As part of the new Life Style Sports #GirlsRunTheWorld campaign, Michelle McMahon, Editor of Her.ie and Sue Murphy, TV & Film Editor, were challenged to run a 5k race after 12 weeks of training. The pair will be blogging their journery over the 12 weeks, why they signed up to the challenge and what they want to get out of it. This is the first step in their fitness journey.
_________________________________________
Michelle says:
Girls Run The World!
I may have sung along absent-mindedly with Beyoncé previously when she’s been belting that one out through my radio speakers, but now it’s become my mantra.
Hi, I’m Michelle, and I’m an unfit sedentary worker.
At 5ft 4 and eternally floating somewhere between 8 and a half and 9 stone, I’m not overweight for my height, but I’m mad keen to tone up and set myself some fitness goals.
So, I signed up to take on a Girls Run The World with Life Style Sports.
For the next twelve weeks, the rest of the Her.ie team will be cheering on (and good-naturedly teasing) my colleague Sue and I as we attempt to go from fitness heroes to zeros.
The new campaign from Life Style Sports, a wholly Irish-owned company, is by the same name, and it’s all built around female fitness. A perfect fit for us, naturally.
As of this week we begin training with a lovely man who has promised to whip us into shape, but as the old saying goes ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’, so the very first step was getting kitted out properly.
Last week Sue and I made our way out to Life Style Sports in Dundrum Town Centre to get some new gear for our fitness adventure. The lovely Lorna, store manager at Life Style Sports (and with a toned figure that we both long to emulate!) helped us choose a head-to-toe kit that promises to work as hard as we do.
Being firmly of the ‘leggings are not pants’ school of thought, I initially wanted to get some looser tracksuit bottoms. But, the truth is that this is the one exception to the leggings rule, and the tighter varieties made it less likely that I would trip over myself (it happens). They also keep you warmer for those outdoor training session. Our trainer has plans for us to be out on the beach come hell or high water, so chances are we'll appreciate these leggings in the long run…
I opted for Under Armour, as so many of my friends who are fitness freaks swear by the brand. After I tried a number of pairs, I found a full-length version with a drawstring and little back pocket that fit the bill. While I was at it, I bought a shorter length NIKE pair with a high waistband, which I’ll be saving until the weather is a little warmer.
Lorna mentioned that the Under Armour tops are looser fitting, so that was my first port of call for a tee also. I chose a luminous pink one to make sure I’m seen on those winter evenings, but loose enough and long enough to make sure my bum wasn’t seen! An Under Armour black zip-up completed my cute but entirely functional look. Since I haven’t owned sports gear since I last had a PE class in secondary school, it’s nice to see that sportswear can be really stylish too.
The guys at Life Style Sports also set us up with some socks. In my naivety I thought socks were socks. Not so. We got some Asics Nimbus socks, specially designed to prevent blisters and not 100% cotton, so we won’t get quite so sweaty…
The major reason for our visit, however, was a gait analysis. This is a free service offered by Life Style Sports. You wear a pair of basic trainers, then you’re recorded as you run for ten seconds or so on a treadmill. By examining the footage, experts can see your natural gait and recommend the best footwear for you, based on this information.
By looking at my run, my Product Expert was able to tell me that my right foot tends to turn inwards when I run. Something I had long suspected, as my boots always wear in that particular spot first – nice to know I wasn’t imagining it!
Based on this, I was shown a number of different ‘stability shoes’, trainers designed to make sure my foot lands flat and faces forward instead of turning in, which will help me avoid any future injury problems.
As a complete novice, this isn’t something I’d ever have considered myself, I’d simply have walked in and picked up the first pair I liked the look of. It’s invaluable to have that advice on hand, and for free!
Having tried a number of options, I fell in love with the NIKE Lunar Glide trainers. They have the corrective properties I need, but still feel super-light on my feet. Winner all-round!
Now that we’re all set with our gear, all that remains is to actually begin working out in it. But that’s for another day!
Sue says:
Hi! I'm Sue and I used to be fit... (Descends into floods of tears)
When I first heard about the challenge with Life Style Sports, I was a little skeptical. It had been a long time since I ran, about seven years in fact, and my fitness level was nowhere where near where it used to be.
When I was younger, I swam quite a lot, taking quite a few lessons to learn how to breathe properly, training right up to a safety/lifeguard level. When I injured my back a few years ago, I was told to take up swimming again, eventually working up to a level where I could complete 20-25 laps a day. Unfortunately, I fell out of my routine and with that, the swimming stopped.
I took the challenge for the 10k to prove to myself that I could get back to a level of fitness I was happy with and, of course, to learn how to run properly.
Our first week of the programme included assessing where our fitness level was and to get properly kitted out.
In order to take on a challenge like this, you need to have the right gear and Life Style Sports were more than happy to help out with this. Not only do you need the right type of shoes and gear for running, it is also hugely important to try prevent any injuries, feel comfortable and get the best results.
On Wednesday of last week, myself and Michelle took a trip out to Life Style Sports in Dundrum to meet with their Product Experts about what kind of clothing and footwear we should be wearing.
In terms of clothing, it is important to wear clothing that is comfortable, but that will also keep you cool. For running, it is paramount to wear tight leggings as tracksuit bottoms will be flapping around too much for you to run in. We were also very aware of the weather being a little colder at the moment so between warm-ups and actual runs, it was important to keep that little bit warmer.
For the clothing, I went for an Under Armour Perfect Jacket as pictured above. I had used Under Armour clothing in the past for running before they became big in Ireland and loved their gear. Under Armour works with your body to regulate temperature and enhance performance, taking perspiration away from the body rather than absorbing it.
Michelle and I both chose the same leggings which were also Under Armour for the above reasons. The leggings were Women's Fly By in tight black, very comfortable and most importantly, they stay up while you're running.
For t-shirts, I went with a Nike shirt, which had very similar technology to Under Armour. The t-shirt was a dri-fit Stay Cool product, which pulls away sweat to keep you dry and comfortable. The basic idea is to stay cool when it heats up.
For women, obviously it is quite important to pick the right type of sports bra if you will be training a lot. The running bra was a Shock Absorber, which was one of the recommended bras for running.
The final, and perhaps the most important part of the process, was the Gait Analysis. Life Style Sports offers customers a free Gait Analysis service which provides runners with an essential insight into their individual running styles. The results shown from the Gait Analysis service enables the Product Experts to advise customers on THE best footwear to suit their foot strike, maximising their performance and minimising the risk of injury.
For my running style, I actually need shoes that are more cushioned than for stability as my run is pretty straight. A Product Expert from Lifestyle Sports basically asked me to run for ten seconds on a treadmill and then they could judge exactly what kind of footwear would best suit me for the challenge.
I went with a pair of Asics Gel Cumulus which I found to be a little more comfortable for me, especially considering the gel cushioning.
Our first video from training will be up on the site on Wednesday so keep up to date with the blog which will detail all our progress and the hashtag #girlsruntheworld for further updates.
Whatever kind of training you are involved in, the Life Style Sports Product Experts (in stores nationwide) are on hand to ensure each customer selects the correct clothing and footwear to meet their individual needs, reducing risk of injury and achieving better results. Life Style Sports also offers customers a free Gait Analysis service in select stores which provides runners with an essential insight into their individual running styles. Customers can also find all the information they need on wearing the right technical apparel, including “Sports Bra Fitting Guides” and footwear while running or working out at “The Fitness Hub” on lifestylesports.com.
