What to do when your easy runs are hard?

I had a long trail run a couple weeks ago and it sucked. It sucked in the beginning. It sucked in the middle and it sucked at the end.

This wasn’t some monster tempo step up run.  This was a run-of-the-mill Zone 2 easy run.  It was basically a run where you should be able to set the cruise control and take a nap.

But it was hard.  Like someone had snuck several large rocks into my shorts.  Like the entire gravity field of the earth had been turned up just for me.

It was hot and humid.  The biting flies were swarming.  My legs felt heavy like they were wrapped in cement.  My heart rate hammered.  It wasn’t fun.

Why do runs suck for no reason?

It’s hard to tell why some days your easy runs feel hard.  It could be just that day.  Humans are not linear. We have normal biorhythms and cycles.  We all have bad days.

The first thing to do is don’t overreact.  Run a systems check. Try to figure out what’s going on.  You might learn something useful that you could use to make the next run better and more effective.

Check your nutrition.  How’s your fluids and fuel? Did you do anything different?  Maybe one too many glasses of Australian Merlot last night?  Maybe some fried clams or something else that has thrown your machine out of kilter for the day?  Did you go into the run dehydrated?  Do you have enough electrolytes?

What can be learned?  Maybe stop and take an Endurolyte or drink some Ucan?  Does it make a difference?

How about your physical and mental condition going into this run?  Have you gotten enough sleep recently?  Jet Lag?   Have you been under stress?  What are the patterns?  Can you learn something?

Check your heart rate.  Was it out-of-synch before you started?  Has it been trending high?  Are you coming down with something?  Do you have something going on that you don’t know about?

Look at what happened and try to tease out the why. What can you learn?

Ok, you’re out there and it sucks, now what?

What are some strategies to get through it when a run sucks?

Relax.  Don’t freak out and go negative.  Every day can‘t be a good day.  Freaking out makes it worse.  Focus on your breathing.  Use whatever meditation skills you have to calm your mind.

Take some walk breaks.  It’s an easy run.  Toughing it out isn’t necessary.  It’s ok to take walk breaks or stop and smell the roses.  It’s ok to slow down.  (Unless you’re being chased by a swarm of biting flies!)

Make sure to get your nutrition right.  Take some fuel, fluid and electrolytes – see if it helps.

Check your form – straighten up, don’t slouch, fixing your form can change your energy and your attitude.

Just like runs can randomly suck, runs, especially longer training runs, can change from bad to good at some point.  If you clam down.  Focus on your form.  Control your breathing.  Ease up a little the suck may go away and your run can change into a wonderful run.  Don’t give up on it.

When nothing seems to be working you can always try distraction.

Put on some killer music.  If you’ve got that special mix with you maybe now is the time to pull it out and see if it can change your mood and save your run.

If you don’t have music you can always start singing out loud to yourself.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but belting out a loud song has changed my attitude in more than one long trail race.  Who’s going to care?  The trees?  The bears?  Let your freak flag fly.

If singing doesn’t work or isn’t your thing try screaming at the gods like a maniac!  Seriously.  You’re alone in the woods let the universe know how you feel. It can be invigorating.

Don’t forget to smile.  It’s been proven that your physical attitude can change your mental state.  SMILE! I get the impression no one believes me – but this definitively works.

Do you have a mantra?  Do you have that relaxation phrase or song lyric that you can repeat over and over in your head like a kindly positive metronome to take your mind off those legs that are mired in molasses?

Again.  It’s an easy run.  It’s supposed to be fun.  Relax.  Don’t worry.  Focus on your breathing and repeat a mantra.  You don’t have to be seated cross-legged on an expensive mat to get the benefit of meditation.  Practice self-meditation and relaxation as you run.

Sometimes in a long run you just get stuck in a bad pace.  Your body gets into a rut.  Surprisingly you can change your state by running a little faster.  Throw in some pick-ups.   It’s counter intuitive but sometimes a couple short pickups will change your energy level and get you unstuck.  Just 1-3 minutes of picking them up and putting them down.  Change it up.

Those are some of the strategies I try to remember when my easy runs just suck.  Truth is I usually just suck it up and keep going.  There is something to be said for the utility of pure stubbornness in distance running.  Push through and hope the next one is better.

You know what they say?  “You never regret finishing a run.”