Maintain a positive attitude. Getting ready for a long run starts in your head. It’s normal to feel anxious when you see a distance in your training plan that you’ve never run before, or just a very long distance.
Visualize the route you are planning to run and imagine that you are doing great and feeling great at the end of your run. If you are sure that long-term is difficult and necessarily accompanied by suffering, you will only complicate your task. Conversely, the mental resilience you train while running will help you deal with stress in your daily life.
Take a simple route. For a long workout, a relatively flat and not too difficult route is suitable. As the mileage increases, your body is already getting enough stress, do not add additional stress in the form of hills and rough terrain. Over time, you can add trail stretches or run a route that has climbs, but only after the body gets used and adapts.
Keep track of the pace. The pace on a long run should be such that you can maintain it throughout the entire distance. It is easy to overdo it and start too quickly in training, especially if you are well rested and energized. It is better to do the opposite – start slower than usual and add closer to the end of a long one, if you feel that you still have strength.
Track your progress. If you measure your heart rate, you will likely find over time that the average pace has increased with the same heart rate. This shows that your body has become more efficient and that the necessary adaptive changes have taken place.
Listen to your body. As your mileage increases, listen for signals from your body for pain or extreme fatigue. If they do, it’s worth reevaluating your pace and slowing down, critically assessing your shoes for wear and tear, and focusing more on recovery and rest.
Nutrition before, during and after a long workout
The more you run, the more important it is to eat right. This is especially true after long runs, which helps replenish the glycogen stores in wasted muscles and promotes quick recovery and well-being.
Include all food groups in your diet, focusing on protein for replenishment and recovery, and maintain a balance of fat and carbohydrates. Correct”Refueling” before, during and after a long workout can significantly affect your ability to cover long distances.
Some of the most common mistakes beginners make are not eating enough or choosing the wrong foods. The first will lead to the fact that the athlete will feel a sharp decline in strength, and at the same time, and speed, and the second can completely ruin the workout.
Before long. Energize, but don’t overeat. Many runners overload their diets with carbohydrates in the hope that everything will burn out like in a firebox, but in the end they gain weight. In addition, if you have gone too far with food, the heaviness in the stomach will accompany you throughout the entire distance, and this is not the most pleasant sensation. Eat a good, low-glycemic slow-carbohydrate snack 1.5-2 hours before your workout. Make sure you have enough liquid.
In training. By exercising at the right intensity – at an easy speaking pace, your body will be better able to use fat for fuel over time and use glycogen more slowly.
After running 70-80 minutes, it is advisable to replenish your carbohydrate stores – in the form of a drink, sports gel, energy bar, or other foods (some prefer bananas, dates, marmalade and raisins). Don’t overeat: Exercise is not a buffet table, and eating too much will definitely not help you run faster.
Aim for 30-60 grams of carbs per hour, refuel every 45-60 minutes of running.
Eating while jogging is tricky, and everyone has their own digestive characteristics, so you will have to experiment with the types of food. What works great for one athlete may not work at all for another.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated, especially during the warmer months. You need to drink in small sips every 5 km, and start before you become thirsty. In winter, you don’t need to drink water so often (and you don’t really want to), but after returning home, be sure to replenish your fluid supply.
After a long time. It is important to replenish your carbohydrate stores 30-45 minutes after you finish your workout.