Running is Hard, 13.1 Tips to Make It Easier

Whether you’re an experienced or new runner there will always be days when running is hard. The list of reasons could go on and on. Are you a beginner and you’re still trying to find your groove? Did you wake up this morning thinking, “I don’t feel like running today”? or is it a more complex problem associated with current physical injuries or emotional distress that you’re trying to manage? Whatever struggle makes running hard for you, finding solutions to make it easier and more bearable, physically and mentally, is essential to getting you on your feet and helping you avoid burnout.

Lets start with 13.1 (half marathon) tips to make running easier, then if you’re interested in a deeper dive into finding your inner resilience in the face of deep physical and mental pain you can read Running Motivation, Finding Your Inner Resilience.

#1 Slow Down

The majority of runners run too fast too often. I know this isn’t what you want to hear. Nobody wants to run slow. We all have a tendency to feel like we need to run fast to get the most out of our workout, especially if we’re in a time crunch every day. Not only does running slow make it feel easier, it is essential to “base building”, which is particularly important for those who new are to the sport but also as a maintenance strategy for experienced runners. If you expose your body to gentle, consistent stress helps develop the key systems to easily support your body while running. Over time you can then gradually introduce faster, more intense running, if desired.

A Running Foundation

So remember, if you find yourself out of breath and exhausted during your runs, there’s a good chance that you are running too fast and pushing yourself too hard. Try to slow down to an easy, conversational pace and you will likely find yourself enjoying it more. Then over time you will start to notice that faster paces begin to feel more comfortable and running won’t feel quite as hard.

#2 Run/Walk for Time or Distance

Walking might seem counterintuitive when you head out for a run and while most runners don’t want to take walking breaks, it may be necessary to help build proper fitness. It is ESPECIALLY important in trail running because of the increased physical demands of uneven terrain combined with many climbs and descents. It will likely help you enjoy running more and will lead to better performance in the long run. Take it easy and mix in walking as often as you need in order to put in the miles and you will find gradual improvement.

The Run / Walk Ratio

Run for a short distance then take a walking break. Beginners might start by alternating very short run segments with longer walks. For example, you might use a 1:5 ratio—one minute running followed by five minutes walking. As you progress you can work your way up to more running and less walking.

Distance vs Time

Every runner I know seems to have their own preference between running distance or time. Both have their benefits but the difference comes down to your preference and whether or not you find it more advantageous to run a certain amount of miles or if you prefer tracking your running time.

If you know you are limited to 30 a minute work out you can use the run/walk ratio of 1:4 to run 1 minute then walk 4 minutes, repeated 6 times to equal 30 minutes.

If you prefer to have a distance goal in your mind to run, let’s say 3 miles, you can run 1/4 mile (one lap around the local track) then walk 3/4 mile (3 lapse around the track) for a 1:3 ratio.

#3 Importance of Good Running Gear

The last thing you want to worry about plodding through each mile is your socks bunching up and rubbing your heel raw, your sweat-soaked cotton t-shirt chaffing your inner arms or your loose flappy shorts climbing their way into uncomfortable locations.

Like a chef’s knife makes it easier to cut, the right gear will make it easier to run. Each peace of running gear is important for it’s own reasons. The basics include:

#4 Warm Up

A good warmup should always be considered before your workout. It provides many benefits that will play an important role in avoiding injury. A few benefits include increased flexibility, lower risk of injury, increased blood flow and oxygen, improved performance, better range of motion and less muscke tension and pain.

A proper warm up will dilate your blood vessels, ensuring that your muscles are well supplied with oxygen before you give them a vigorous workout. It also raises the temperature of your muscles for optimal flexibility and efficiency while loosening them to help avoid inury. By slowly raising your heart rate, the warmup also helps minimize stress on your heart and lungs when you start your run.

#5 Hydrate

To keep those muscles working and avoid fatigue; it’s extremely important to drink plenty of liquids before, during, and after the activity.

Drink Up – Before, During and After

Proper hydration is one of the most important aspects of healthy physical activity. Drinking the right amount of fluids before, during and after physical activity is vital to providing your body the fluids it needs to perform properly. Dehydration is a major factor in decreased performance because your body loses the ability to cool itself resulting in overheating and increased difficulty with any physical activity, especially running.

A good guideline for proper hydration is to drink two cups of water an hour or two prior to beginning your run, then try to drink 4-6 ounces every 15-20 minutes during your run to stay hydrated.

Rule-of-thumb: Drink a 16 oz bottle of water per hour while running.

Last, drink a lot of water after you’re finished with your run. To be precise, you shold drink 20 ounces of fluid for each pound of water weight you lose. To calculate this, weigh yourself before and after your run.

#6 Mix it up

It’s easy to find yourself in a rut with not escape in view. Mixing up your routine can fuel a new fire of excitement to your workout. Running is hard enough physically that you don’t need to deal with a mental battle as well.

If you normally run on the sidewalk around your neighborhood, try finding a local park where you can run on the grass or a high school or college track where you can run on a soft surface. Experimenting with new surfaces, routes and routines can bring excitement to your daily run.

Asphalt to Dirt, you might think? Explore Road Running vs Trail Running for great suggestions for mixing it up!

#7 Listen to music

Music has a very powerful ability to boost your attitude and put you in a good mood. Not only can it improve your mood, certain types of music can increase motivation, provide a metronome type of rhythm to get you in the right groove or simply act as a distraction from the discomfort you are experiencing.

Power Song

The so called “power song” is exactly what it sounds like. Any time you start to feel a slump in energy or mental motivation your power song steps in to say, “Suck it up buttercup!” It’s intended to give you a BOOST! If you don’t already have a song that does that for you here are a few suggestions:

• “Eye of the Tiger” by
• “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore
• “We Will Rock You” by Queen
• “Hall of Fame” by The Script

#8 Run with friends

Friends that run together stay together? Suffering with friends is more fun than suffering alone? Maybe those are just cheesy sayings but it’s a fact that running with others, especially those you enjoy being around, makes running feel easier. Conversation, peer motivation and distraction are 3 simple reasons why running with friends is easier than running alone.

Seldom will you and your running buddies have bad days or moments at the same time. When one of you is struggling, the other(s) are usually feeling strong and can motivate you to keep going.

#9 Sign up for a race

Without a target in view you’ll end up wandering aimlessly. Place a race target a few months out in the future and each day you’ll have a little extra motivation to drag yourself out of bed, run that extra mile that you are dreading, eat slightly better and get better sleep so that you feel better all around.

Don’t forget to leave yourself reminders though. If you sign up for a race and don’t think about it every day, or at least a few times per week, you won’t find much motivation. Well, until 2 weeks before the race when you realize that you procrastinated like you always did in high school history class.

#10 Don’t look at your watch

Sports watches are great tools to motivate, analyze and fine tune your running but sometimes it’s necessary to leave them home or avoid looking at them throughout your run. When you are constantly watching your pace, mileage and heart rate it places you in a mindset that is imprisoning and it’s easy to forget why you’re actually running.

If you can’t make yourself run without your watch or phone as a recording device for tracking your run, slap some tape over the screen so that you can’t look at it. I promise that doing this on an occasional but routine basis will help you find running more enjoyable. This bring me to the next point…

#11 Listen to your body

If you avoid looking at your watch every once in a while it will provide you with opportunities to better understand the needs of your body. If you experiment with effort levels you’ll begin to understand that you are capable of far more than you thought you were.

Let the burn be a guide

By listening (feeling) to your body you will begin to notice your areas of weakness, which are likely the reasons that make running hard for you. Does your chest feel empty? Your lungs are probably being taxed for oxygen. Do your legs feel weak? Do they burn and feel fatigued? You may be running too hard, too far or too often. Is your stomach yelling at you out of starvation? Pre-run fueling might need more attention.

For me specifically, I focus most often on my breathing rate and leg turnover. If I notice that I start kicking my calves with the opposite foot I know that my legs are getting tired and I need to slow down or focus on better running form. Experiment by paying attention to different parts of your body and focus on changes to see how they effect your performance.

#12 Easy terrain

Terrain is one of my favorite topics. 🙂 Road running provides for terrain that is much more conducive to easy running because you can easily find smooth, flat stretches of road to run on. On the other hand, trails provide a softer running surface that will protect your legs from impact stress. In my opinion, a long, flat dirt road or single track trail will provide you with the optimal terrain for maintaining an easy effort, that can be mentally excilerating and physically rewarding.

#13 Compare yourself to yourself, not others

The story that we tell ourselves in our mind is what usually comes true. Any time we are comparing ourselves to others we are more than likely digging ourselves into a hole that provides no benefit to our personal progress. If we can silence our inner critic (the thoughts that tell us we aren’t as good as others) and amplify the inner advocate (the thoughts we have when we review our positive personal progress) then we will find more satisfaction and motivation.

#13.1 Set Goals

Setting goals is the 0.1 of these 13.1 steps because it’s the nail in the coffin. Without running that final 0.1 you didn’t actually complete a half marathon. Without setting goals for yourself, you’ll meander in medeocrity land and never get to a point where your fitness is strong enough that you’ll really enjoy running.

You don’t actually need to run a half marathon to be good at running or to enjoy it. But if you set your daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly goals to help you have a long-term picture in mind to get you out of the “running is hard” rut you will find that your progress toward easier running will come much faster.