Here Are Some Of My Best Running Tips For Your Races And Workouts

I would like to give you some useful insights and running tips in a way that shall inspire you to improve your running style and to run way faster no matter at which point you currently are.

I recently ran with my brother and his girlfriend and what was pretty amazing for me was the fact that though my brother usually never runs at all, he didn't really seem to have any difficulties to keep up with us. Well, on the next day he had a minor muscle ache in his legs but that was it.

Now his girlfriend and I do Triathlon for quite awhile now whereas my brother brings up more interest for his mountain bike. But obviously he did very well. I was wondering what happened if he would start to exercise properly and regularly? Okay, let's keep this between you and me only. He thinks running is boring. We don't want to give direction to more rivalry within family, right. :-)

When I started with running (which was about the time when I started with triathlon at all) I most likely did everything wrong that could be done wrong. We had one training group mixed together from novices, advanced and semi-pros. As a matter of fact I ran too fast, I ran too long and I didn't take enough time to recover. And I hated running because I thought "Well, that's the way how you do it".

How wrong I was!

After nearly one and a half years of pain and suffering I read a good book on running with several running tips that totally changed my mind. I started to practise running for myself and not for others. What a revelation! Now I could choose my own tempo and change or adjust whenever I wanted to. Just by implementing a few of those running tips I felt like I was entering the 'Triathlon Training Heaven'.

If you'd see me running today you were probably thinking: "Gee, this guy is so slow, time is running backwards." And it's true. Around 90 - 95% of my running time is spent in "slow motion".

See "The Tao of Relaxed and Proper Training" for the reason why.

Anyway, during competitions I regularly hit my goal of around 40 minutes per 10k with the accuracy of a brain surgeon.

And I rarely do speed work. Rarely. But I do.

Well, one of those running tips I read and picked up was that "speed work is only the spice in your training soup". Basic endurance training is the water. Most athletes get this part completely wrong. And it costs them not only minutes or hours, it costs them their health as well. Is costs them more time for recovery and lower chances to be fit on time for a race.

And ignorance is their problem.

You can change your results dramatically by focusing on the right side of the equation: YOU! Not your ego, but you. So let's start with some powerful ingredients for your soup, i.e. some running tips for your own mental training library (hey, we don't only want to have water in the soup, right).

By now you should already know the basic principles of training: First increase the distance, second increase the speed. It may or may not sound stupid for you but I regularly do stretching and several running exercises to improve my style. And I would suggest the same to you. If you think this is only for girls, think again. Maybe this is the problem why your running sucks to this day.

If you don't believe me, watch the pros in athletic sports. What do they do after warming up? Right. They do stretching. And if you pay close attention: It's not only the girls who do so. So whenever I'm unsure about whether something I read is working or not I look at the pros. What do they do? You can get some valuable advice and great running tips just by watching them.

Stretching reduces the chance of injuries and if you also do it after your workout it can induce and shorten your recovery as well. Personally I noticed that proper stretching and cooling down after a race can cut my recovery time by at least 50% - depending on the race distance.

Some people ignore these facts but I always found that I was running faster than anyone of those 'experts'. I also never met someone who was doing "speed work at least 3 times a week" running faster than me. It's simply not going to happen. And that's not because I have a superior running or training style but because of their sheer ignorance of simple and basic facts of sport science and training theory.

Remember: Opinions are the cheapest good on earth. Everybody has got a bag full of them. Stick with the basics, train properly and regularly, implement the running tips on this site one by one and celebrate your victories. I would love to hear your success stories.

Regarding those running tips, here is what you can do - and again we'll start very simple and move on to the more advanced stuff later on when you internalized the basic concepts.

Start to practise your basic endurance for about 3 coherent months during winter and spring. Make those runs long and calm. You are laying the foundation for your season success. Just smile gently about all those don't-know-jacks who are running as if they were paid by reached distance.

To keep my running training diversified and interesting I do a lot of fartleks. That is a highly effective training method that seems as if it was designed especially for me. You can choose your tempo as you feel. For example you may run a bit faster uphill and decrease speed when going downhill. Or I may run a certain portion at race speed and then I reduce to nearly walking for several minutes.

Just play with it. There is nothing that you are supposed to do. Only what you want to do. Remember though that you need to run faster from time to time if you want to increase your speed during competitions. But when you completely understand the super compensation effect you'll never have to worry about stressing yourself too much.

Because after each training session your fitness level shoots way above your former level and if you time your next training session exactly at the peak point of your recovery then you must automatically increase your ability to run faster without trying or torturing yourself. Think about it. No sense in running too fast or doing too much. It indeed can be counterproductive.

You may also want to join some running competitions in winter as they steel your body, polish your training and give it the final touch before the season starts.

Here are some more great running tips for you:

• Change between different pairs of shoes.
• Practise to drink while running.
• Start your running by warming up with very low tempo and stretch after you warmed up. After your training cool down by decreasing your tempo. Ideally finish with stretching, too. Avoid finishing your workout at the highest pace.
• Do speed work only sparely and only after you reached a stable basic endurance.
• Right before the season you can do some speed work for 8 - 12 weeks combined with basic runs. Be careful as this is the time with the highest risk of injuries.
• During competitions focus on running easily and relaxed.
• Put fasteners on your running shoes. Ask your local dealer for them.
• Make your steps longer uphill, shorten them downhill.
• Practise the transition from cycling to running prior to your races. 'Walking on eggs' and stitch are only some of the phenomena you might experience, even if you are a seasoned runner.
• After the running or after the race don't forget to drink a lot of isotonic drinks and eat carbohydrates (e.g. bananas). Also don't forget to stretch and especially after races you might want to cool down before changing your clothes.
• Nutrition: I use to mix powder sports drinks up in my sports bottle and skip the pre-mixed bottles. Drink water throughout the day and the race. For long runs switch between water and electrolyte drinks to avoid dehydration and eat at least every hour whether you feel like you need it or not.
• Heat: Start drinking early. Starting to see a pattern here? Drink before, during and after a training or competition even if you don't feel thirsty. Wear bright clothes and a hat. If you start to feel uncomfortable reduce intensity and drink more. Practice drinking and eating during the run.
• Cold: Preferably wear several shirts above each instead of one warm sweater.
• Increased Ozone Values: Reduce your training intensities or switch to swimming / cycling. Check your pulse with a heart rate monitor and preferably run in the morning or late afternoon hours.
• Prevent Injuries: Coat your feet, inner thighs and anything else that rubs in Vaseline, this will help you avoid painful blisters. For the men, band-aids over the nipples is a life-saver. Pay attention to how your legs and feet feel, bring attention to pain or injury immediately and ice after hard training or workouts to avoid further injury. Don't do interval training if you did not lay your ground work before with long and slow endurance runs.
• Race Day: Do NOT try out new shoes, food or clothing on race day. This can lead to discomfort or even injuries. Always start out slower than you think you should to conserve energy to get you through the end of the race. For triathlons picture an "energy pie" that needs to be split between all the three disciplines.
• Safety: For training try to wear bright colored clothing to help you stand out from the scenery. Be aware of everything around you, including other runners, cyclists, vehicles and others. Always run facing traffic and carry ID, just in case.
• By far the best running tip I can give you is to regularly go out and simply 'do it'. The more you'll do it, the more you'll understand it and enjoy it.

As you can see there are many different things to think about when considering how to run successfully and to accomplish your goals. There are hundreds, even thousands, of running tips out there that you can employ and if you take a little time to connect with other runners you will learn even more running tips and tricks to take your running where you want it to be.

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