LOLZLetter 106 | How to Become a Better Runner During the Pandemic
Welcome!
A few times last week, my blog was found by someone searching the topic: "How to become a better runner during the pandemic." I've actually never written a blog post about it, so I decided it interested me enough to research and write a newsletter about it.
The short answer: Run more.
But “just running more” comes with the possibility of both injury and burnout.
The truth is most of the people who subscribe to the newsletter are established and accomplished runners. A good portion are more accomplished than I will ever be! That being said, we can all use the reminders of how to be the best version of ourselves.
Other than now, there are very few times you'll have this much "free time."
This means there are more opportunities to improve your own fitness. Yes, you can improve without races or a gym. I want to think some bigger races might happen in 2021, but who really knows.
So What Can You Do to Gain Running Fitness?
Strength and Injury Prevention:
I've made it clear that one of my major goals for 2021 is to gain fitness. I've built a small home gym with a few pieces of gym equipment and kettlebells.
Here are a few exercises and bodyweight workouts you can do without a gym. Obviously, do what is best for you and what interests you. In 2020 brought us anything; it was the number of home workout apps and ideas of how to exercise without a gym.
Recovery:
Recovery is one of the most important things you can do to get better at running. Recovery includes eating after a run as well as getting good sleep.
Sleep: The more you sleep, the better. With more free time, you have more time to sleep or go to bed earlier. Most of us don't have the luxury of daily naps, but if you go to bed earlier, that helps. Start with going to bed 15 minutes earlier or turning off social media at X amount of time. Without social media, life is boring...right?
Stretching and All that Jazz: I'm really trying to get better at stretching, foam rolling, and working out knots in my muscles. Since I don't have access to chiropractic care like I did in NJ (shout out to Dr. Craig, who kept me healthy), I have to focus on being more in tune with my body. I have used the Sidekick muscle scraper, which has worked well. I also like the Addaday Biozoom Massage Gun. I dedicate 15 minutes to each, and I have noticed it helps. You don't need to spend oodles of time to get results.
If you are looking for different running stretches, this is a good guide.
Work on Your Weaknesses
We all have weaknesses. Mine is speed. I used to HATE going to the track. Track workouts made me miserable. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've been going once a week, and I've seen improvements. My easy runs have gotten faster, and my general fitness is overall better.
I used to believe running more miles would make me faster. To a point, that helps, but eventually, you need to do speed work. Without races, I've done track workouts and faster road workouts.
I challenge you to think of your weaknesses: Speed? Longer distances? Running uphill? Running downhill? Strength training? Rest days? Pacing? Whatever it is, spend 1 day a week really working on it. I've spent one day a week also trying to focus on downhill running.
I used to be terrible at that, too; in fact, my uphill running and downhill were the same. Now I've gotten significantly better at downhill simply by working on it.
Work on Your Speed:
I am biased because I'm currently working on it, but shorter races help your longer races. As we know, big city marathons are the least likely to happen in 2021. Instead of training for a big city marathon, think about training for a 5k or even half marathon. These smaller races are less likely to get canceled (safety over everything, though). I wrote a blog a while ago about why you should train for shorter distances.
How can you add speed? A few easy ways to work on speed include hitting the track, strides, or hill-sprints. If you hate that, try plyometrics (which brings me back to my P90X days in college).
This is truly a great time to work on the little things and the things you might never have this much time to do again.
What is Keeping Me Entertained This Week?
A lot, I guess!
Podcast: Citius Mag Podcast: Kyle Merber exit interview. Kyle is a cool dude, and this 2 and a half-hour interview was fascinating. He talks about how he was once paid 12k to take photos for New Balance, but the same year couldn't find a professional sponsorship that paid 12k.
Podcast: Tina Muir Podcast with Amelia Boone. Amelia has been on a dozen podcasts, but I appreciated Tina talk about different things.
Molly Seidel signs with Puma. I'm curious to hear what happened with Saucony (I don't think we will), but I'm so fascinated to see what shoes Puma has coming out. Molly ran a 69 minute half marathon this weekend, so I guess her training and the shoes are good.
12 seconds off the World Record, Jim Walmsley ran a 100k in 6:09:26, which is 5:57/mile. Running that far, fast, and long on the roads makes my body ache.
What are Cross-Training Shoes?
Guide to Long Moisture Wicking Long Tank Tops
Two Shoe Reviews This Week: Brooks Levitate 4 Shoe Review and Brooks Ricochet 3 Shoe Review
As always, stay healthy and safe. Thank you to everyone who reads, shares, and subscribes.
You Can Follow me on:
Found it! Appreciate the shout out always Hollie! We miss you tons both at my office as well as at Running Co.