Missing Your Long Runs?

It's time to Grit or Quit...

Are you short on sleep but long on stress? Has life got in the way of your training recently, there just seems to be so much other “stuff” going on at the moment that you literally can’t get out of the front door. Add into the mix the start of the school holidays (are they old enough to be left in the house on their own?), plus it’s HOT, and yes there is a goal race in sight but you’re stressing out because you’ve missed a couple of training runs… all sound familiar?

I know over the years I’ve been too hard on myself and beaten myself up if I’ve missed a few training runs; and doesn’t that unkind, little voice in your head just get louder and louder?

I don’t beat myself up (so much) anymore, I must admit I’ve got better at accepting that sometimes a run just needs to be binned off! It might surprise you but in the past I’ve become slightly (ha!) obsessed about running and have literally run myself into the ground, running every day, often twice a day, without a rest day for sometimes for over 2 weeks! Life just got busy, I got obsessed and somehow, I didn’t notice?

So how do you learn the difference between gritting and quitting? Disruptions in training do happen, shit happens, life happens. Many unforeseeable variables will be thrown your way and learning how to handle setbacks and take them in your stride is all part of the journey. We know that grit is important for not only achieving goals but also to help build our armour of resilience. But then too much grit can be harmful, and quitting, well it’s often seen as a sign of weakness. But knowing when to accept that your training cycle won’t be perfect is a sign of self-awareness and most importantly self-preservation.

Expecting a training plan to, literally, go to plan, is unrealistic. However, understanding that it is okay to adjust a training plan is so much easier said than done, and these glitches can impact our mental state so much more than our physical fitness level.

Missing a few training runs won’t throw your training completely off course, in my experience missing a few runs in a row isn’t enough to lose all your fitness or strength. Learning when your body is asking for a break, through illness, lack of motivation or injury, it’s best to give in a little or you could risk losing the lot.

It is debatable how long it takes of “no training” to start losing fitness, some research suggests 10 days, others 2 weeks, I personally don’t like to put a number on it, it really does depend on where you are in your running journey and what distance you are training for.

If you do miss a few runs, instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself why? 

Do you have time for long runs right now? Is life too busy? How does your body respond to the heat? What other stress is in your life? If you find yourself being time poor, ask yourself how important are your long runs and are you excited about your goal? Motivation doesn’t just happen, when runs are hard, we need to dig deep, if your goal isn’t exciting you, maybe it’s not the right goal?

Are you constantly in pain/discomfort/frustrated when running long runs? Does your plan need adjusting because you’re running too many hard sessions and not giving yourself a chance to recover?

When you address the why, you can take a step back and re-evaluate where you are now, and realise you might need to adjust your goals or expectations.

If you are still motivated, keen, and enthusiastic about your goal and it’s just that life got in the way, here’s some advice on how to readjust your plan

· Try not to chase the miles - just bin them, trying to make up missed runs will put added stress on your body and often do more harm than good.

· Splitting - Research has shown that splitting a long run into two runs within a 12-hour period can potentially deliver the same results as one continuous long run. Whilst not ideal, it’s worth considering, for example if your plan called for 12 miles and you only manage to get in five in the morning, consider heading back out later in the day (after you have re-fuelled and hydrated) to add on the seven.

· Another alternative - run 7 miles the next morning, giving you a total of 12 miles in a 24-hour period. 

· Do something - it’s better than not running at all. Shorten your runs and stay consistent, do what you can when you can’t run long, even a three-mile run will help you maintain your fitness level until life returns to normal, try to make running your new “normal” when facing life’s obstacles.  Doing these shorter runs will help you mentally and relieve at least some of the stress of missing the intended run.

· Adapt - if you had a long run planned on Saturday but missed it, you could complete the long run on Monday or Tuesday in place of your short, weekday run, sit down with your diary, and look at what you can do.  Try not to catastrophise and see what can work.