Distance Running Tips

Getting Started

• Run with friends. No matter how much you crank up the iPod, it's a lot harder to stay motivated by yourself than it is running with a training partner. When I was starting, a five mile solo run was pure hell, but a five mile run with Chris and Peter was a nice night out with the boys. Heck, run with your dog if you have to. Or come borrow my dog.

• Run interesting routes. There is nothing more motivation-destroying than running on a track (well, a treadmill maybe, but that doesn't count). Running on a rough and challenging trail is more difficult and hazardous than running streets, but I find that it's more interesting and thus easier to keep motivated. Plus, if you're five miles from your car, you have certain built-in motivation to keep going. Plus, running is a great way to get somewhere and see the sights along the way. The more sights there are to see, the better the run. Track workouts may have their place, but it's hard to get motivated for that Nth lap when the last N-1 have been exactly the same... which brings me to my next point.

• If it's not fun, don't do it. Or as Peter Bakwin says, "Consider why you're doing this." There are some who will disagree (strongly), but there's no point in doing something you hate. Sure, track work, 5am runs, interval training, and tempo runs would probably make me a better runner. But I'm never going to win anything. Ever. Sure, it would be nice to trim a few minutes off the old PR, but I run for enjoyment and that's it. Getting too serious about training makes it feel too much like a job and that's a sure way to suck all the enjoyment out of it. On the other hand...

• Even then, it's not always fun. Sure, there will be periods of type-II fun. That freezing cold night run, that sudden rain storm, the long route that's up hill and up wind both directions. As long as it's fun after the fact, keep up with the suffering now (but see the tip above).

• The "Runner's High" is not a myth. You'll know it when it happens.

Training

• Time is more important than distance. (via Stephanie Ehret and others). A three hour run covering 16 miles is more useful than two one hour runs each covering 8 miles.

• Sign up for a race and watch your motivation soar. Races cost a lot of money and the idea of having wasted hard-earned cash can be quite motivating. More generally, goals are important and having some concrete, near-term goal to work towards really helps get you out the door. Even if it's not a race, getting in a certain number of miles per month or something arbitrary will work. Like New Year's Resolutions, announcing your goals publicly helps you stick to them. On the flip side, nothing destroys your training regimen quite like having "nothing particular coming up."

• Train with friends. It's much more fun to train with friends, particularly those who are training for the same thing as you.

Racing

• Light is fast. (via Tony Krupicka and others) Resist the urge to carry a backpack with a lot of things that might be useful. Pare your system down to the bare minimum (though not necessarily as minimal as Tony runs). Accordingly, don't bring loads of extra layers. Start cold, running will warm you up. In spring and fall, I prefer shorts, short-sleave shirt, light gloves and a hat. Maybe carry a light-weight windbreaker if it gets breezy.

• Pay close attention to hydration, electrolytes, and calories. (via Charles Corfield and others) It's easy enough to run a 10k with no food or water, but things change when you're out for four hours. I try to take in some calories and electrolytes every 40 minutes or so during a multi-hour run, race or not.

• Start slow. Really slow. Like walking-slow. (via Peter Bakwin) If you walk the first mile of a long race, you'll ease your body into fat-burning mode, warm your muscles up gradually, and get the psychological boost of passing the 90% of the other racers who went out way too fast and blow up at the end. It's hard not to go hard right out of the gate, so I usually run the first bit, then very concientiously walk some predetermined stretch early on.

• Finish fast. (via Eric Lee) You've got one mile to go and your legs feel like wood. Push it hard. Finish with absolutely nothing left. Pick someone up ahead to catch before the end. No, you're not going to win, but you're going to beat that guy there (and maybe the guy in front of him).

• Don't underestimate the power of spectators. There's nothing more motivating than people cheering you on. Cheer back; spectators love it when runners acknowledge them. And when you're done racing, walk (hobble?) back along the course and yell yourself hoarse. Karma is as karma does.