7 ways to ‘spice up’ your runs
Pounding the treadmill or pavement can get boring after a while...
Even people who LOVE running sometimes feel that it gets dull and mundane.
This is inevitable.
Let's look at 7 ways to ‘spice up’ your runs to keep them interesting.
Many people quit because the activity becomes a chore. It’s important to keep your training challenging and fun so that you stick with it.
- Music
Running to music is one of the best ways to stay motivated and give your best performance. While it’s best not to not become dependent on music, when you’re not in the mood, some heart-pumping music with a strong beat will get you running like a speed monster!
- Time your runs
Constantly challenge yourself by trying to improve on your earlier times. By timing runs, even if you’re doing sprints or longer runs, you can have timings that you need to beat. When running distances, it can be interesting to try and beat your earlier record by closely monitoring the time and the seconds ticking by as you run your best. Challenging yourself will not only keep your workouts interesting but will improve your endurance and performance. Time yourself on apps like Strava.
- Run with a friend
Sometimes when you’re not in the mood, having a running partner to motivate you can be a huge help. You can talk and have a laugh before you start running and carry on the conversation over a coffee or pint when you’re done. There can also be some friendly competition between the two of you. Having someone running by your side will often feel better than running alone.
- Watch TV
Many of the treadmills you find in gyms have a wide variety of features from television to the internet. You can watch TV on the treadmill or play YouTube videos. If you’re running at a moderate pace, or for a fixed duration of 45 minutes or so, watching TV while running will not only take your mind off the activity, but will occupy your mind and before you know it, the run is over!
- Change your route
If you run indoors all the time, change things up by running outdoors. If you run outdoors all the time, change things up by changing the running route or trying a treadmill. Variety is the spice of life! You may even wish to cycle a few miles to a spot that you’ve not been to before. Run a couple of miles there, return to your bike and cycle all the way back. Not only are you training using two different activities, but you’ve kept things interesting.
- Change your speeds
Vary your speeds while running. Sprint for a few hundred metres, drop to a slow jog after that, pick up the pace for a while and sprint again. This is a ‘lite’ version of interval training, but it keeps things interesting. Instead of running at a fixed pace where your legs move mindlessly, and you feel like you’re a zombie who runs (LOL), changing up the speed and pace of your runs will make things more exciting and challenging.
- Do a running tour
The perfect expereince if you’re craving new adventures and routes. Running Tours are a unique way to explore a new city or even your home whilst getting exercise at the same time. Being guided by someone to sights whilst being told stories is the perfect way to spice up any run. Run of a Kind have a variety of running tours you can check out here.
Use these 7 ‘hacks’ whenever you feel like you’re starting to dread your runs. By incorporating variety and some entertainment in your training, you’ll be more likely to stay on course and progress in your fitness journey.