Happy Wednesday! I’ve always loved running. It’s my absolute favorite way of getting in a workout. But long runs are hard – in part, because I’ve always been a sprinter and have no natural endurance. But also, long runs can sort of drag on… Especially if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t have a ton of endurance, it can be challenging to stay focused when you want to go for the distance.
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ABERCROMBIE SWEATER (SIMILAR)
CREATE OR FIND A PUMPED-UP PLAYLIST
Music. I cannot workout without it. Especially for long runs. I like having a playlist with a music of a variety of tempos to help me with pacing during runs. As I said, I’m a sprinter by default but I’m working up to distance running. My favorite trick right now is to run one song/walk one song.
Remember to update it whenever you find it’s not giving you what it was before as well. Your music should motivate you and jazz you up as you go, whenever it stops doing that, you need to change your music. I never know what I’ll be in the mood for, so my playlist is a hodgepodge that I end up skipping through, but it works for me right now. You can follow my Spotify here.
Good music can also make up for a rough track. I really don’t like track running, but when required, music makes it survivable.
SET A UNIQUE COURSE
This might be one of the most challenging parts. I find a preplanned route or a mostly straight route to be boring and difficult to work through. I like being able to make up navigational decisions on the go, but that can also present a challenge when you run out of places to run or you need to figure out the getting home part.
My favorite route through neighborhoods is the “don’t cross the road” route. I try to stay on the sidewalk or path the whole distance, running through cul-de-sacs and little park areas while crossing the road as infrequently as possible. This is pretty much a win for base housing. You can also adjust this to make every third right or something. I like running through our housing neighborhood because it feels a little safer with less busy roads and less animal life.
If you’re just getting started running, you might also consider (when safe) crossing the road whenever you get to an intersection and run that crossing. Include running any crossing that is a break from the sidewalk, we have little random parking areas where like four cars can park, and I run straight across those. I also love using this course strategy when I’m rehabbing an injury.
PREP BEFORE YOU GO
Prep is the biggest killer for long runs, in my experience. I try to drink about 32 ounces of water leading up to the run, but not too closely. I’ve found the best success when I’m working on that water for about 2 hours before my run, but I try to stop drinking big amounts within about 30 minutes. I’ve found this gives the most amount of hydration with the least amount of having to stop to pee during my runs. But it’s important to stay hydrated outside this period as well because you can’t go from dehydrated to hydrated enough to run in 2 hours. So be sure to drink enough water the day before you run as well!
Are you a runner? How do you motivate yourself on long runs?
