Five Basic Running Tips - The Bare Essentials of Running
Are you ready to break it down to the basics?
These running tips are designed to help you do just that.
It can be good to read about running training, but there is so much to learn it can be confusing as well.
VO2max.
Tempo running.
Interval running.
Repetitions.
Foot types you didn't even realize you had!
The list of everything you must know goes on and on.
Every runner is an on-going experiment. We are books constantly gaining pages of knowledge. One runner may be able to barely make 20 miles in a week while another can hit 50 miles and still another can tear through 100 miles injury-free.
It is essential that you listen to your own body and develop a training program that is right for you. This means you may not always be able to follow the pre-designed running programs that you find on sites like Best Running Tips or Best Running Gear.
That said, there are some tips and tricks that every runner can use. It doesn't matter if you are aiming to be the first over the finish line or if you are just trying to be better than what you used to be.
You know as well as I do that you can end up in the middle or the back of the pack and still be enormously satisfied with your race performance. Because you set a personal record, because you finished the race, because you overcame adversity during your running training, etc.
The following five running tips will improve your running, help you steer clear of injuries, and enhance your performance.
Running Tip #1: Hit it hard, and then take it easy.
The problem with a training schedule that has you running hard day after day is that you will get run down to the point you eventually can't make it out for runs at all. It is better to follow a hard day of running up with an easy day.
This gives your body time for physical restoration which includes repairing muscle fibers and building new blood cells. That stuff is important.
When you run hard day after day your body does not have a chance to make those repairs, which is why you get worn out and have to take a break at some point. That's why the easy days are just as important as the hard ones.
Now, by easy day I am not talking about a complete rest day. For a beginning runner the easy day typically is a complete day of rest, but for those with more running experience it can be a day where you just go at a slower speed or decrease your mileage substantially. That means you could just go for a light, short run on those easy days.
If you are just staring out with running you should consider cross training so you can rest the joints and ligaments affected by running while training some other part of your body for overall fitness.
Running Tip #2: Patience is a virtue.
You have to come to running with reasonable expectations. This is not something that you are going to master within just a couple weeks or even a couple months. The results and improvements will come gradually over time, but you have to stick with it and be patient.
Increasing mileage is another aspect of running that takes patience. You have to be in tune with your body and watch for signs that you are pushing too hard or doing it just right.
Increasing mileage at a pace you aren't ready for will lead to an injury, which will do nothing to help you improve.
Give your body the time it needs to adjust before picking up more miles.
Running Tip #3: Consistency is the key.
You should aim to include at least three running days in your weekly schedule, but whatever you can do try to keep it very consistent. Consistency is the only way to improve your running and remain on top of your game.
You could train every single day for a consistent 2-3 week period, but in the end you will burn out and need a 2-3 month break from running to restore. How is that going to help improve your running? It's not! That is not what I mean by being consistent.
Your running schedule should be reasonable for the current condition of your mind and body.
Just as I am sure your daily life has its demands, I am juggling a variety of responsibilities between my job, family, my running websites, and the list goes on and on. All of this takes time, but I have this binding contract with myself that I refuse to break: I will get out there and run at least three times every week.
I use an agenda book and block out my running time each week. I do whatever it takes to make at least three of those running times, but often I can squeeze in more. No matter what, three runs have to happen.
Think about. You make time to have breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. You make time to have a shower, get dressed, brush your teeth etc. Just make running and exercise part of those daily / weekly normal things to do.
Running Tip #4: Long term improvements are not easy to achieve.
When starting from the absolute bottom in terms of your running ability, you will be shocked at how quickly you start to improve. While on day one a simple mile was torture, two miles without a single break may be comfortable on day fourteen or twenty-one. In just a few weeks you can make great strides forward.
That said, improvements are more difficult to achieve after you have been running for a number of years. You will have periods where you don't see any progress at all. You may not be hitting, let alone breaking, your personal best times. This is where you reach a height of physical fitness that causes you to plateau.
In order to break a plateau you have to run harder and really strive for more improvements. You have to take your training plan apart and assess where you can make changes to take your running to that next level.
I know people who have been doing marathons for a number of years and suddenly hit a plateau. For some of them a year of doing shorter races with less quantity training and more quality training has helped them improve massively. With quality training I mean more intervals and tempo runs.
It's the smart runners who can recognise that something is not working for them anymore and who know they need to change their approach in order to keep on making improvements. This does not always mean just increasing your mileage.
Running Tip #5: Create your own unique running journey.
Toward the beginning of this page I said briefly that we are all an on-going experiment and must listen to our bodies in terms of how many miles we can reasonably handle in a week.
While one runner may only be able to handle 20 miles another may easily go for 100 or more.
We are all different and therefore need our own unique goals and schedules.
You may discover that you're not in the right place to add to your miles right now. For you, achieving optimal performance and health may mean keeping your miles right where they are and then adding in some cross-training. You may even need to add in a complete day of rest.
Are you really pushing it here lately with some intense high mileage weeks? What do you think would happen to your race times if you actually dropped those miles a bit? You might be surprised that it actually helps you.
Or, for you the key to improved performance may be in more tempo training or speed drills, rather than just going more miles.
There is something that will work for you. It's your job to find it.
Use these basic running tips to get started with your running or take your running to the next level.
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