Don’t Lose that Loving Feeling

What to do when running no longer offers joy

You love running. You really do. You can quite happily talk about it to anyone and everyone. But what happens when the relationship turns sour? When the thought of stepping out the door fills you with dread? When the prospect of cleaning suddenly becomes more appealing? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Help is at hand. With a few tweaks here and there it’s quite easy to get your running mojo back once and for all.

Ask Yourself Why It’s nothing to be ashamed of but sometimes running can feel like an old friend you’ve grown apart from. This can be down to a whole multitude of reasons. You could be overtraining and, as a result, feel constantly exhausted and plagued with various aches and pains. Maybe you’re frustrated at no longer hitting those PBs in races, or you’re quite simply bored of the same routine day in day out.

Mix It Up There are many different ways to be a runner so why not mix it up. If you’ve always run on your own now could be the time to try a club. The majority are extremely social and you’ll have new best friends in no time.

Running isn’t about pushing yourself all the time either — don’t be afraid to slow down your pace. Walk for sections, stop and admire the view, take a cheeky selfie or two. Likewise, if you find yourself always going at the same speed then add some sprints into the session. It needn’t be complicated — just run all out towards a few lampposts dotted along the route.

Don’t forget to explore your neighbourhood too — if you always turn right then go left. You’ll be surprised at what hidden gems you can find.

Try Something Different Being a runner doesn’t mean you can’t participate in other sports either. Not only is variety the spice of life, but adding other forms of exercise into your running schedule can often produce surprising benefits in terms of both injury prevention and speed progression.

Stop And last but least, rest is not a dirty word. Sometimes you just need to take time out. Whether this be for a week, two weeks, even a month, just make that decision and stick to it. Pounding the streets and training for races can really take it out of your body. Often an enforced rest is all that’s needed to strengthen your spirit and make running fun again.

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