Long Run Mistakes

1. Too far too quickly

Runners can feel like tackling longer runs than their bodies are ready for, which can quickly lead to aches, pains, burn out and poor performance down the road.

2. Too fast

The difference between running for fitness and training for a long-distance running race is consistency. If you can talk while you're running the long run, you're at the right effort. If you can't, you're running too fast.

3 . Running by Feel

When you run by feel (effort level) and stick with a conversation-pace effort, you'll always be in the right zone for that day. Running on a very hot day will be much harder on the body. Also lack of sleep, stress, training fatigue from other workouts and other factors can affect your performance. If the goal is to train in the easy effort so you can cover the distance and recover efficiently, you can't pin this running goal on a specific pace. Listen to your body, do a talk test, and stick within the easy zone when going the distance.

Remember what you want is to: teach your body how to utilize fat as the primary fuel source, get in quality time on your feet, and recover more quickly. And as you develop your long-distance resume and your body adapts to running longer.

4. Too Many Back-to-Back

It's easy to get caught up in the numbers game. That is, getting in a lot of back-to-back long training runs and believing you have to run the race distance before you run the race. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. A long run schedule should ebb and flow through two to three building weeks and cutback weeks to recover.

5. Training with a Someone Outside Your Pace

One of the best parts of being a long distance runner is running with a buddy but if they aren't at your fitness level you can end up running too quickly or slowly and both can have a negative effect on performance. You need to avoid running too fast but also going too slowly can alter your natural stride and increase impact forces on the body. Train at your effort and find a buddy that closely matches it.




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