How to Make Running Easier
Have you ever said (or heard someone say) “running is so hard for me.” Or “I don’t know how people can run so much” Or “I’d like to run but I can’t.”
If you’ve ever felt this way, it’s important to know that running is hard for everyone who hasn’t been running. Even olympic runners don’t feel good when they return to training after taking a break. As little as 2-3 weeks of sedentary living will make the return to running fairly uncomfortable.
Hearing “It’s hard for everyone” isn’t exactly encouraging, but this knowledge can help us have realistic expectations when either getting started or returning to running.
Here are a few tips on how to make the journey easier:
Walk Before You Run
Walking is the natural first step to running, and is very important for those who are starting from a sedentary lifestyle and for runners who have taken a long break (several months) without running or walking. This is because running is a high impact activity with repetitive motion. The body needs to be conditioned for running to avoid extreme muscle soreness or injury.
When new runners come to Sifuentes Coaching, the majority of their early training is daily (or almost daily) walking. We start at 20minutes leisurely pace and build up to an hour or more of brisk walking. Gradually, the miles walked are transitioned to walk/jog combos, jogging, and then running.
I personally am not a new runner, but walking was also valuable for me after many months of no running during my recent pregnancy and after my son was born. I walked many miles over the course of several weeks before attempting some walk/jogs, and I experienced very little muscle soreness.
Run and Walk
For some reason, walking breaks are often frowned upon, especially amongst beginners (who seriously need to use walk breaks). Runners feel discouraged or embarrassed if they stop to walk during a run. But walk breaks are incredibly effective for training help us make progress more quickly. Walking breaks allow us to run further, run faster, and enjoy the experience more.
The best way to use walking breaks during a run is with planned walking breaks. You tell your body when the walk breaks are going to happen, rather than running until your body forces you to stop. Planned walk breaks help us practice having control over our bodies while running.
Here’s a lot more information about walking breaks: Walk to Run Faster
Run Fast and Hard (SOMETIMES!)
The only way to make running truly feel easy - and I mean truly easy and comfortable, is to sometimes run fast and uncomfortably hard. This applies to runners of ALL LEVELS. If we never run fast - or on the other extreme - if we are run fast too often, running will never feel comfortable.
IMPORTANT: Running fast and hard without any conditioning will lead to intense muscle soreness or injury. So definitely start with walking, gradually transition to all jogging or running at a slow pace, and at that point your body will be better conditioned to handle some hard/fast running in small doses.
There is a general “80-20 rule” with running training, which implies that 80% of training should be easy/low effort and 20% should be hard/high effort. This does not need to be exact! An easy way to apply the 80-20 rule is for someone running 4-7 days per week, 1 of those days will be a hard session.
The specific pace does not matter. All that matters is effort level. Challenge yourself, get uncomfortable, and suffer just a little bit. One harder session is enough to provide a reference point of what truly feels uncomfortable.
Going back to a slower pace at a lower effort level will feel easier relative to a harder effort. If you never run hard, there is no reference point, no experience of what “hard” actually feels like to your body.
Related: Run Slow On Purpose
Related: No Pain, No Gain
Nicole Sifuentes is a full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. She is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.
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