Be your personal best in 2026
As we start another year our attention shifts to making resolutions and setting goals. Rather than looking at drastic lifestyle changes or comparing yourself to others, why not focus on being your personal best through incorporating balance, self-care and making progress into your daily routine.
These small switches can help mental and physical wellbeing, build resilience and will allow you to show up for yourself with confidence – perhaps even playing a part in securing a personal best along the way too.
Prioritise rest and recovery: We might want to start off the New Year diving straight into a new workout plan but it’s important to also ensure rest and recovery are incorporated within this. Commit to getting enough sleep each night (around 7-9 hours) and schedule rest days into your week in the same way you’d plan for your workouts. You could even try including some micro-resting, such as 10-minute stretching breaks or breathing resets, into your day too.
Build a morning or evening ritual: A short meditation, movement or gratitude practice can help set the tone for the day. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated as even just getting in five minutes is better than none at all. Try to also put down your phone before bed to have a couple of tech-free hours, not only will it help with a better night’s sleep but you can use that time for something more productive like reading, foam rolling or even a walk.
Focus on fuel: Fuelling yourself is important for everything you do, and even more so when you’re training. Focus on getting a well-balanced diet to give you all the energy you need and make sure to stay hydrated too – regularly sipping water throughout the day.
Join a run club: Surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are working towards similar goals as you will help you reach your full potential. Not only does community create consistency but social accountability will help keep you motivated, boost your weekly mileage and is a great way to meet others.
Follow a structured training plan: Enlisting in the help of a coach or using a training app like Coopah for personalised sessions will help reduce the risk of injury by avoiding random, unbalanced runs. Adding in strength sessions as well as some cross training will also help with all round fitness, conditioning and mobility, helping to make you a stronger runner too. Get two weeks free and 20% off an annual Coopah plan with code R4WRUNS.
Goal setting and getting: Add races into your calendar to give you something to aim for. Also set yourself a mixture of performance and lifestyle goals for example setting a 10K PB or running three times a week to keep yourself focused.
Make sure you’re having fun: You may be sticking to a training plan but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun when you’re running. Why not explore trails, parks and new routes to keep running exciting or plan adventures with friends? Make sure you track your enjoyment as well as your effort and add some easy joyful runs where the end goal is to have just moved your body rather than focused on pace.
Make things easier for future you: Be the person your future self will thank you for and make things as easy as possible for yourself. If you’re planning a morning run, get your running kit ready the night before, or why not spend some time at the start of the week meal prepping to support your training and busy schedule to help you stay on track.
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