Little by little, the increasingly feared month of September will come closer, with the return to school, work and our daily chores. But not everything is going to be bad: with September and the cooler days also our beloved race calendar and our usual running trainings, either in a group or alone.
The month of September, like every start of the course, is the moment chosen by many of the runners to get new career material. If you want to start running from next month or if you want to resume your workouts, this is the material that you can not miss as a runner in the return to school .
Time to renew the shoes for the new season
It is important to take stock of the state of our last season shoes : do you know how many kilometers they have? Do you think they can also serve you for this season or is it time to renew them?
The average life of a running shoe moves around 1000 kilometers accumulated : more or less when they have those kilometers the sole of the shoe is worn enough to think about buying new ones that ensure a good grip on all surfaces and a correct cushion for our stride.
Perhaps the new course is the perfect moment to start the transition from cushioned shoes to other minimalist shoes . If you have to change shoes, it may be worthwhile to ask if you want to try the change in the next season.
To take care of your new shoes, do not forget that it is a good idea to always untie the laces before removing them, clean them properly (and not put them in the washing machine), dry them well before storing them and keep track of the kilometers that we accumulate with them with applications like, for example, Runtastic, which does it automatically when we load our workouts.
Equip yourself to face the cold
Gone are those days of summer in which at six o’clock in the afternoon it was 40 degrees hot in the shade, and it is necessary to equip ourselves for autumn. As we keep the shorts and the tank tops in the closet, we will have to start taking out the jackets and long tights that make us the most comfortable outings in the coldest months.
An indispensable piece in the wardrobe of a runner facing autumn is a good windbreak : make sure it is waterproof, that it is lightweight (so that you can wear it tied to the waist or tucked in the backpack and take it out only if necessary) and that fits well to your body. Investing in a quality windbreaker (usually having one or two is enough if you are a popular runner) is a good idea with a view to the new course.
If you’re already thinking about the colder months, get some thermal clothing : at least one shirt and some tights that can save you many winter workouts. A thin long-sleeved shirt, like that of the San Silvestre Vallecana, can make you play on those days when it’s too hot to go out with the thermal, but there is already a rich wind with which it is not advisable to leave with short sleeves.
New gadgets and accessories: do not motivate yourself before time
Sometimes we get a little crazy buying gadgets and accessories related to our sport, and many of them end up unused in a drawer after having left us a good money invested in them.
That is why it is important that before buying anything that is expensive, a heart rate monitor for example , we really value if we are going to use it in the future and if we are going to make the most of it. Analyze your needs as a broker , invest time to see what are the characteristics of the different models that exist in the market and choose the one that best suits what you need. If the fashionable pulsometer costs you 200 euros more because it has maps and a compass but you only have to run through the El Retiro park, maybe a previous model does the same service and you can invest that money in more interesting things.
The same goes for other types of accessories : do you really need a light front to go running in the park? Do you really need to buy compression stockings if your longest run is one hour? Be prudent: analyze, compare and buy what you really need.
A new planning of the trainings
Do you remember when in school or university they gave you the class schedule the first day and you read and reread it and began to plan what you had to do every day facing classes and exams? Well, in the return to the school of the runner something similar happens: it is time to set the objectives of the new course (if you have not done it yet) and to plan the training that will lead us to achieve them.
The first thing we should do is to choose correctly our objectives of the new course according to the time we can dedicate to them and our state of form. There is little point in considering an ultramarathon in June (in the medium to long term) if we know that we will not be able to dedicate enough hours of training per week.
Once you have set a realistic and possible goal, it is time to set the workouts on the agenda : mark them as one more appointment within your day to day, reserve the necessary time and give them the importance they deserve within your day. Do not forget that besides running it is very interesting that you also include strength training, mobility and career technique.
With all this, you are ready for the new course as a runner: now you only need to tie your shoes and start training. Happy start of course, runners!