Recognise the difference between these common road blocks so you can run through them and finish your long runs.
Finishing strong through the second half of a long run can be a battle, and if you experience this struggle, you’re not alone. You may even wonder, “Am I tired or just plain bored?”
Answering this question calls for some introspection. If you’re breathing hard or your legs feel heavy, you’re probably fatigued. On the other hand, if you feel mentally checked out and start thinking about your to-do list and, therefore, about quitting, you are likely bored.
There are multiple solutions—both long-term and short-term fixes—for both of these problems. Try out some simple solutions so your long run doesn’t become a short disappointment.
Use a 30-Second Walk Interval to Beat Fatigue
Both cardiorespiratory and muscular fatigue are common for runners tackling long distances. Cardio fatigue is when your body’s ability to deliver oxygen from the lungs to working muscles is impaired. Symptoms include heavy breathing and elevated heart rate.
Muscle fatigue, on the other hand, is the result of a combination of things, including a buildup of metabolic waste, glycogen depletion, and exercise-induced muscle damage, which all make your legs feel tired and heavy.
Understanding which system—aerobic or muscular—needs extra training will help you avoid fatigue over time. In fact, that’s the goal of solid training plans. You may need to build up either cardio fitness or leg strength, and we can help you figure out which it is in this popular story on the subject, which focuses on how to determine whether it’s lack of aerobic fitness or tired legs that is causing fatigue.
In the short term, though, there is one solution for both issues—incorporating 30-second walk intervals into your run. According to run coach Chris Twiggs, national program director of Galloway Training, the general recommendation for run/walk intervals is two minutes of running followed by 30 seconds of walking.
“In 30 seconds, you’re getting the recovery benefits that you need from the walk, but you’re not slowing down [your overall pace] significantly,” Twiggs told Runner’s World.
During these 30-second walks, your body is able to recover and move forward without experiencing the constant high-impact pounding of running. After doing these run/walk intervals for five or 10 minutes, you may find yourself ready to run again.
Beat Boredom With a Combo of Planning and Spontaneity
Booking 30-plus kilometres (or any distance that defines “long” to you) in one shot certainly can be monotonous. “Honestly, endurance exercise and running marathons is not an exciting thing,” admitted Todd Buckingham, Ph.D. exercise physiologist at PTSportsPRO in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in an interview with Runner’s World. “You have to be mentally tough to do it.”
The best way to build up that toughness—to strengthen that mental muscle—is to keep running even when you really don’t feel like it.
One way to spice up your long run involves planning ahead for the likelihood of boredom.
If you regularly find yourself bored of your running route, find a trail and knock out your long run among the trees and enjoy some time in nature. Tired of your playlist? Try an educational podcast and aim to learn a new fact or two about your favorite subject. Check out a free book from your library’s audiobook options, and run through a specific number of chapters.
You can also try to find a buddy, group of friends, or run club to give your long runs a social aspect. Accountability and a conversation might get you through a long run.
If you unexpectedly feel bored while on your run, you may need to mix up your paces, even if your run should be a steady state zone 2.
Just add a few fartlek intervals into your runs—you don’t have to push the intensity too high, either. The goal is just to play a game with yourself and run at different paces using the landscape as your interval start and stop points. Run from the tree to the stop sign, then run faster from the stop sign to the next corner, next run slower from the corner to the big tree; you get the idea. This will engage your brain and keep you focused on your surroundings rather than how you feel about your run.
Even doing this for just a few minutes—because it may be hard to do this for your entire long run—is a great way to break up the monotony of multiple kilometres.
