Finishing Tough Runs

We are excited to share a featured post from BibRave Pro, Amanda Rodriguez. Make sure to follow Amanda on social! Twitter – @acasanova10 & Instagram – amandacasanova

Lately, weather has been killing some of my runs.

My last long run was painfully hot, and I wanted to quit running after four miles. I would have quit, but I was about three miles away from home, and I knew walking the entire way back would be a long trek home. I have been thinking about how to power through these exceptionally tough runs lately, and below is what has worked for me.

1.    Be flexible. A rough run is bound to happen at some point or you might seem to hit a rough patch of bad workouts. Be willing to adapt your workouts if you’re struggling. Whether it is the weather or a nagging injury or just a bad day, be flexible with your training. That doesn’t necessarily mean cutting a run short. You could also work in more walk breaks and still get your mileage in. I finished my long run the other week by breaking it up and walking every few minutes. It seemed to replenish some strength in my legs with each break.

2.    Know you’re building mental toughness. If you finish a rough run, congratulations! You have just trained your mind to run through less than ideal conditions— whether it be dead legs or zero motivation. Whatever run you can muster while feeling this way has added to your mental toughness. On a better day, the same run will be easier (and faster!), because you know how to dig deep.

3.    Take it in small doses. The best way I have managed to push through a rough run is to break the run into smaller pieces. If I have a 10-miler scheduled, and I’m hurting after three miles, then I tell myself that I’m just two 5Ks away from being done (and eating). Run the mile you’re in and don’t stress about the overwhelming mileage ahead of you. If you break up the run into smaller pieces, you’ll feel like you’re achieving little goals along the way.

If you’ve hit a patch in your training where it feels like every run is painful, and you’re slogging through the miles, don’t let it wreck your mind. If you’re still completing these runs, it’s because you’ve built a solid fitness base.

It’s easy to lose sight of that on a particularly awful run. I know I’ve wondered why and how I could run 11 miles last week and this week’s 4-miler was agony. Instead, be willing to give yourself a break and build mental toughness, while you’re at it.

Dig deep friends.