But sometimes we just need a gentle prod to get us pounding the pavement again.
Track star Sanya Richards-Ross, Team U.S.A’s most decorated female track and field Olympian of all time, knows a trick or two for getting the best out of every training session.
She recently shared a few of her favourite running tips below with Refinery29.
1. Get your playlist right
Music can make or break your run. Get amped up by putting together a new playlist of songs you’re excited about, or mix it up and do themed runs (think ‘80s music, TV theme songs, ‘90s pop princesses, fight songs, etc.). Right now, Sanya’s favorites are:
Work — Rihanna ft. Drake
Rise Up — Andra Day
Formation — Beyoncé
Jumpman — Drake and Future
Conqueror — Estelle
Against Us — Dee-1
We Must Praise — J Moss
2. Switch up your route
Don’t let your runs get mundane. If you normally jog the same street route, Sanya recommends trying a slower-paced run up a nearby hiking trail, or hit a local school track. Keep it varied — not only to excite your inner runner, but to challenge your body and keep it guessing, she says.
3. Share your successes on social
The Nike+ Running App tracks your progress and lets you take Instagrammable images that show your friends how much fun you had on your run. Sanya says that knowing her friends and followers are going to see her distance and speed pushes her to go a little bit farther or a little bit faster. “I never do my runs without this app. If you do share your stuff, make sure to tag me — I’m @SanyaRichiRoss on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook — and include #SRRxR29 so I get to join your journey, too. Who knows? You might just get some words of encouragement from yours truly!”
4. Change up your stats
If you’re the type to track your stats (which Sanya thinks is important to do every now and then, mostly to see how far you’ve come), change it up every once in awhile. If you’re usually going for distance, try going for time instead, or measure your heart rate.
5. Try the pyramids
Pyramids are a running-workout structure that starts with the shortest distance and increases in set increments until you hit the longest distance; then, you decrease in the same increments until you’re back at the starting distance. For example: 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m, with recovery intervals (a.k.a. walking or slower jogging) between each run. If you don’t have a handy way to measure distance, feel free to swap in timed intervals instead of distances.
6. Take a day to just (not) do it.
TAKE. A. REST. DAY. Your rest and recovery periods are just as critical to your overall wellness as your hardcore training days, says Sanya. Your muscles need the time to recover, especially if you’ve been lifting weights, which involves tearing muscle fibres. And there is such a thing as overtraining. Overtraining affects your sleep, inhibits your mental edge, and drains your immune system, which has to activate in overdrive to keep up with heavy activity.
7. Have fun with fashion
There is so much fun to be had with your workout gear, says Sanya. “Take your fashion to the track and show it off! I always say, ‘Look good, feel good, run good’. Your workout clothes don’t have to be ordinary. Nike.com even gives you the option to design your own running shoes — how cool is that? Check out this pair [below] my team had made for me — talk about motivation.”
