Every runner struggles in achieving their fitness or athletic goals. And it is even harder when they find themselves getting tired after a few strides.
While some may conclude that they are just out of shape, others might think that running is not the right activity for them. Before you lose hope, this article will tell you why you quickly get tired and how you can get out of this spell soon so you can enjoy your daily runs without giving up before you achieve your milestone.
Running may be a troublesome fitness routine for a few, but others enjoy and are passionate about it. The biggest issues will always appear at the beginning of your training, but if you put some effort into it, you will see the difference in a few weeks or so.
Read on for tips on how you can run without getting tired quickly.
Warm-Up
Many contents would say that a nice and gentle warm-up leads to a good start. Believe anyone who would say this as it is true.
To condition your body so it can run at a good pace, you need to loosen up. A warm-up routine helps your mind and body remain relaxed and assured.
When you are at the beginning of a run, the quantity of blood pumped by your heart increases, and your oxygen consumption increases also. A few minutes of stretching and light exercises would prepare your body system by raising your pulse, breathing rate, increasing blood flow to your functioning muscles, and preventing oxygen loss. An excellent warm-up also stimulates enzymes for aerobic energy production.
According to experts, a thorough warm-up increases your muscle temperature, which makes your muscles and tendons less stiff, allowing them to exert effort with less risk of injury. Since the heat of your muscles produces your body’s heat load, you ought to reduce the length of your warm-up on a hot day.
During cold weather, you’ll also wear a cooling vest to stay your trunk relatively fresh while your circulatory system and running muscles warm up.
If you are not warmed up thoroughly, you set an unnecessary strain on your circulatory system and produce more lactic acid, which is a type of acid that builds up in the muscles and causes discomfort.
Fueling up before running
One of the most significant factors that dictate how much you’ll endure strenuous activity is the amount of fuel you take in a few hours before.
Beginners, especially weight watchers might think that eating before running would be bad for their restrictive diet. While it is true that it would somehow affect fat loss, one would need carb-fueling to last the long run.
Eating the right food and the correct serving will help you burn more fats, increase your stamina, and improve your overall performance. Make sure to eat food that won’t make you feel full and disrupt your physical training due to digestion issues.
Consume carb-packed foods and add some protein, fiber, and a few fats. These are some foods that you can eat before running:
- Bananas
- Oats
- Peanut Butter
- Broccoli
- Plain Yogurt
- Dark chocolate
- Whole-grain pasta
- Potatoes
Runners should avoid high-fat foods because they’re difficult to digest and leads to a bloated feeling. At all costs, avoid dairy foods, especially those who are lactose intolerant. Moreover, fatty foods can be rough to digestion and lead to elevated heart rates. Those who are not sensitive to lactose can add dairy to their pre-run foods, but they still need to be careful about the amount of serving.
High-fiber foods are also unfriendly pre-run meal choices. Due to their nature, you might end up getting called by nature midway through a trail or race. Caffeinated and sweet beverages are also rot recommended to take before running because it may upset your stomach during a run. However, there are exceptions to this: look at the label and check for its caffeine content to know which particular drink you should avoid.
While it is everyone’s advice to load up so you can sustain a distant run, it should not serve as an excuse to binge on low-quality foods and overeat. Eating more than the recommended amounts could result in a blood sugar spike, which is not a good condition for running.
Avoid taking any meals one to two hours before running as this could lead to side stitches and a bloating feeling, which kills the mood for an exercise.
Breathe properly while running
The most important thing that beginners should learn is proper breathing when running. While running, breathe from your diaphragm instead of your chest. Breathing through your chest where your shoulders rise a lot uses more of your muscles’ energy, and it’s a very ineffective way of getting sufficient oxygen to your muscle tissues.
The proper way to breathe while running is by the belly, where it does most of the movement instead of your shoulders. This supplies your muscles with adequate oxygen that they need to function at maximum intensity.
Learning to breathe from your diaphragm can be very difficult for most people, but following these recommendations will help you to do it.
Practice doing so while standing and walking. Once you get used to it, then running while breathing from your diaphragm should be a lot easier. As you get tired, your body switches back to its chest breathing strategy, and it’s crucial to set the intensity of a workout to a level where you can get back the correct diaphragm breathing.
When you’re learning to breathe through your belly, it’s helpful to hold on your stomach and feel its movement as you take a breath. Slowly withdraw your hand away from your abdomen while keeping your shoulders relatively stationary. They should not move up or down. Otherwise, you would transition to a wrong body position.
When breathing through the diaphragm, your hand should sway while your arms maintain a 90-degree position.
Set the pace and give your body a chance to rest
Runners recognize their body more than anyone else. As such, they know their limits, as well as their strengths. Set a realistic pace based on what you can do, while at peak condition. You may also keep a glide path that indicates your daily or weekly milestones for motivation.
While running, make sure to start it slowly, then build up as you go. Being consistent with this should build your stamina and help you run a long-distance race or marathon without quickly draining out.
Reduce your speed if needed, try to calm down, and get your breathing under control. As soon as you feel recovered, you can run faster again.
Give your body a chance to rest and listen to how your body feels. If you feel like hurting your feet, stop for a short while and check whether you have an injury or not. If the pain goes away quickly, you may still run but proceed with caution.
You must give your body a time to rest, relax and start with proper sleeping at least 6-8 hours a day before engaging in any physical activity, so that you have a fully energized body to face long-distance running.
If you try these tips and you still get tired during your runs, don’t fret. It happens to everyone, including the most experienced runners. There will be days when you get tired no matter how you slowly run, while there are days when you would feel like a superhero.
