If you’re just beginning your distance running journey or you’ve been hitting a plateau, one of the most common shared goals is how to increase running distance and speed. Custom Training Plans can help you raise your endurance and strength with a personalized training plan that’s tailored to your distance goals — one of the smartest ways to approach distance running training.
Training gradually and thoughtfully is essential to avoiding injury, no matter what your level of experience. In addition to a custom-tailored training plan, there are a few tips and tricks that can help to make increasing your running distance a little easier. Incorporating one or more into your long-distance running training program just might make the miles go by a little bit easier.
- Decrease your speed. Dropping your speed is a great way to train for long-distance running because by slowing down a bit, you also can reduce the strain you’re placing on your body. Set your pace a minute or two slower than the pace you’re capable of running that day and enjoy your run. Once you’re covering more ground, you can start thinking about picking up the pace to reach that distance faster.
- Alternate the intensity of your workouts. While long, slow runs are effective during distance running training, getting faster at running long distances relies on incorporating harder workouts into your regimen. Think speedwork, hill repeats, and threshold training, all of which help your body tolerate longer distances at higher speeds.
- Fuel yourself properly. Before your workout, you’ll want to take in fluids and a mix of carbohydrates and protein — foods that are gentle on your stomach. During your workout, keep hydrating. If you’re out for a run that will last longer than an hour, bring along an energy gel or bar to keep your tank full.
- Give your body time to recover. Running every day isn’t going to help you go faster or farther, and it can even lead to overuse injuries. Between harder runs, take a day off to relax or do some cross-training.
- Pick up the weights. Weight training for long-distance running is essential to any effective distance running training program. It can increase your ability to maintain good form, improve your endurance, and raise your pace. It’s also an effective way to ward off injuries since your muscles will be ready to support proper running form.
- Use a personalized training program. It’s critical to get yourself started off on the right foot, and using a generic training plan is a recipe for potential problems that can easily be avoided. Your training plan should meet you where you are at present, including workouts that are tailored to your ability and your distance goals. A solid training program pushes you the right amount without throwing too much at you at once.
The most important things to remember when training for long-distance running are to be patient and to pay attention to what your body is telling you. Distance running training is a process, so it’s important to pick a running training program that will help to keep you motivated and help you avoid overtraining and potential injury. Training involves so much more than just miles, and runners who use generic training schedules that just increase the miles often quit out of sheer boredom or sheer dread. This could lead to arrival and an eagerly awaited event’s starting line underprepared.
Whether you’re aiming for a 10K, half marathon, full marathon, or even more, Custom Training Plans is ready to give you the tools you need to get there. Our long-distance running training plans are personalized to meet your current level of fitness and help you go after your goals. If you have a specific event in mind, we can customize a Boston Marathon Race Plan, a Rock n’ Roll USA Marathon Race Plan, a Chicago Hot Chocolate 15K Race Plan, and many others just for you. If you aren’t looking at specific events, we can take your needs and goals into account to build a 10-mile training plan, a half-marathon training plan, or a full marathon training plan. At CTP, we’re focused on providing training plans for athletes of all abilities so you can arrive at the finish line injury-free and ready to celebrate your accomplishments. When you’re ready to lace up and hit the streets, choose a thoughtfully designed, comprehensive, and customized distance running training program from Custom Training Plans.