long run

T.S. Eliot must not have been a marathon runner as he thought April is the cruellest [sic] month. If a runner had written “The Waste Land,” it would assert that August is the toughest time as it often involves running long distances in heat and humidity to train for fall races! 

Follow these steps to help you through your next long run. We can’t promise it’ll be poetic, but perhaps less cruel. 

1. Keep your entertainment fresh. Press pause on your usual playlists, either making a for-the-long-run compilation or sprinkle in a few new songs to your favorite forward-motion tracks. And don’t be afraid to hit repeat when something really moves you, like Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” has been doing for me lately. If you’re looking for an engaging podcast and you’re a “Little House on the Prairie” fan, give “Wilder” a go—I find it highly compelling and really well done. (And with nine episodes, it’ll carry you almost as far as a covered wagon!)

2. Plan distractions. This could be anything from slowing down to look in the window of a new neighborhood boutique to eating a flavor of energy gel that you only ingest on long runs. I recommend Strawberry Banana Liquid Energy Gel: It’s a refreshing, tasty gel/liquid hybrid. Or grab-and-go: Ripe blackberries are plentiful on roadside bushes here in Oregon! Or swing by a friend’s front yard where you’ve had her stash a frozen water bottle that’ll be thawed-yet-chilly by Mile 12. 

3. Be creative in plotting your routes. (Read: Tell yourself lies as you go!) A local runner named Lisa recently told me she likes out-and-back routes for long runs. That way, let’s say she needs to run 16 total miles, she plays mental tricks over the 8 miles out, telling herself, “3 down, 5 left.” “Okay, now I’m halfway.” and “I’m 6 in, just 2 more.” Once she hits the turnaround point, she just thinks, “Now I’m just running back home.” Another runner told me she likes doing a shorter loop at the start of her run, say, 3 of her total 12 so that then her long run is “only” 9 miles. (Again, it’s all about the lies we tell ourselves to get it done.) 

4. Don’t confuse boredom with exhaustion. When you’re “hurting,” ask yourself if your body feels extreme discomfort, or if you’re just wishing your run was over. Often, it’s the latter. The first time I shared with suggestion, a gal named Jamie told me that on a recent 13-miler, she was obsessing about quitting. She said, “I was thinking I was beat, but then I realized that I was just bored to shreds!”

Have more tips for long runs?
Drop them in the comments below.