Glenisk Gets You Running: Wk 8 – Prepare for 10K With Our 8 Week Running Plan

You have visions of running like a world class athlete. The reality is you have as much grace as Bambi on ice. Not to mention after a few faithful sprints you're gasping for breath and realising that the trek ahead is going to take some training. Well, we've signed up with Glenisk who are supporting the Marie Keating Foundation team at this year's Flora Women's Mini Marathon. Glenisk have gathered a team of experts including Aveen Bannon of the Dublin Nutrition Centre and the fitness trainers over at Bodybyrne to provide us with nutrition and training tips for the lead up to the marathon. From stretches, nutrition and posture to mapping your route - we've got you covered. Week 8 – Ensuring a fresh pair of legs for the race Congratulations! You’ve made it to week eight, and now it’s time to start reducing the volume of training to make sure you’ve a fresh pair of legs to take on that 10km race. Now that you’ve done all the hard work, it’s all about peaking at the right time. This week’s training session is similar to last week, where all levels will work from the same guide. The schedule also won’t involve any interval training but will involve three sessions of two short runs and one mid-distance run. Beginners/ Intermediate/ Advanced Session 1 – In the first session this week, run 6km at the pace you plan on running per km on race day. This will give you the chance to build up your endurance. Session 2 – For this session, increase the distance of your speed but run at a slower pace. You will be aiming to cover 7-10km, but slower than your 10km pace. Session 3 – This 5km session will act as your recovery run for the week. Run this slower than your two earlier training stints this week. As mentioned before, this run will also help enhance your recovery from the week's training. Session 4 – This session is aimed at increasing your body strength and core and will follow the same routine as last week. This will be a short 20 minute session, and will work in maintaining posture throughout the 10k run. Perform 4 sets of each exercise with the desired reps below. Circuit: 1) Body weight squats – 10 reps 2) Push-ups – 10 reps 3) Body weight lunges – 10 each leg 4) Plank – hold 30 seconds – 1 minute 5)  Back extension – 10 reps Nutritional Tips This Week: Bodybyrne.ie are this week giving us top tips to control our carbohydrate cravings. As we are training more and at a higher intensity, we need to ensure we are getting enough nutrients and are eating enough of the right foods to support our training. While we need to ensure that we are eating enough so that we are using our carbohydrate and fat stores as fuel and not losing muscle, it can be difficult to resist temptation and control cravings. Her are 5 top tips to help control carb cravings: 1) Flavour with spices - Use spices and herbs to increase flavour of foods rather than adding extra sugars, salts, fats and additives. For example; use cinnamon or nutmeg in porridge instead of adding sweeteners. 2) Stay hydrated - Craving sugar may be a sign of dehydration. Try adding citrus to water or eating an extra piece of fruit. 3) Get enough sleep - Not getting adequate sleep can increase our stress levels, elevating our levels of cortisol, which in turn can increase our need for carbohydrates and increases our fat storage. It has been shown that when we don't get enough sleep, we tend to make bad food choices. This can lead to consuming an extra 300 calories a day! 4) Eliminate processed foods - Choose foods that are in their natural form. Opt for food with a low glycaemic index, for example choosing sweet potato over regular potatoes. This will cause a slower release of glucose into our bodies, meaning we shouldn't get a slump after a sugar rush. Making these choices can also help eliminate our cravings for sugar. 5) Minimise stress - Stress can increase sugar cravings. When we are stressed, our serotonin levels (our feel good hormone) decrease. This decrease often leads to an increased craving for carbohydrates. In combatting this serotonin dip, we reduce the risk of turning to carbohydrates for a pick me up. For a low carbohydrate, high protein recipe, check out this recipe for a chicken waldorf salad.