Welcome to the fall season! With rain and a few final big running races on the horizon, many running enthusiasts have a difficult time maintaining their training schedule. I’ve been there and would steer everyone clear of embracing the Thanksgiving, Halloween and all the other holiday food coma by combining it with new, exciting and unique ways of keeping your running steady, even when the weather isn’t the greatest.
Depending on the distance and goal time, your training would typically include 3 quality runs per week consisting of speed, long, tempo, maybe hill and fartlek. It also pays off to do strength training, stretching and core. During the colder months, I find we dial down our running substantially by running on the treadmill here and there and concentrate on strength and yoga. It’s hard to get motivated to run all those various workouts on a treadmill! What if I told you, I found a perfect place that’ll kick your butt in high gear and within an hour you’ll get your speed, hill and strength workout in all within 60 minutes! Track Fitness, a Forest Hill fitness staple with it’s Circuit 60 class will always leave you guessing in terms of what kind of work out you’ll get because they constantly switch up the combination of treadmill and weight training intervals. I did a class with Anthony and as you can see, sweat was a friend by the end of it!
What else may get you motivated to keep up with your running schedule?! A wonderful pair of runners certainly can get me out the door. My latest favourites may not come as a surprise at all as everywhere you turn, runners in Toronto are wearing these! New Balance released their #Vazee Pace road running shoes, alongside the launch of New Balance’s latest marketing platform Always In Beta. My first test run in these was 15km and I had the best time! A distance that I typically regret on the road became my go to during August and September because the Vazee’s were just calling my name! As a runner, I appreciate the firmness of the sole and the immediate comfort in terms of the back of your heel and mid-foot being comfortably locked in place with just the right amount of space in the toe area. The bright lime green colour took me by surprise at first but after couple of runs in the dark, I started appreciating how bright they are. They’re also super light, breathable and have just the right amount of cushion to entice you to run an extra mile. Vazee Pace have become my go-to road running shoe this season!
Lastly, under the radar, Superdry – the brand that’s mostly recognized for the large logo on their urban leisure wear, came out with a fitness line for the ladies, Superdry Sport for Women. The tights and top that I tried kept up with my heavy sweating and demanding exercises, they also look on point and feel comfortable on. That said, I may have sweat just a little too much because as soon as I went outside, I got pretty cold.
Do you have other fitness running ideas to keep motivated and in training mode during fall and winter? Share with us and we’ll be sure to check things out!