How do you run for longer without getting tired?
Well, loads of you have asked us that question so we're going to run through what you can do before during and
after your runs so that you can run further without feeling fatigued.
Let's dive in. First off, it's worth saying that it's completely
normal to find your runs hard.
You might get out of breath, get tired or get heavy legs but don't worry because we've got lots of ideas to help.
So let's start off by what you can do on the run. Yeah.
Start off slow.
Lots of runners have a tendency to run their long runs at too fast of a pace.
You need to treat them differently to your regular runs and run them at a much slower pace.
You can also use your heart rate to gauge effort and make sure you don't head off too hard too soon.
Although remember it will take a little while for your heart rate to come up.
So don't push too hard at the start of the run as you might overshoot.
You can use your average heart rate from your normal runs to gauge where you should be at, all though
leave a little bit of headroom below this in the first few miles and if you don't have a heart rate
monitor to look at then you should be able to hold a conversation, if you can't you're going
too fast.
Don't neglect the warmup.
Start off by doing some light drills and then some dynamic stretches.
Once you're warmed up, you might even want to start off by doing a brisk walk or a gentle jog for a few
minutes, then stop, do this and then begin your run.
It can be so tempting to skip the warm up, especially if you're short on time, but warming up can be
so beneficial to your running and can even help you run for longer when you're
feeling tired. Form check, think about your running form, try to stay nice and tall.
A good way to think
tall is to imagine there's a piece of string coming out the top of your head pulling you up. Don't over
stride either, so don't try and reach out in front of you to take longer strides.
In fact, try to slightly increase your cadence.
So taking more steps per minute, which will be easier with shorter strides
and a slight increase in cadence will also help you to try to make contact under your
body rather than out in front.
Don't let your hips sink, your knees roll in or your shoulders hunch forward, let your feet come
underneath your hips as you strike the ground.
Also think about your arms when your legs get heavy and tired.
So drive your arms to power your leg.
And you can use a running form check as a way of being present in the run rather than constantly
thinking I want this to be over or I'm so tired
When will this end? Mindful running is a really good way of thinking positively about
the run.
Being present with what's happening and thinking about things that will help you go
further and boost morale rather than making you feel rubbish.
Don't forget to breathe.
Try to run your long, easy runs at a conversational pace where you can still talk.
And also try not to restrict your breathing to only through your nose as you won't be able to get
enough air in.
You want to avoid fast, shallow breathing high up in your chest.
So try and relax your arms and shoulders to stop this.
We've also got a video about some breathing exercises you can do to practice breathing lower down
using your diaphragm.
So go check it out.
You could try running with someone else.
Not only will this keep your runs conversational, but it'll also take your mind off it and you'll
probably end up running further before you even know it. Now on to what you can do before and after your
runs to help you go for longer
starting off with nutrition. Make sure you're well hydrated.
So drink little and often during the day.
If you're not sure, then do the pee test.
You need to be checking your pee to get a pale straw colour.
Also think about fueling.
So if you're doing longer runs for maybe marathon training or half marathon
training, then you need to think about fueling to help beat fatigue.
If you're running in the evening, make sure you've been eating enough during the day or if you're running in the
morning and give yourself plenty of time to eat something before you head out the door.
Do you have a healthy overall diet?
Are you eating healthy foods that have a slow release of energy in combination with protein and
healthy fat?
Or are you eating processed foods which can lead to a big crash like sweets and
chocolates. Depending on how long your run is
you may need to refuel and rehydrate on the run itself.
If you need some tips about this, then please check out our videos all about it.
We've got loads of tips for you.
Variety is the key to helping with endurance.
Yeah, don't just focus on running long build variety into your weeks, such as intervals,
tempo or threshold runs, hills and short recovery runs.
All of these short runs will help with your endurance and make those longer runs feel a bit easier.
Also think about your overall volume in terms of total mileage as well as your
individual long run mileage too.
If you are able to gradually increase how far you run in a week and do it in a varied way.
You will see a positive impact.
As a general rule, you should only be increasing your overall mileage by a maximum of 10% per week.
Yeah, and then turn your attention to the non running activities, which can help you
strengthen conditioning or hit workouts can keep you strong and support your on run
posture as well as regularly practicing drills to hammer home the muscle memory of
the way you'd like to move when you're feeling fatigued.
There are lots of running specific movements to help strengthen specific areas and
we have got lots of workout sessions to try so go and check them out if you haven't already.
Yeah in fact we've got videos that go into loads more details about every topic
we've covered in this video.
So go dive into the archive to find out more.
And if you found this video useful, please do subscribe to the running channel so you don't miss any of our
videos in the future.