Beat the Running Blahs at Her Active Life

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Beat the Running Blahs

Posted April 17, 2008 at 06:00 PM by Katie Drummond

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Training Programs, Her Health

runner Sometimes, it feels like nothing could be more rewarding than a long run in the fresh spring air. Your legs are weightless, the day is windless, and the minutes seem to fly by.

But what about those other days? You know, when you feel like you crawled out of bed to fall flat on the road, or your same old route feels blah and you can’t stop checking your watch. How do you to combat boredom in your running routine, keep things interesting, and sustain a challenging fitness lifestyle that leaves you wondering what’s next, instead of counting the seconds until you can hit the showers and grab a coffee?

Here are a few suggestions on ways to mix it up on your morning jog. Be sure to vary your runs in distance and level of difficulty, to keep your muscles guessing and to avoid overtraining and burn-out.

1. Pick a spot: Often referred to as “fartlek” running, this method (for the more casual athlete) involves picking a goal (a sign, a parked car, etc) and racing for it, then slowing down to recover, and repeating the process. Try a 10 minute warm-up run, and then choose goals that are around 30-45 seconds away. Pick up the pace until you reach them, and then slow down and jog for one minute. Repeat this 5-6 times for a total of about 15 minutes, and then return to your usual pace.

2. Drive. Park. Run: If you usually run in the same area near your home, switch it up by driving or walking to an entirely new location - maybe a park, quiet neighborhood, or university campus. Park the car, run a pre-mapped route and bask in the satisfaction that a change of scenery can bring: new potholes to jump over, different dogs to avoid, and new hills to beat your legs into submission. Fun!

3. Run to the beat: You may or may not already run with iPod in hand, and if you do, you probably have a pre-made playlist or two of your favorite heart-pumping workout tunes. But while you usually try to keep a consistent pace, on your next run, try to match your pace to the beat of the music. Make a playlist that offers a variety of paces (start slow, build up, pick a few real headbangers, and then cool down). This will guarantee to mix things up every 3 or 4 minutes.

4. Take to the hills: If you really want to challenge yourself, give hill repeats a try. Pick a hilly area, or one hill in particular. Start with your usual 10 minute warm up jog, then run up the hill at a steady pace, jog back down, and do it all over again. Test yourself to see how many repeats you can do - aim for five, and if you get to six or more, take your sweet self out for breakfast afterwards. An alternative to hill runs is to find a set of stairs and work your legs a la “outdoor Stair Climber” style.

If all else fails, and your runs still feel blah, it may not be boredom - you may just be overdoing it. Take a week off from running and mix it up with biking, pool jogging or swimming, and easy walks. By day seven, you’ll be itching to get back out there and hit the road.