A friendly running club based in Cirencester!

Speed Up, Cool Down, and Stretch

Fartlek Efforts

Every time someone says ‘fartlek’

This week, head coach Kevin Joynes-Creed, invited runners to complete a Fartlek session to challenge the body with various speeds. Runners needed to use their surroundings, picking landmarks to run at speed to. Well done to everyone who completed the session this week, particularly if you went out in the rain on our normal Wednesday club session night!

It’s not too late to complete the session if you fancy some fartlek-ing! Click the link left for more information on fartleks, what the session entailed and the benefits of the session.

There are only 3 Wednesdays left in February! – Why not challenge yourself to complete every effort session for the rest of the month? You could reward yourself with some pancakes at the end!

Stretching

With club sessions on hold, it’s very easy to miss a very important part of running, the post-run stretch. Most of us are guilty of skipping a stretch or getting too distracted when we first get home from a run, and without the coaches watching or reminding us, it’s very easy to forget the importance. Not only does stretching help a runner avoid injury, it also helps to improve flexibility and cool down gradually. So what stretches are best?

Here are the stretches our RSE coaches lead us through after a club session:

With legs apart, try to touch the floor
Stretch down to your left foot, and then your right foot
With 1 leg straight in front and a straight back, sit slightly on the other leg. After 10s, reach down and try to touch the toes. Switch legs.
Front leg bent, straight back leg. Switch legs.
Side lunge to the left and right
Standing on 1 leg, hold your other ankle (it’s okay to use a wall for balance)
Raise one arm over your head and lean to the side. Switch sides.
Hold your arm across your chest to stretch your shoulder. Switch arms.
Hold one arm up and place your hand in the centre of your back. With the other hand, hold your elbow.
Both arms up at a right angle and then push them back. Ease off, then repeat

Each stretch should last around 8-12 seconds and should be done after running.

If you would like more information on the benefits of each individual stretch, or are unsure on a pose, just contact a member of the coaching team.

Club Weekly Totals

*According to Strava, 07.02.2021 at 5pm

That’s more than last week! Fantastic work team RSE!

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