The best long distance running anyone can provide you is you have to enjoy the sport. You have to have a passion for the work you are doing.
Long distance running involves an enormous amount of time, energy and commitment. If you are reading this I already know you possess the potential to be great at it.
A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket. – Emil Zatopek
The greatest long distance running tips I can provide all revolves around intelligent training and proper mindset.
In addition, I want to see you get results and hopefully much faster than I did. Real life stories stand out far more than ‘how to' and ‘tip' giving articles.
This whole blog revolves around three concepts, running, dreaming about impossible things and achievement.
Long Distance Running Tips That Work
Minimize Lactic Acid Build Up Within The Body.
The quickest way to drop significant time off your long runs is train to minimize lactic acid build up. It is not that other runners are better than you. What is their secret? They train at harder paces for longer periods of time.
Long distance running tip number one is to not neglect this highly effective tactical training method. We all slow down in races because of the acidic effect of lactic acid building up in our blood stream.
The faster we run the more builds up. How do you minimize it? Goal pace training. In addition, most well-meaning runners don't train at the correct intensity or long enough. Furthermore, The idea is to gradually extend the amount of time you run at your lactate threshold.
Lactate Threshold is the point where your body begins to build up a larger quantity of lactic acid within your bloodstream. This is also called Anaerobic Threshold.
The more time you spend getting your body accustomed to the same pace it will experience, the better off you are going to be to maintain pace.
Tips You May Have Not Considered But Should
Buy A Heart Rate Monitor
There is no other training tool I have used over the years that has helped me get results than a heart rate monitor.
I began using heart rate monitors during my freshman year at Malone University.
The general rule for obtaining your max heart rate is subtracting your age from 220. For example, my max heart rate is 185. This is simply just a guesstimate.
Can you get your heart rate above this ‘maximum' heart rate. Yes, but generally it is relatively accurate.
The heart rates guidelines I have used since 2002 and given to me from two of the world's top distance running coaches, Jack Hazen and Dr. Joe Vigil, are as follows:
Easy Pace – 130-140
Moderate Pace – 150-160
Hard Pace – 160-170
Anaerobic Threshold (aka Lactate Threshold) Pace – 170-176
Aerobic Capacity (Max oxygen consumption during running) Pace– 176-190+
Proper Training
Training with a heart rate monitor will ensure you are training at the right intensities. Furthermore, runners usually run faster than they should on recovery days.
We all are guilty of this. The important thing to remember is making the choice to continue doing the same thing and getting the result. This is the definition of insanity.
Running at the correct intensity will protect you from overtraining. Also, it will minimize the effects of fatigue and assist your body to supercompensate Lastly, you will get to the start line rested and race as if you were on autopilot.
You will recover faster because you're running at an accurate pace.
How many times have you went out for a run and wondered if you were running too fast or too slow?
One of the best long distance running tips I can provide is purchase a product that is guaranteed to get you results. Heart rate monitors are a big reason I dropped my half-marathon by over 3 minutes and my marathon by over 21 minutes.
Long Distance Running Tips Vital For Future Success
Use Common Sense
This isn't something we always do. I have failed miserably by trying to run faster then I should have in both training and racing in the past. Long distance running will teach you what works and what doesn't work. The trick is noticing.
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.- Abraham Lincoln
What doesn't work?
- Proving you can hang with a group in training. Save the race in your legs for the race. Don't be in a rush to crush. Remember, you will get better results by backing off on your recovery days. You may earn equal results by running 60 miles a week as someone running 100.
- Running too easy, too often. Will running easy bring about positive physiological adaptations? Of course. You create capillary beds, increased levels of red blood cells and mitochondria within the body.
Focus On What You Can Control
Will running easy, too often, create the correct physiological stimulus to help you race fast? No. If you want to run a 5K in 17.00. You have to hold 5.29 per mile for over 3 consecutive miles.
How will running 7-minute pace 5 out of 6 days a week prepare you to hold that pace? The likelihood that your ability to hold that pace will be diminished because you didn't run at the optimum intensity during training. Run at or below goal race pace often. Furthermore, take your recovery days even more seriously and you will be well on your way to crushing your old personal bests.
Why should I learn to run slow? I already know how to do that. I want to learn to run fast – Emil Zatopek
You have to teach your body to burn fat as its primary fuel source during your race over carbohydrates. Most marathoners hit the wall at around mile 18. Why? Your body generally has about 1800 calories worth of stored carbohydrate. What happens when you run out? You begin to burn fat.
Lastly, train at higher intensities for longer periods of time where you force your body to burn fat, rather than carbohydrate as its main fuel source. What happens then? You conserve carbohydrate stores. This will get you to the finish line by using fat as its main source of fuel during the race.
You have to train fast to race fast.
What are some changes you think you can make in your training to race better now?
Make sure to subscribe to the RunDreamAchieve YouTube channel. I create new videos each week to help runners such as yourself get to the next level. There are also running courses and monthly, online coaching available here at rundreamachieve. You can view these options by looking at the navigation menu at the top of this website. I hope this post on long distance running tips has been helpful to you.
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