“Training runs are not a time to prove your fitness, they are merely a time to gain fitness. You can prove out your training on race day.” -Becki Spellman
We all go through highs and lows when it comes to running. The highs make you feel like superman (or superwoman), but the lows, or that running rut, make you question everything. In the midst of being in a running rut I’ve questioned my love for the sport, questioned my abilities as an athlete, and generally just wanted to throw in the towel on running altogether. But these lows are normal, and without them, the highs wouldn’t feel so damn good!
A friend of mine is the Senior Manager of Community Development at the Movember Foundation. He has athletes raising money for men’s health while training for the TCS New York City Marathon. He reached out to me for some thoughts to pass along to one of his runners who has found themselves in the midst of a running rut, right in the middle of their marathon training cycle. I put together a list of tips to fight through, and wanted to share those tips since we have all found ourselves in this very position.
What Causes a Running Rut?
First, let’s talk about why these ruts happen. Runners can find themselves struggling at any time, for many reasons. But here are a few that I find to be the most common:
- The post-marathon/achievement blues: This is a real thing, and time is the best cure. Many people find that after their goal race, especially if you achieved your goal, it is hard to find the motivation to lace those shoes back up. I experienced this after the Eugene Marathon, where I finally ran my Boston Qualifier after no less than five to six failed attempts. I expected to ride the high and roll into my summer and fall races, but it took a few months for me to really, honestly get back on the horse.
- Mental and physical exhaustion: In the midst of your training cycle is both the most common, and most frustrating time to find yourself in a running rut. Bodies are getting tired. The training plans are getting more and more daunting as you get closer to peak week (long runs are getting longer). And in general, the training is just getting more demanding and more mundane all at the same time. Meanwhile, you only have a few weeks until your race, so you feel like you need to crush every workout. My coach reminds me all the time that training runs are not a time to prove your fitness, they are merely a time to gain fitness. You can prove out your training on race day!
- Trying to do too much all at once: I’m guilty of this almost every day of my life. As much as you might want it to be, running can’t always be your top priority. Outside of being runners, we are also husbands/wives, parents, brothers/sisters, co-workers, friends, employees, sons/daughters. Point being, we have a lot happening in our everyday lives. When life gets in the way, it is easy to stress about missing runs. It is also easy to misalign your expectations for your runs after a stint of having to miss runs due to a busy life. The more runs we miss, and the more runs we finish but miss paces due to inconsistencies with training, the easier it is to spiral into a running rut. Try to stay realistic about where you are at with your fitness, and more importantly, try to give yourself grace. Know that it is ok to miss some runs here and there. Running is supposed to be fun! Not a chore.
10 Tips to Break Through That Invisible Wall
- Level-set your expectations: It isn’t always about hitting paces or splits. In fact, don’t even worry about paces or splits and just worry about completing the distance. Get the miles on your feet and recognize that even if you are slower than you had hoped for, you are getting fitness gains from every run.
- Take care of your body: Running is demanding on your body. If you’re in the middle of a training cycle, your body will need more sleep and higher calorie intakes to keep up with your demands. Try getting just one extra hour of sleep each night. Also, count calories for the sole purpose of making sure you are fueling enough throughout the day. If the weather is warm, appetites tend to be lower. But warm weather also means you will need more fuel to keep from bonking on longer or more intense runs. I often take a scoop of peanut butter to get extra calories without me having to actually chew anything. Don’t forget your electrolytes!
- Change your routine: We tend to be creatures of habit, which carries into our running. Try to find a few things to change up so that you get a new feel to your workout. Change your running route, or even take on trails instead of the road. Do your long run on a Sunday instead of a Saturday (or vice versa). Find a running buddy to share the miles with. Listen to an audio book (recommendations: Let Your Mind Run, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Boston Bound). Did I mention find a running buddy? For real, find someone to run with!
- Be patient: It takes just one good run to break through a running rut. Every time I find myself in one of these ruts it seems to last about two weeks, which feels like two months. But know it will end, it is just a matter of time. Go into each run assuming you are about to find out that your rut is over. While you’re patiently waiting for that magical run where everything turns back around, talk to your running friends. They will be the first ones to commiserate and empathize with you as everyone has been in your shoes. Sometimes the camaraderie helps put an end to the rut. Misery loves company, right?
- Throw pace out the window on long runs: Remember that long runs aren’t about pace, or even feeling like you “crushed it”. Did you finish? If so, you did the work and you will see the gains. Personally, I had a really tough long run last week which turned into a total slog-fest. I had to stop for a few breathers and ended up having to stop every mile the last few miles to reset my mental game and lower my heart rate. Then, yesterday I added two additional miles to my long run, and even though the 14 miles the week prior were sloppy, this week the 16 mile long run felt easier. Everything builds, and just trust the training!
- Sign up for a race: This only works if your running rut falls outside of a training cycle, but if that is the case, sign up for a race. Give yourself something to work towards. Sometimes having a date on the calendar helps with the motivation to get running. If you are in the midst of a training cycle, sign up for a fun run and just run because you love to run. Don’t run for a time.
- Control the controllables: Let go of the uncontrollables. Accept responsibility for what you can control, and focus on doing those things well. There are things you can’t control, and those are the things you need to find a way to let go of and focus only on your reactions to them. By focusing on what you can control, you are also giving yourself a sense of control over the outcome, rather than reminding yourself of the things that seem to be spiraling south around you.
- Practice for race day: On your tough runs, recognize the fight and flip the experience to be productive. Test out new mental tactics to help fight through the wall. These are all invisible barriers, and barriers that can be broken. If you practice tactics to break through the wall on your tough training runs, you’ll have tools at the ready during your race if you happen to find yourself in a position where things are getting really hard (and they WILL get hard at some point). Training runs are just practice for the victory lap.
- Take an extra rest day: Running ruts can be your body’s way of saying it needs a mental or physical break. Training for a goal race is extremely demanding. It is ok to take an extra day to reset. When you look back at your training on race day, you will never regret taking one extra rest day in the midst of your training.
- Buy new gadgets or gear: This might not be in the cards for everyone, depending on your financial situation. This is also not the first thing to try, but when the going gets tough, this is the thing that tends to always help me break through my running ruts. Buy a new outfit, a new pair of shoes, a running journal, a small gadget…anything! They say money can’t buy happiness, but in my experience, it sure can buy my love for running for at least a hot minute.
Ultimately, we have all been there, and we have all gotten to the other side one way or another. One of the special things about being a runner is that you are part of a larger, extremely supportive community. Reach out to your network, surround yourself with everything running, and stomp right on top of those negative running feels. You’ve got this!