Must-knows with 4 weeks to go

1) Know your nutrition. Start working out what best suits your body to eat pre-race. Everyone is different. Some like a light breakfast, others prefer something heavier. Just ensure you leave 2 hours minimum between eating and race start time.
2) Know your pace. At this stage you should have a fair idea of what pace you can run each kilometre. This is vital on race day to avoid burning out too quick.
3) Know the course. Start to get familiar with where you will be running. Is it flat? Is there many hills? You don’t want to leave this to surprise you on race day.
4) Know your start time on the day. Start getting mentally ready and know what time the run starts and then even better, start running at this time in training.
5) Know what you’re running in. Sounds funny but I’ve heard of people buying new runners with a week or two left til race day. Ensure you’ve done a couple of runs in your trainers and that you opt for breathable clothing. Steer clear of cotton in particular.

5 tips for eating healthy fats

Over the past few weeks we’ve highlighted the benefits of having a good balanced diet of carbohydrates, fats and protein. However, sometimes there is some confusion over what are good and bad fats and which we should be having in our daily diets.
Tip 1 Good fats versus bad fats
Know the difference between what are good fats and what are bad fats. Good fats are non animal fats, from fish and plant sources such as nuts, olives and avocados. These are high in Omega 3.
Bad fats are vegetable and processed animal fats that are high in omega 6 which causes them to be pro inflammatory causing damage to the body. This is not to say that we shouldn’t eat animal products but we should ensure they are organic and of good quality. Eating more calories from fat sources can help achieve good body composition. This can help reduce inflammation, improve your metabolism, balance hormones and help control sugar cravings.
Tip 2 Eating more good fats
Eating more fat in your diet promotes muscle gain with training, eating good fats will not make you fat. What causes us to gain weight is sugar. High sugar in our diets causes a spike in our insulin levels making our bodies store more fat.
Tip 3 Avoid processed fats
Make sure to eat fats in their raw form. For example, when eating nuts choose the whole form options rather than ones with added salt/sugars etc or that have been cooked in vegetable oils. Good fats are ones that are unrefined. When using olive oil, don’t cook with a high heat which can cause oxidation that is very harmful to our bodies.
Tip 4 Avoid vegetable oils, such as Canola, Corn and Sunflower oils.
These oils are highly processed and have a poor omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Ideally we want a ration of 1 to 1. Having this ratio we are causing less inflammation in our bodies causing us less harm.
Tip 5 Make sure to eat Omega 3 fats
These types of fats are found in oil fish such as salmon and mackeral, these types of fats help increase our metabolism, they also help lower inflammation, which decreases our risk of developing cancer and heart disease.
In summary do not be afraid of fats. Choose fats rich in omega 3, eating foods that are unprocessed, in their raw form, such as avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut oil and oily fish.