After finishing my run this afternoon, I felt inspired to share a couple of the tricks that I have used when I feel challenged running because I’m tired. I have a 10 1/2 month old and I do not remember what it feels like to be rested so I’ve had a lot of experience with this kind of running recently 🤣
Sleep aids in recovery and can help us feel balanced, happy, and relaxed…. so when we don’t get enough of it, it can really take a toll mentally and physically.
As a running coach, I enjoy when I can share tips from my personal running with my athletes and with fellow runners. I’ll keep it short and sweet. Thanks for reading!
Be gentle with yourself: Lower your expectations (reduce mileage, speed expectations, or expectations pertaining to how you “should” feel during this run) and spend more time easing into your run by doing more warm up. I find that when I am tired, my body also needs a bit more stretching to feel “normal.”
Play with speed: try picking up the pace during your run. While this might seem contradictory, sometimes picking up the pace can help you feel more energy. I really enjoy doing Fartlek runs in these moments because I find that it helps me to break up the run and feel energized.
Change your focus: rather than allowing yourself to focus on feeling tired, focus your mind on something inspiring… if you are on the treadmill, maybe this means opening Netflix or YouTube and if you are running outside, maybe this means listening to a podcast or music.
Remember that tired running is good training: In every race there is a moment or several moments when you feel tired and need to run through this feeling. Practicing this during your training runs can make all the difference on race day.
