Staying Motivated & Focused During a Long Run
Long runs are an integral part of any endurance runners plan. A long run is typically defined by anything longer than 60 minutes. The long run is where you improve upon your endurance and push your body to adapt to greater stress.
Personally, I love long runs but running for a longer period of time brings many challenges. It takes trial and error to find the perfect clothes that don’t chafe, a water bottle that is comfortable to hold, and the right nutrition. On top of those logistics, motivation and focus play a huge role over a longer run.
A long run can be very relaxing but at times it can be a challenge to make it through. What strategies are there to stay focused and motivated to see it through?
My personal biggest motivation is that long runs provide the opportunity to just think. It is time to reconnect with yourself and think about everything or nothing at all. Our lives are filled with so many distractions and we often do not get the opportunity to just pause and think. Going for a long run gives you the space to be alone with your thoughts without any distractions. The amount of issues, emotions, problems that I have worked through on long runs is almost uncountable. Every thought and emotion becomes a little more clear when I am out there for hours just letting my mind process life.
Sometimes your mind is just not enough to keep you occupied. When it gets really and your mind is telling you just to stop you need to have other strategies in place that you know will keep you moving. One option is to run half the distance you plan to run, away from your house or where you started. This way you really have no other choice but to run back. Another strategy is to run with other people, they help to keep you going. The support and inspiration of others will keep you moving forward. You also won’t want to be the person who stops so there is that too.
If you like running to music make a playlist that is the same time as it should take you to finish your run, place songs that really get you pumped up strategically around times you know you’ll need an extra boost, don’t stop until your playlist is over. You could also listen to a long-form podcast. Someone like Rich Roll is sure to inspire you to keep moving.
When it gets really hard to keep going just remind yourself that you are doing something challenging and that before you even know it you’ll be done and showered, so proud of yourself for choosing to do the hard thing today.
