7 Things I Do to Keep from Burning Out on Running
Stephanie wrote a great piece for the Unstill Life blog this past week about running fatigue and burnout. I especially like that she clarified the difference between fatigue (physical) and burnout (emotional). Mulling that piece, I realized that I have many techniques I employ constantly to keep my emotional relationship with running fresh and energized, therefore preventing feelings of burnout.
Running ain’t just physical! Motivation, or lack of it, is major. Having a coach who understands that psychology is really helpful. Set up a free consult at rachel@unstilllife.com to talk to me about motivation and mindset. Sign up for the Unstill Life Newsletter to get more tips like this. And read on to learn some of my favorite motivation hacks.
You may think that I just always want to go out for a run. That is not always true. While I love it most of the time, there are definitely days I’m motivationally challenged and truly need strategies to get myself out the door. Here are seven things I vary and tweak to counter burnout.
1. Run different locations and neighborhoods. While there’s a very nice route right out my door, I can get bored with it. It’s amazing how much difference it makes to be in different surroundings. So sometimes I will drive to Beacon Hill, or West Seattle, or grab a run in Capitol Hill between clients. The change in scenery and terrain is a major refresher. Variety in locations is a core Unstill Life value! I have literally hundreds of run/walk routes and maps. Get in touch and I’ll share some with you. Coming soon to this website – a Routes & Maps downloadable resource page!
2. If you usually run alone, try running with people. I know this can sound like a big deal if you aren’t used to it. It may surprise you in a good way. I was a solo runner for years. When I first ran with others (when Rachel Scheiner and I started Rachel x Two), I was amazed how much I loved it, how it helped my fitness AND was more fun and engaging. The opposite also applies though. If you usually run with other people, try running alone or maybe with someone new. Changing context is what we’re experimenting with here in the service of preventing burnout.
3. Play around with pace. Many people adopt a pace and never vary it. Rather than keeping all the same pace, speed up and slow down. Alternate a minute hard, a minute easy, or a couple of minutes each. Doing pace intervals is also a good method to increase fitness with small recoveries. We do this in our Wednesday workouts.
4. If you don’t listen to music, try it. If you do listen to music, go without. Again, we’re just looking at mixing it up.
5. Have a gratitude focus. One technique here is to dedicate each mile (or say, each 5 minutes) to someone or something that you are grateful for. I love to do this for a half marathon or marathon. A marathon client I worked with had 26 names in a list on her arms so she could keep track of her loved ones mile after mile. You don’t need a long run to do this. Just make your run an opportunity to count blessings or inventory what is going well in your life.
6. Prepare a list of sayings or mantras to help you focus on specific aspects of your run experience. These can tune you in to posture (stand tall, shoulders back) or technique (quick cadence), or they can be more focused on keeping you inspired, positive or motivated, such as (I can do hard things!) Or a quote that you love and want to aspire to.
7. Sign up for something! Events, whether informal 5Ks at your local park, or a bigger challenge that you will need to train for, are great ways to energize your runs through a shared experience (the event itself) and also keep you on the hook for training in the lead up to the event. Many clients I’ve worked with seek out race events just about every weekend because they are simply more fun and interesting (and a set date and time) than doing a solo training run. It keeps them engaged and committed to run in a celebratory atmosphere.
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