By: Abby Land
We have all been through those periods when you feel as though you are just barely struggling trough your training and everything feels tougher than it should. You are sore, you’re exhausted, you just can’t seem to nail your workouts, you lack motivation, or any combination of the above, and it not only messes with your training, but also really drags you down mentally as well. So, how do we keep at it when training gets tough? Here are 5 tips to help you stay on top of your game in order to prevent those tough spots, and also to fight your way through when they happen.
How to Keep at it When Training Gets Tough
1. Schedule a Rest Day – Plan a rest/recovery day into your schedule each and every week in order give your body a day off to heal and recovery from the work you have done. This helps prevent injury and exhaustion and allows you to stop some of those really tough periods before they occur. I suggest that my running clients use their rest day along with the easy/hard principle of running to keep them on top of their game.
2. Plan in a Cut Back/Unloading Week – After you have your weekly schedule laid out it is then important to begin planning even further ahead so you can schedule your working weeks and your cut back/unloading week. It is ideal to have three weeks on and then one week off. Just like we don’t want to push our body day after day (which is why you should have a weekly rest/recovery day each week) we don’t want to beat our bodies up and push them to their limits week after week. If we do, the results can be scary – injury, exhaustion, etc.
After three weeks of hard work your body should be pretty exhausted and ready for a bit of a break. I have personally found that cutting my mileage to 60% seems to be the optimal recipe for cut back week success and leaves me feeling fresh for a new 4 week cycle. So, if I had run 30 miles the week before cut back week: 30 miles x 0.60 = 18 miles for cut back week.
This is not a week to lay around, eat pizza, and drink all the fancy-schmancy craft beer you can (though that does sound fabulous). This week is a chance for your body to recover. You should be running less, and helping you body to recover in other ways with that bit of extra time you gain. Think about tossing in some extra stretching, or, my personal favorite, a rest and recovery nap.
3. Switch it Up – If running is getting tough try and switch it up a bit.
Lacking running motivation? Schedule a local class that way you are committed to going, especially if it is one that makes you pay before you attend.
Mad because you aren’t hitting your splits? Ditch the Garmin and run “naked” just for the pure enjoyment of running without paying any attention to time.
Sick of doing the same old workout over and over again? Try something new like a different interval workout or focusing on a fast finish.
Bad weather getting you down? Look into a short term gym membership for the nasty winter season.
Sick of pulling on your same old running gear again and again? Mix it up with a fun new pair of Mizunos and some awesome socks.
4. Phone a Friend – When times get tough, the tough phone a friend. Recruiting someone to work out with can be the best way to break through a period of tough running. Having a running buddy along brings instant accountability, motivation, and even inspires us to pick up the pace a bit. Can’t find a buddy to run with? Look into local running clubs and check with your local running stores to see if they host group runs.
5. Change the Venue – Finally, if the going gets tough the tough get going – literally. Go somewhere else for your runs. Something as simple as picking a new location for your runs can do amazing things for your mood. If you run in the same spot over and over again it might be time to make an adventure out of it and discover a new venue. You will find that your run goes by much faster when you have exciting new scenery to check out.