Have you made any running-related goals lately? I think there are some simple things that can be done to improve our running. Here are 3 simple things to do each week that will help you to stay on track to work towards whatever goals you may (or may not) have for this year.
3 Simple Ways To Improve Your Running
1. Keep track of your training.
Find somewhere to write down your workouts each week and how you feel. I have used the Believe Training Journal in the past but now I rely mostly on my blog weekly recaps. It’s so helpful to be able to look back on past weeks of training to see what was working well or identify any training errors that may have led to an injury. This only takes a few minutes each week but you will really appreciate having this information to look back on in weeks, months, or years to come!
2. Spend a few minutes doing prehab work throughout the week.
Prehab is always better than rehab! One trick I like to do is use my core and hip exercises as a part of my warm up. I am more likely to do it before a run than after, and by working those muscles you are also activating them in preparation for your run. 10 minutes 3 times a week is a great place to start. Here are some workouts you can try as part of your warm-up/prehab routine:
- Get your core ready to run workout
- Core stability exercises
- Pre-run glute activating exercises
- 5 (new to me) glute burners
3. Don’t forget about recovery
It can be really easy to get caught up in the training process and ignore recovery. Make sure to take rest days when you need them. Some weeks that may be 1 day a week, but other weeks you may need 2 or 3. Pay attention to your nutrition and how well you are sleeping. And spend some time foam rolling when your muscles are sore and tired!
Paying attention to the little things can really make a difference when it comes to running and training. Hopefully these strategies will help you to improve your running!
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- Do you pay attention to the little things with running?
- How do you keep track of your workouts?
I have weeks when I remember to foam roll and I’m up top of yoga stretching and weeks where I totally go without it until it catches up with me and I realize I need it lol.
I have been on and off with foam rolling over the past few months. I feel like as long as I do it 1-2 times a week it still helps!
Ah, “pay attention to how well you are sleeping.” This is the thing I probably ignore the most. Whenever I have a bad run I never really consider how my sleep was the night before, but I am sure bad sleep factors in!
Sleep is so important! I always go to bed early but sometimes I just cant sleep well in the morning (like I will wake up at 3 and not be able to go back to sleep) Im sure that affects my running more than I realize!
I;ve been teh worst about doing anything but running recently. But then again, today is my last day to run, lol, so there you go. But when I start back, I better be planking and core and stabilizer working my booty off!
I feel like this was your chance to just enjoy running without worrying about anything else! And I know you will do all the right things to have a strong comeback!
I guess what I do with Becky and in the yoga studio could be considered prehab. But I need to do a better job with recovery!
I would definitely say thats prehab since its getting you stronger! My recovery has slipped lately too, especially since I haven’t trained for a race in so long.
I’m good about recovery and pre-hab (mostly) but tracking always seems to fall away. I was journaling until I got my super Garmin, then I let the Garmin keep the data but now I never look at it. Maybe its because I don’t have running goals that involve mileage or pace.
I was good at tracking until I got injured! Luckily everything was stored on my Garmin so I was able to look back at it at the end of the year.
I *really* try to be sure to listen to my body … and the last few weeks I have been running 70+ miles per week along with all of the other holiday stress and craziness … then ice skating for an hour or two on New Year’s Eve. So yesterday while I was running I felt pretty tired at ~2.5 miles, but pushed through and still got my full run (which ended up at 13.25 miles) … but then last night I could feel it in my muscles … so I actually took today off. Unprecedented 🙂
I joke a little – but what you say is true: listening to your body, pre-hab, and keeping track of what you are doing.
I definitely think other stuff like stress or different physical activities can mean we need a little extra recovery for running! Sometimes I think we can just be stubborn about it, other times we may really not recognize the added stress. But I think a combo of keeping track and having a recovery plan and doing whatever else we know helps to prevent injury can help!
One of my goals for the new year is to keep better track of my training – especially for noticing patterns in rest days, etc. I used to do handwritten, but I am now trying Strava’s log for all the charts and data.
I like all the data that my Garmin provides but I also like to write it down! Im hoping to get back in the habit of that this year.
It really is about those little things- like tracking and recovery that make a huge difference!! Tracking helps me stay consistent too… push when it’s time to push and back off when it’s time to back off.
I definitely agree! Being able to look back at our training can tell us alot.
This year I’m incorporating a small amount of yoga/foam rolling everyday to keep my injuries away. My big goal is a half ironman, so staying injury-free is so important. Thank you for sharing these great tips!!
That is a great plan! Im sure the yoga and foam rolling will help you to reach your goal!
My mantra this year is “strengthen your weakness”. I like to focus on the things I’m good at and neglect the areas I need to get stronger. Who wants to put in the hard work anyways lol.
That is such a good mantra! I think we can all fall into the habit of just doing the things we are good at. Its important to push ourselves out of our comfort zones once in awhile!
I do use my Believe Journal — I find it much easier to look up things in it than on my blog (except when I don’t write things down, darn it).
I try to do the little things, but boy they take up time, don’t they? I’m pretty good at foam rolling usually. But sometimes . . .
I will definitely be looking at some of the links to your prehab routines!
The little things do take alot of time! I think making them into habits helps alot.
One of my goals is to keep better track of my workouts. I didn’t do any tracking during the summer, so I have no idea what my 2016 mileage was. I want to get better at that, and I need a journal for it too.
Journals are great! I like having a plan to write down how much I ran and how I felt.
I suck at remembering to foam roll. I’ll even think about it while I’m running and then I walk in the door and *poof* it’s gone.
I go through phases were I have a hard time keeping up with it too. I do best when I set aside the same time every day, but that rarely happens!
Happy to see I do these already! Well, I don’t do the prehab as a warm-up though. Maybe I should try that this year! I was a bit crazy with the logging though. At one point I had a paper journal, an Excel sheet, an electronic journal, and my blog recaps. Now I pretty much just use FinalSurge and my blog.
I think Ive logged using all those ways before too! It can be a bit much but its also fun:) Glad you are already doing these things!
I”m hoping to do 10 minutes of foam rolling every day and 20 (?) minutes of yoga daily for January. I do a lot of planking, so my core is pretty decent, but I know I should also do more stabilizing work. Thanks for the heads-up!
Those are some great goals! I think doing something every day helps it to become a habit and makes it easier to keep up with. Good luck!
These are all things I need to do this year! My sister gave me the training journal for Christmas and I can’t wait to put it to use. Focusing more on rest and prioritizing recovery is one of my main running goals this year!
Training journals are so helpful for keeping track of all the little things! Good luck this year!
Yessss. My overall goal this year is to include more strength training and yoga stretching, you were such a model for it last year! And I’m so excited about the training log I just made, #runningnerd.
Its so fun to start a new training log! Upping the strength training and yoga is a great goal- cant wait to see how it helps you this year!
I’m good at keeping track of my training but not too good at the recovery part. I should work on that for 2017!
Its so easy to let the recovery slip, but such an important part of training!
prehab- yes! The thing I never do and always regret when those aches and pains start up. Thanks for the tips!
I think so many of us let the prehab slip and choose to run instead! Im trying to use the start of the new year to get focused on these things again.
Prehab and rehab are so important and for me so easy to over look. I always regret it though!
When I start running more and get busy those are the first things to go! But Ive learn the hard way that they MUST be part of my routine.
Good tips! I just started using my Believe training journal again for base building. I’ve also started writing my planned workouts in there as well – it helps keep me accountable because then I feel like I have to explain why I skipped a day 🙂
Recovery is so important! Our bodies do so much for us, we need to return the favor by treating them well!
I just ordered a new journal and Im excited to get started with keeping track of my workouts again! And I definitely agree about recovery!
It took me awhile but I learned or I should say was forced because of injury to look to doing other things besides just running. This past year I learned just how important recovery is.
I hope to stay conscience of it this year too!
I’m sure you will be able to do it! Sometimes it takes a while for us to learn what is best for our running.
great advice! I need to track my workouts I always slack on that and when i don’t i start to improve 🙂
I fell off track with it when I got injured last year. I think its much easier to keep track of workouts when things are going well!
When I run outside in the winter I am exceptionally bad at keeping up with prehab and even foam rolling. When I run on the treadmill it’s easy to do because all my equipment is right there. The summer is another story. Less clothes, not freezing cold after my run, easy to do body weight stuff outside — much better. But now I know I need to be more diligent or I’ll be in trouble in the long run.
I also skip out on those things more in the winter. I need to do my core work before I run otherwise I will skip it! After a cold run all I want to do is take a hot shower.
I love your idea of doing the core work and key prehab exercises before running rather than after! I’m usually so pooped following a hard run that it’s easy to weasel out of these exercises. And keeping track of my training keeps me motivated too!
I am so much more likely to do the core work if I get it done before a run! Afterwards all I want to do is eat and shower.
I use Daily Mile to keep track of my mileage. I have for years! I started doing push-ups and lifting a bit of weights and I don’t keep track of that other than just by memory; I try to do them almost every day (5 days per week). Maybe the weights are 3 days per week. But yeah, I can definitely feel a difference!
I used to use daily mile a while ago but stopped when I couldnt get my Garmin to sync with it anymore! Your plank/weight routine sounds great!
I think that i can apply these tips to improve my achievement. Thank for your useful article! It hopes that i can reach a better result in the next race. Thanks again!
Great post, Lisa! So simple but so easy to forget sometimes. I’m absolutely terrible about stretching after runs (which has led to a lot of injuries!) so I need to be better at the little things!