My Bad Running Habits - What Are Yours?
I have a few bad running habits:
- I do my long runs at a pace that is way too fast. The fastest marathon I’ve run is 3:29, an 8:00 minute per mile pace. I sometimes do 20 mile runs at that pace or under. This probably reduces my endurance and prevents my body from burning fat efficiently.
- I do my tempo runs a near-race pace (are you seeing a trend here). This probably causes me to build up too much lactic acid during these runs, causing me to slow toward the end of some of them. I also tend to finish most of my runs fast, leaving nothing in the tank at the end.
- When I start to feel tired during a run, I tend to try pick up the pace and “muscle through it”. This sometimes causes me to “crash and burn”, dramatically slowing toward the end of my run.
- I hate carrying a lot of water, gels, etc. I don’t like the extra weight. Sometimes I underestimate what I need to bring and end up getting dehydrated or “bonking” from lack of carbohydrates.
I’m getting a little better at taking it slow on long runs, but I still find them boring. Monitoring my heart rate helps.
I’ve started to focus more on my form when I get tired, not on trying to finish the run faster. This seems to help me run more efficiently.
I’ve made a pact to not run out of water and gels this season. So far, so good. It’s been really hot lately and I need to take more fluids with me. I lost a little too much weight through sweat on my last 15 mile run.
Those are my bad habits. What are yours and how are you trying to fix them? Tell me in the comments.
