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running

Staying fit during lockdown – Part I. Running

May 4, 2020 by Karl Travis Leave a Comment

Fed up of being in lockdown and not being able to go to the gym? You’re not alone. However, lockdown doesn’t have to mean losing your fitness, strength and tone. Over the next few newsletters we’ll be passing on hints and tips from our fitness instructors on how to keep yourself in good shape while we await the green light to re-open our fantastic refurbished Leisure Centre.

This week, fitness instructor Karl Travis discusses lockdown running.

Keeping trim means getting the calorie count right. During lockdown you may be tempted to eat more snacks – boredom is usually the cause!  – or drink more alcohol. These add to your daily calorie intake. You either need to drop your calorie intake or burn the extra off doing some form of exercise – or both. The Government allows everyone to take one form of daily exercise per day. This can be anything from a leisurely walk, a bicycle ride or a run. Personally, I like to go for a run and so I’ll focus on running for this newsletter though much of what I say may be applied to walking.

Running is not everyone’s cup of tea and can cause a lot of wear and tear on your connective tissue, give you stitch or raise your heart rate quite high, especially if the run is intense with several gradients. However, if that hasn’t put you off, read on!

Folly Lane

While treadmills are useful devices, especially when the weather is poor or on cold winter nights, I’ll cover only running outdoors. Choose a route before you set off and have a target distance in mind (novices should avoid hills). Before starting your run, it is really important to prepare your body for the exercise. You must first warm up the muscles before some preparatory stretching. An easy way to warm up would be to do some quick paced walking or even some star jumps. Next, perform a series of static stretches (you could alternatively try dynamic stretches). The below YouTube video is useful for demonstrating pre-running stretches – hold each stretch for around 12 seconds and work the main muscles in your lower body.

Video – how to stretch before running

When you are warmed up and stretched, begin your run at a slow jogging pace. Run as far as you can until stitch or fatigue kick in and then walk the rest of your planned route. Don’t be disheartened if you didn’t get as far as you imagined. We all need to start somewhere and you need to condition your lungs and muscles for aerobic workouts like this one.

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Woodland near Royd Moor Reservoir

As a rule of thumb, you will not be able to cover the same distance as you would on a treadmill before feeling tired – running on roads or cross country is harder than on a machine. At the end of your run, when your pulse has lowered and you feel more rested, perform some post-workout stretches (preferably seated on a mat), holding each stretch for 20 seconds. Make sure you rehydrate by drinking a glass of water soon after your run.

I tend to run every alternate day to allow my body to recover properly. A more leisurely walk might be done on the ‘off’ days. Each time you run, try to go a little bit further than you did previously, even if the extra distance is one more lamppost or way marker from your previous best. Vary your route to prevent boredom setting in. As you build up your aerobic capacity, add some hills into the mix and try to run at a faster rate.

It is not unusual to suffer setbacks. This is as true for running as it is for resistance training (weights). You will go on a run one day and find you get a stitch before you reach your previous distance. If this happens you should change to walking and consider returning to your home. Don’t worry, within a couple of days, you’ll be back to your original best distance.

For many people, running in the morning is better when you have eaten only a light meal (breakfast). Running later in the day after perhaps 3 heavy meals may not work so well and you may find you get stitch more easily. Try to eat smaller meals throughout the day to limit this if you are more of an evening person or ensure you leave at least 2 hours after a meal before running. Stay hydrated – drink plenty of water and try to avoid alcohol, carbonated (fizzy) drinks through the day, which act as a diuretic and can increase your thirst.

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Grazing horses on Folly Lane

It is an advantage to have a smart watch when you go running. This device can store music so you can listen to your favourite songs using wireless headphones without the need to carry a heavy phone or iPod in your pocket. Cellular smart watches have the advantage that you can call someone if you get into trouble during the run. If you don’t have a cellular watch, you are strongly advised to take your phone – you might turn on your ankle running cross country on your own and need to raise an alarm. Smart watches (or Fitbits) have good apps which can be used to monitor your workout, giving your average heart rate, distance travelled, pace and height climbed for example. You can then look back at your workout history.

Your maximum heart rate is 220 – your age. For someone aged 50, their maximum heart rate is 170 beats per minute (bpm). You should aim for 50-70% of your maximum heart rate, which in the above example would be a range of 85 – 119 bpm. A more vigorous training regime would use the range 70%-85% or 119 – 145 bpm using the same example. If you work at the higher heart rate, you are more likely to burn sugars than fat, so unless you are training for a marathon, stick to the more moderate regime. Another piece of equipment worth investing in is a set of health scales. These look like a standard bathroom scale but measure your lean body mass, body fat, bone mass as well as total body weight, sending the results to your smart phone via Bluetooth.

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Ingbirchworth Road, near Baptist church

My favorite route starts off from a point on Ingbirchworth road adjacent to the Baptist church. The road becomes Folly Lane at the top of the hill. Continue on Folly Lane until the road ends. To the left there is a wooden gate and a bridleway. Follow the path keeping Royd Moor reservoir to your right. The path takes you through some woodland. Go through another wooden gate which takes you onto Royd Moor Road. Turn left on this road and follow this downhill until you arrive back at the church. This circuit is 3 km (2 miles) with an elevation of 50 m (150 ft).  To extend the run, I turn onto Work Bank Lane (right after the church) and follow the track until I reach a clearing through a wooded area on the right. I run through the wooded area until I reach Manchester Road. I then run along Manchester Road and then onto Towngate arriving back at the church on Ingbirchworth road. This extended run is 5 km in length and involves a height difference from the lowest to the highest point of 90 m. This is a very scenic run but high intensity. My average heart rate is on this is typically 148 bpm.

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Looking back towards Viaduct from a point on Folly Lane.

Penistone Hill Race!

October 9, 2019 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

Penistone Hill Race took place on a rainy Sunday 22nd September! A total of 89 runners raced the tough 10k and raised a whopping £959.45 towards the upkeep of Penistone Leisure Centre.

The race was won by Penistone Footpath Runners’ own Scott Hinchliffe in a fantastic time of 41:45! Here he is pictured and looking strong!

For now, the course record remains with Tom Saville who ran it in 40:15 in 2018.

First lady in was Sam Shaw, another of Penistone Footpath Runners with a brilliant time of 50:44.

We have an awful lot of people to thank for putting on this event and raising such a brilliant amount. Firstly Shaun Dimelow and the footpath runners for organising this annual event.

Robin Clough of DataConsulting Ltd very kindly sponsored the prizes and presented the awards to the winners! Here he is presenting the prize to First lady, Sam Shaw.

Thanks also go to Andy Plummer and the Trunce Runners who gave a cash donation which paid for the bread and some prizes! Thank you for your support.

Woodhead Mountain Rescue deserve a big thank you for providing First Aid support on the day (which thankfully, was not needed!)- We are very grateful.

Thanks also go to Paul Schofield Butchers (who donated a massive meat hamper!) Zeanti (prize), Penty & Co Gents Barbers (gents haircut) and Tesco (voucher) who all donated prizes.

And last but not least, all the runners! You kept smiles on your faces, despite the rubbish weather and the nearly £1000 raised will help to keep your community-run leisure centre open. We receive no regular funding from the council or outside bodies to keep the centre open, so we rely on fundraising events like this and the regular income from classes/gym/skating etc to stay afloat. Its a battle sometimes, with an old building to maintain and improve, so if you think you could help with fundraising or would like to volunteer we would LOVE to hear from you!

Below are some more photos of the runners at the event. Thanks also, go to Keith Gordon for allowing us to use his fab photographs.

It’s nearly time for Penistone Hill Race…

September 9, 2019 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

… So if you’re up for a challenge, get signed up! There is also a Shield up for grabs for the fastest team, so grab your fast friends and get running.

Penistone Hill race is just over 10k of tarmac, trails, and paths through the beautiful countryside from Penistone towards Langsett and back again.

The race is taking place on Sunday 22nd September 2019 at 11am. Reistration is at Penistone Leisure Centre from 9am and the start line is at Penistone Showground (behind Tesco).

You can sign up for your place here!

Entries are £8 EA Club Runners or £10 Unaffiliated Runners if you enter online, or you can enter on the day for an additional £3.

There are prizes, trophies and a shield up for grabs and £50 cash to anyone who can break the course record!

Hot food and drinks/snacks are available at Penistone Leisure Centre after the race, so bring along some ££ for refreshments!

All monies raised by the race and the refreshments are going to Penistone Leisure Centre’s Big Build Fund.

Link to Facebook event is here.

Entries are Open For Penistone Hill Race!

August 19, 2019 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

So save yourself £3 against the ‘on the day’ price and sign up for your place here-

https://racebest.com/races/wtgag

The Hill Race is the annual 10k organised as a fundraiser for Penistone Leisure Centre and is on Sunday 22nd September at 11am. Club runners cost £8, and unaffiliated runners are £10. The race is open to runners aged 17+.

The challenging race takes you through picturesque scenery from Penistone out towards Langsett and back again in a circular route of just over 10k distance.

There are trophies for 1st Male and Female, prizes for all age categories/teams and extensive spot prizes. There are shields for the 1st Team of 4 non- affiliated runners. Break the course record and you’ll win £50 cash!

There are refreshments and hot food available after the race so please bring a few quid and have your lunch with us! It’s all fundraising to keep Penistone Leisure Centre providing sports facilities to the local area.

Many thanks to the organisers for putting the fundraiser on again this year, and also to Steve Frith for his permission to use this wonderful photo!

If you’d like a reminder about the event, nearer to the time, why not click ‘interested’ or ‘going’ on our facebook event HERE.

A Date for Your Diary- Penistone Hill Race

June 25, 2019 by Frances Greenwood Leave a Comment

The Penistone Hill Race is on Sunday 22nd September this year! Don’t forget to pop the date in your diary.

Penistone Hill Race is a multi-terrain race: approximately 6½ miles (10½km) with 1,000 feet (300m) of ascent! The race is organised by Shaun Dimelow and Penistone Foot Path Runners, and entry fees /refreshments sales are fundraising for us here at Penistone Leisure Centre!

It is a tough race on tarmac, trails and paths, with hills and stunning views of the Penistone area. It is run under UK Athletics rules (cross country permit tbc).
This event is open to anyone- club runners or unaffiliated. And there are trophies for different categories.
Registration is open from 9am at Penistone Leisure Centre, and the race starts at 11am from Penistone Show Ground (behind Tesco). Please leave 10mins to walk from PLC to the start line.
You can enter in advance on Penistone Footpath Runners website nearer to the date (website here) or on the day.
Entry fees: £8 EA registered runners, £10 unregistered in advance, £11/£13 on the day.

Credit to Steve Frith of Mozzienet Photography for this photo from a previous years hill race. Many thanks for letting us use this fantastic photo!

Here’s a link to the Facebook Event– please select ‘interested’ or ‘going’ and Facebook will remind you about it closer to the date! Please SHARE with any runners you know.

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