If you wish to run longer distances and improve your fitness, you should add a few minutes to each workout, and resist the discomfort to achieve your target time. If you want to increase your speed, doing plyometrics and sprints will help your body become stronger and faster. Follow these steps to run longer and get more out of your training.
1. Increase running time
1.1. Check your running form
Before setting a longer goal, make sure that you have the right portrait while running. Exercise these basic movements to improve your base in the way to achieve your goals:
• Step up comfortably.
• Release the upper part of the base instead of holding.
• Inhale with your nose and exhale with your mouth.
• Choose comfortable shoes that perfectly fit your feet.
1.2. Track your running time
Before increasing your running time, you should wear a watch while running to track your regular time. You should also know your starting point before gradually increasing it.
Run as long as you can before stopping. Try to keep going even if you feel tired and your legs start to hurt. You may have a little more endurance than you have noticed because the important part of running longer can contend with some discomfort.
Consider setting a target based on your starting time. If you can run 15 minutes, your goal might be 30 minutes. If you can run for 30 minutes, you might be able to run for an hour.
1.3. Add 5 - 10 minutes per week
5 to 10 minutes sound not much, but by raising your time gradually your endurance will increase very quickly. This is a steady amount of time to add to help you run longer without jumping forward too quickly and straining your muscles. Committing yourself to run longer, though it is a struggle, is how to build your lasting strength.
If your first run is under 30 minutes, initially add 5 minutes to your next run. Continue adding 5 minutes per week until you can run 30 minutes.
If you can run for 30 minutes the first time, add 10 minutes per week. Continue adding 10 minutes per week (but do not exceed them) until you reach your goal.
1.4. Don't worry about your pace
Your pace is not the present priority, just focus on running longer. You should run at a pace that you can easily have a conversation, which is comfortable for you to follow endlessly. As pushing yourself to run faster and longer can lead to burnout, you should only aim for faster runs after you've reached your goal of running time for a while.
1.5. Fuel yourself properly
What you eat and drink before your workout is crucial. If it makes you feel heavy or bloated, you won't be able to run as long. Staying hydrated and replenished helps you last the entire run.
While you need energy for the run, it's unnecessary to load up before running as this can slow you down. Unless you’re running a marathon, you probably don’t need a lot of carbohydrates to finish a run.
Try eating a handful of almonds, a banana, or half a bagel with peanut butter about an hour before your run. This should provide you with enough energy to get through the run without weighing you down.
Don’t hold a sports drink in your mouth, drink water instead. You probably don’t need to supply sugar to perform well. Ultimately, adding extra calories will make it harder to maintain good form.
1.6. Stick to your building plan
Building strength requires a detailed plan and adherence to it. If you skip a few weeks, your physical quality will drop which forces you to build it back up again. If you need to take an extended break in your training because of troubles in life, just get back and start adding more time. Training is the progress of work, sometimes it is super fit for you and sometimes it is not.
1.7. Don’t push too hard
Jumping steps in your plans and adding over 10 minutes a week can be counter-productive. Your body does need time to build up its muscles and strength. If you push yourself too hard, you may get trauma or injuries or simply be exhausted. You will be more successful if you build strength slowly but surely.
Make sure to incorporate rest days into your routine. Don’t run every day, you should rest at least 1 or 2 days a week to rest.
On non-running days, you can try cycling, swimming, or hiking instead.
2. Build endurance
2.1. Walk when you need to
As you build endurance, you may experience some discomfort as you add time to your runs. You will reach a point where you feel like you can’t take another step. It’s normal, just slow down and walk a little. Walk until you feel like you can run, then start running again. Continue alternating between walking and running until you are training for the time you set out to run.
The run-walk strategy is especially useful if you are a newbie. Try to increase the time of running and decrease the time of walking with each subsequent workout. Eventually, you will be able to run the entire time.
2.2. Sprinting
High-intensity interval training has been shown to increase your body's maximum oxygen uptake. That means sprinting a few times a week will help you build the stamina to run longer at a slower pace. Try this routine 2 to 3 times a week for about 6 weeks:
Sprinting induces stress on your muscles and helps prevent injury:
• Sprint for 30 seconds at 50 percent effort. Rest for 2 minutes.
• Sprint for 30 seconds at 80 percent effort. Rest for 2 minutes.
• Sprint for 30 seconds at 100 percent effort. Rest for 2 minutes.
Repeat up to 8 sprints total, depending on your fitness level.
2.3. Do Plyometrics
Boot camp-style exercises like skipping drills and knee sprints have been used with great success by some athletes to improve endurance. These exercises build core and firm muscles in the entire body. Incorporating plyometrics helps athletes run longer, and faster. You can work with a personal trainer to use your gym's equipment to complete a plyometrics routine 2-3 times a week. Alternatively, try this workout:
• Run 18.3 m using the shortest, fastest stride you can. Repeat 6 times.
• Do a total of 5 minutes of the following exercises: single-leg hops, jumping rope, and high knees.
2.4. Alternate hard days with easy days
This strategy is used by marathoners who increase their distance each week. During the week, do 2 or 3 shorter, high-intensity runs where you run faster and harder. On the weekends, do your longest run at a conversational pace. You’ll find that the longer runs are more pleasant than the shorter ones, even though you’re running longer distances and for a longer period.
2.5. Try a tempo run
A tempo run is a run that starts with 15 minutes at an easy pace, then 20 minutes at a comfortable hard pace (not a sprint), and finishes with 15 minutes at an easy pace. Adding the tempo run once or twice to your workout will increase your body’s lactate threshold, the point at which your body becomes tired.
2.6. Keep Going or Not
To keep your mind occupied and away from thoughts of feeling tired, try listening to an MP3 player while you run. Alternatively, you may prefer quiet time to clear your mind and focus solely on running. Do whatever works best for you and helps you overcome the discomfort your body will feel as you gain endurance
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Reference source: healthline.com
