fun Run

Men's and Women's Training Groups

Secret Men's Business

Beauchamp Park, Chatswood.
Wednesdays 6am, Saturdays 6:45am
Start Date: Feb 6th

A course for any man who wants to get the most out of his running, designed specifically to prepare you for the Lindfield 5km or 10km Fun Run.

Be motivated by our team environment to achieve consistent training and improved performance.

Learn injury prevention and recovery strategies.

Gain an insight into how the body works, and how important good nutrition is.

Required Fitness Level
You don't need to be superfit to join our running groups. The sessions are structured in such a way that most levels of fitness are catered for. You will be encouraged to push yourself within your individual limits. We won't let you take it easy, but we won't overtrain you either.

Richard putting in the hard yards around the Domain, Sydney Fun RUn

Trainer
Richard Sarkies (that's him on the left putting in some hard yards) has been running in fun runs for over 25 years, both in Sydney and overseas. He has a Bachelor of Science (Human Movement) from Wollongong University and has a wealth of experience, coaching both running novices and more experienced athletes. Richard excels in helping you get the best out of yourself, whilst remaining injury free.

Course Fees:
Once/week: $120
Twice/week: $200

Bring a friend and receive a 20% discount!
If you are new to Hooked on Health and you join part way through the course, fees will be charged on a pro rata basis.

Next Step? Reserve your place now!

We will be targeting other fun runs throughout the running season including the Mothers Day Classic and the SMH Half Marathon in May, the Minimos Marathon, Hunter Valley Running Festival and Gold Coast Marathon (and Half Marathon, 10km and shorter distances) in July, the Bay Run, City to Surf and Pub to Pub in August, and the Blackmores Running Festival in September. We can also tailor a training programme to suit your specific event.

Women's Groups

Our Term I women's running groups are also geared towards the Lindfield Fun Run. Courses commence week beginning January 11th, and conclude with the Fun Run on March 28th. If you are joining Hooked on Health for the first time, you are able to start part way through the term, and pay fees on a pro-rata basis.

Like the men's groups, our training sessions are mostly interval training sessions, with the occassional road run over the Lindfield course (or similar) thrown in. We have women experienced in running distances up to the Marathon, as well as women who have never entered a fun run. Most fitness levels are catered for, however you will get the most out of the course if you are already running a couple of times a week. If not, perhaps one of our Learn to Run courses would suit your better.

More information about our running groups can be found by clicking here, or go to our timetable for venues and times. To contact Hooked on Health directly, click here.

Training Tips

Sunday 21st March: 1 week to go! Try to get plenty of rest this week. Early nights and just a couple of light runs. On race day, make sure you are prepared. Be at the race in plenty of time. Remember you will need to pick up your race number prior to the start and there may be queues. There will definitely be queues for the loo, so make sure you leave plenty of time. Bring some toilet paper with you too, just in case! Be prepared for all kinds of weather. Wear layers of clothing, and if you want to wear something warm right up till the start of the race, wear something you are prepared to loose so you can discard it by the side of the road at the start. Write yourself a check list during the week, and use it to pack your bag the night before the race.

Breakfast: Eat whatever you would normally eat before a run. Usually something light is a good idea. Drink some water, but don't overhydrate before the race or you'll be able to feel the water slushing around inside you.

During the race, be aware of other runners. If you are walking or running slowly, start towards the back of the pack. Saying thankyou if someone moves aside for you is also appreicated.

Lastly, remember, it's called a FUN RUN for a reason, so have some fun!

Sunday 14th March: 2 weeks to go! Now is not the time to get in extra training for those sessions you've missed, nor panic because you think you may not be quite as fit for the race as you would have liked. If your training hasn't been up to scratch, now would be a good time to reconsider your goals for the race. Be content to run more slowly, rather than thinking you can train the house down over the next 2 weeks and blitz your PB! If your training has been steady and as you've planned, keep it up. Your long run this week should be slightly less than what you are used to; eg if you have been running 10kms the last few weeks, drop it back to 8km. Mix your intervals up with some short and sharp bursts with longer recovery time, coupled with some longer slower intervals with less recovery time. Start thinking about how you might run the race.

Sunday 28th February: 4 weeks to go! Many people like to get an idea of what to expect in a fun run, so if you are fairly local to Lindfield, run over the course a couple of times between now and the big day, or at least include part of the course in a couple of your runs. Don't do it more than a couple of times, otherwise you may get a bit stale. Meet the Hooked on Health team this Sunday March 7th at Roseville Oval, 6:30am for a group run over the course. If you like to get a surprise on the day and prefer not to run the coure beforehand, try to run a hilly 5 or 10kms at least a few times before the race.

Sunday 21st February: 5 weeks to go! Make sure you have your training planned over the next 5 weeks so that you can have a light week of training leading up to the race. This is called "tapering". If you have been training hard up till now, take a week of lighter training now (a recovery week) and start back in with some more intense, faster sessions and some longer mileage next week. Remember not to increase your mileage by more than about 5% each week though! If your training hasn't been going so well, continue building up to a week before the event, then take the week before the race pretty easy. Most of all, keep having fun!

Sunday 7th February: 7 weeks to go! Don't be put off by the weather. With only 7 weeks to go, you need to be sure to keep up your mileage. Put on a hat to keep the rain out of your eyes, put one foot in front of the other and 'just do it". Once you get going, running in the rain is very pleasant. Remember that you are still sweating and losing quite a bit of fluid, so replenish with water or a sports recovery drink such as Endurox R4(see our tip for Sunday 10th January for more information on Endurox and rehydration generally). You should be doing some speed work now if you haven't already started. Include an interval training session in your programme. Make use of our expertise, be motivated by runing wth a group and join one of our sessions. We have both men's and women's training groups which you can join now.

Sunday 31st January: 8 weeks to go! If you've been training steadily for the last few weeks, take some time to recover this week. Ease back on your mileage and intensity a little. Reduce your mileage by about 25%-35%. This will help to ensure you do not overtrain, and give your body a chance to rebuild and get stronger, more able to cope with the training to come.

Injury Prevention. The right amount of recovery time is an important part of injury prevention, and so is limiting the jarring effect running has on your body. Try to run on soft surfaces such as grass or bush tracks as much as possible. With some injuries you are better on the flatter surface of the footpath, so if you already have an injury which seems to be aggravated by running on the grass, see your medical professional.

If you are "road running" which more often than not means footpath running, run on the grass nature strip whenever you can. If the grass is long and you can't see what's underneath, or the ground is particularly uneven with lots of holes to trap your ankles, or the grass verge is too sharply cambered, stick to the path or road. The road surface is about 10 times softer than the hard concrete of the footpath, however if you are going to run on the road, beware of cars. Sounds logical, doesn't it? Never assume a car can see you, especially when the sun is low in the sky in the early morning and late afternoon. Always run on the right hand side of the road so that you can see what's coming towards you. Hooked on Health does however, advise against running on the road.

Shoes. Now would be a good time to consider buying a new pair of shoes. Running shoes should be replaced every 600-800kms. You'll clock up this distance before you know it. It doesn't take much to cover 20km/week-two runs and an interval training session will just about do it, even if you are fairly new to running. So if you've had your shoes for about six months, do a quick calculation. If you think they are about due to be replaced, replace them in the next couple of weeks so you have plenty of time to wear them in before the race. Many shoe fitters will tell you a good fitting running shoe should not need to be worn in, however in our experience, you should NEVER try anything new just before a race. This applies to everything; food, massage, supplements, sports gels etc, not just shoes.

Sunday 24th January: 9 weeks to go! This week you could add some speed work to your training. Whilst continuing to build your mileage, you could induldge in a little fartlek training on your runs. Fartlek is a Swedish word meaning speed play. It is a very effective way of improving your speed and endurance. Throughout your run, you can alternate your pace between fast segments and slower recovery segments. You can base your work-rest intervals on how your body feels. Use farlek training to experiment with pace and endurance, and to see what your body and fitness levels can cope with. Feel the difference in how hard your body is working with the changes in pace.

To incoporate a fartlek workout into your normal run, introduce some short periods of a slightly higher pace, once you have warmed up. Maintain the faster pace for a short distance or time intervals, such as 200m or 30 seconds. The intervals can vary in distance and intensity throughout the workout. Using landmarks such as streetlights or telephone poles is a handy way to mark out your intervals. Once you complete a fast segment, slow your pace to below your normal running pace, until your breathing has returned to normal. Then return to running at your normal pace. Then include a faster segment again. Your whole session can be fartlek training, or you can include a few shorter periods of fartlek training within a longer run. You might warm up at a steady pace for up to 10 minutes, then do 10 minutes of fartlek, 10 minutes at a steady pace and another 10 mintues of fartlek, and then 10 minutes at a steady pace to cool off. Remember, it is best to introduce any new type of training gradually.

Fartlek training works by putting a little extra stress on your system. Your body responds by making itself stronger and more able to cope with the heavier workload. It's as if your body is saying "If this is what she's going to do to me, I'd better get myself ready to cope with it!"

Sunday 17th January: 10 weeks to go! Continue to build your mileage slowly, and remember to include recovery in your training schedule. Have at least one day off from exercise a week, and think about including a cross training session such as swimming in your schedule. The training effect actually takes place when you are in recovery, so if you don't give your body time to recover, then your training will not be nearly as effective. Sleep is a very important part of any training programme.
Massage: Massage is important for recovery. It helps to ease tightness in muscles and in doing so, to prevent injuries which can result from muscles tightness, particularly those hoary old running injuries, plantar fasciosis and knee pain caused by ITBFS (Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome). Your ITB is a band of fascia which runs down the outside of your upper leg and it is often found to be tight in runners. You can massage yourself, or go to a good massage therapist, preferably one who is experienced with sports people. Be warned, it may be a little painful, but it is well worth it. If you are planning to use massage as part of your recovery programme, don't wait till a couple of days before the race to have your first massage. As with anything new, you should try it well before the race to see how your body reacts.

Sunday 10th January: 11 weeks to go! You should be getting in some good tempo runs at this stage of your training, along with some interval training if you have a good aerobic base. The distance you run will depend on what kind of base you have. Don't increase your weekly mileage or intensity too quickly, as this can lead to injury and overtraining. A good rule of thumb is to increase your mileage by no more than 5% per week.
Hydration: It is very easy to let yourself get dehydrated in this weather, even when you are not exercising. Make sure you are drinking at least 2 litres of water per day, more on days you are exercising. Weigh yourself before and after your sessions to determine how much fluid you have lost through sweat. Every kilo lost accounts for a loss of one litre of fluid, and should be replaced. Don't weigh yourself in clothes, as your clothes will tend to hold the sweat.
Sports Drinks: We recommend Endurox R4 as a fluid replacement drink for sessions of 50 minutes and over. This formula has a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, which has been found to be very effective in recovery. You can read more about EnduroxR4 here. You need to feed as soon as possible after exercise, and certainly within 30 minutes of finishing.