How To Run a Workout
It’s important to remember that workouts are not just for getting fit. Workouts have two purposes:
Getting fit
Mental training
The getting fit part is fairly straightforward. If we do the training, it will generally contribute to fitness gains. But HOW we run the workout affects whether or not we’re training the mind effectively.
Train the Mind
When we run workouts, we become familiar with the feeling of fatigue and discomfort. Feeling uncomfortable is a normal part of a workout, and we need to learn not to worry when things get tough. Things getting tough is part of the plan.
By doing hard workouts we learn that we can still run well even when we are very tired.
We learn how to differentiate between high effort that is sustainable and appropriate vs effort that is too high for a long outing. When the effort is too high, we blow up before the end of the session.
Missed Opportunity— Easy Workouts: If we never run workouts that are properly challenging, we don’t learn how to manage fatigue and discomfort. When we get in a race situation and things get tough, we get scared and back off.
It can be beneficial - on occasion - to run workouts at a lower effort. But in general workouts should be significantly higher in effort than our other training days in order to get fitter and mentally stronger.
Missed Opportunity— Killer Workouts: if we run workouts that are too hard, we will consistently fail the workouts. We will either blow up before the session is over or simply not be able to complete the workout. This strategy will familiarize the feeling of discomfort or pain (due to fatigue) that always ends badly.
It can be beneficial - on occasion - to run with faster people and “hang on till you can’t.” But don’t do this on the regular as it reinforces a poor finish by repeatedly finishing workouts poorly. These situations fail to teach us anything about managing our effort to finish strong because we know we’re going to blow up… we’re just not sure when.
How to Get it Right
No matter what your workout is, the goal should be to finish just as fast or faster than the start of the workout. This isn’t always possible, of course sometimes we start too fast and have to adjust. (It is much better to adjust after a fast start than try to maintain the too-fast pace and then blow up.)
Finishing strong requires thoughtfulness about the task at hand. We need to be focused on how our body feels and our effort from the first step. We learn how to be disciplined at the start of a workout so that we can be in control and strong at the end.
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.