Summer Running in Dubai

- David O'Hara

Set Goals and Create a Plan

What is your next fitness goal? At the beginning of the training season, set a goal. For example, last year I wanted to develop my endurance and become an ultramarathoner. Last summer I trained with that specific goal in mind, getting fit enough to run as many marathons and ultramarathons as possible. Now that the marathon season ended with the Paris Marathon in April– giving me five marathons and four ultramarathons since January – I need a new goal. My new goal is to complete an epic ultramarathon event this fall, with the short-term goal of increasing my running fitness. My plan is to increase the intensity of my running and work on my core. Be strong and fit. For endurance, I will do long runs, but vary the speed, which increases the intensity over three hours. For core exercises, I must do basic exercises every day – sit-ups, pushups, jump rope, squats, burpees, lunges, stretches and plank.

Read

Summer is the time to read. “Born to Run” is a classic that inspired me to start running. My current fav book is “The Tao of Running”. There are many good running theory books which are a bit dry, but can be helpful for more experienced runners: Jason Koop’s “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”,Jordan Metzl’s“Running Strong”, and anything written by Matt Fitzgerald or Hal Higdon. Trolling www.dcrainmaker.com is the best source for info on all technical gear like GPS and heart rate watches for runners.

Research