8 Ways To Improve Your Running (Right Away)

We’re all trying to eke out a little bit more of our running.

From the latest gadgets to optimizing recovery, we have probably been a bit curious as to whether it’ll work for us. The answer is, that it could.

In today’s post, I’m going to talk about the 8 ways you can improve your running right away. These tips don’t take a lot of work on your part and can pay off big time with your running.

You’ll find links inside most tips — they lead to blog posts I’ve written that go into detail about the sub-topic.

Ready? Let’s go.

1. Get more sleep. Sleep reigns supreme when it comes to recovery. Get more sleep and your performance will get better. You’ll feel better on your runs, you’ll feel better before you run. Sleep is the best chance you have at fast times.
2. Cross-train (bike, swim, elliptical, yoga) regularly. If you can get your mind away from needing “x miles per week” running and supplement with 30–60 minutes of cross training, you’re going to be a better runner. Plus, getting away from the daily pounding with some time spent doing cardio is a big win.
3. Be consistent with training — daily, weekly, monthly & yearly. Consistent training leads to performance boosts. Stay consistent with how you train and you will prevent the decline.
4. Always stay -at the very least — kinda in shape. Long stretches of inactivity will make coming back that much harder. If you take huge chunks of time off (say, the winter), you’re going to spend 3 months just getting back in shape.
5. Fuel appropriately for the amount of training you’re doing. Upping your mileage should correlate to an increase in calories. Keep them as clean as possible to maximize your fuel efficiency.
6. Get your warmup drills done prior to running. If you want a greater range of motion and activated muscles, doing warmup drills really help.
7. Slow down your training runs. Slowing down your runs will allow you to run your long runs and workouts at a faster pace. That should be your thinking.
8. Strength train weekly. Stronger muscles and joints help you sustain the pounding your body takes.

Some of these might be more attainable for you today and some may take some planning/future thinking, but regardless, they’ll all help you get faster. Which one do you think you’re most ready to implement? Leave a comment or reply and I’ll respond.

Training is supposed to be fun, so continue to mix up how, where, and when you run.

For more, including popular posts I’ve written, click the links below.

Support Marc’s Coaching

6 Tips to Improve Your Running

7 Ways to Get Better at Running

Glute Strength & Activation

Post-Race Recovery Options

Lessons for a 1-Hour Race

To improve at something, consistently put yourself in an uncomfortable place. Start a startup, train for a marathon, or commit to writing every day. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Thanks for reading until the end. You can certainly get a hold of me in any number of ways, but if you have a comment about this post, click below.

Not about this post? You can find me on social media or check out my most popular links including using me as your running coach.

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Originally published at https://trainwithmarc.substack.com on September 9, 2022.