Finding yourself stuck in a slump happens to every athlete at least once in their career.
It doesn’t matter if your slump is physical or mental, climbing your way out of a rough patch in training or racing can feel like beating your head against a wall.
After many years helping runners breakout of their racing funks, and plenty of time spent digging my way out of my own periods of stagnation, I’ve come up with three fail-proof solutions to help you break out of your running slump.
Strategy #1 – Have the courage to take some rest days and focus on recovery
Yup, I said the evil word. Rest.
Even writing it was hard for a Type A personality like me to do. However, the most common reason runners struggle to get themselves out their slump is lack of proper recovery. Usually, it’s lack of proper recovery that started them on a downward spiral in the first place.
Naturally, when runners start to have a bad bout of training or suffer through a series of races, they begin to train harder believing that it is a lack of fitness holding them back.
Unfortunately, this solution is like putting yourself in a hole and then digging faster and faster in an attempt to get out.
What you can do
I recommend that you take a few extra rest days, maybe even schedule a whole down week, and focus on recovery.
A few rest days or a down week is like squeezing the sponge into a bucket. The bucket in this case represents the store of fitness you want to have available on race day to throw at your competition. After ringing out the sponge you can get back to training fresh.
Yes, it seems backwards that taking a few extra days rest or adding a few super easy training days could actually make you fitter, but it’s true.
Strategy #2 – Vary Your Racing
Another frequent reason runners find themselves stuck in a slump is always training for the same race distance. We see it often with runners that first start working with us, especially those that run marathons, and the conversation usually goes something like this:
Jill Runner: “I’m in a running funk and haven’t PR’d in my last three races. I need some help”
Me: “Tell me about your last three races, maybe we can spot a trend?”
Jill Runner: “Well, I ran the NYC Marathon in November, then I ran Boston in April, and I just finished Chicago last week. Each marathon went a little worse than the one before”.
It may sound a little comical, but I bet if you’re reading this, it might be the same conversation you’ve had with one of our coaches.
Each race distance has it’s own specific demands for optimal performance. Training for the same distance over and over again, whether it’s the 5k or the marathon, means neglecting important physiological systems.
For example, running well in the marathon requires an intense focus on mileage, aerobic threshold, and long runs. Certainly, these are very important systems to be developing; however, in the process of training for marathon after marathon, VO2max, speed workouts, and high-end anaerobic threshold becomes neglected.
The longer a runner stays in this cycle of marathon after marathon, the further diminished their VO2 max, speed, and anaerobic threshold become. Eventually the inability to improve the entire range of physiological systems prevents a runner from making long-term progress and taking their training to the next level.
What you can do
Vary up your target race distances and spend at least one training segment per year working on your “off” distance.
For marathoners, this might mean doing a 5k training segment in the Winter or the Summer. If you prefer the shorter distances, perhaps you can train for a Fall half marathon or a Winter marathon to help boost your mileage and aerobic development.
If you work with a personal coach at RunnersConnect, we’ll build this in for you. If you’re using our custom plans, make sure you schedule a short 12 week segment at another race distance between your primary goal races or ask one of the coaches in the forum.
Strategy #3 – Pressing the Mental Reset Button
Sometimes, being in a slump with your running is as much mental as it is physical.
We work with a lot of runners who, for one reason or another – family, work, general bad luck or stress, feel like they are stuck in the mud just spinning their wheels. After a series of bad races or a bout of failed workouts they lose confidence and instead of heading into each workout with a positive mental approach, they begin to focus on the negative.
Once the negative thoughts creep in, it’s a viscous cycle that begins to affect the physical preparation.
Finding the drive to get back and gear and start seeing progress takes a lot of work. I liken the struggle to gaining the necessary momentum to push a boulder down a hill. It requires a lot energy, time and rocking back and forth to get the boulder rolling in the right direction. Sometimes, it can even feel impossible, especially when the mind focuses how hard it is just to get everything started in the right direction.
However, once the boulder starts moving and gains momentum, it can be an unstoppable force. This is why you’ll often see elite runners go on a tear and win every race in sight once they have that first good performance.
What you can do
Press the reset button on the last few weeks of bad training or unimpressive race results. As Forrest Gump’s mother said: “You’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on”. Pressing the reset button clears your mind of all the difficult workouts or bad races and begins to turn your thoughts to the future. Instead of focusing on the negative, start each training day anew and with a positive mindset.
Likewise, focus on taking each training session one day at a time. Don’t worry about your previous workouts and don’t fret over the training or racing to come. Concentrate on what you need to do in the moment and how you need to execute for that one workout or race.
Finally, use your RunnersConnect teammates to help get you through the rough patches. Our coaches have definitely seen some dark days in their running careers and can offer advice. Your teammates may be even struggling through the same issues as you at the same time and can offer encouragement.
Any runner that has been in a slump knows it can be a real grind to get yourself out. If you’re currently in a rut incorporate one of these strategies or talk to our coaches in the chat and get ready to start fighting out of that slump.
A version of this post originally appeared at competitor.com
3 Responses
When you’re in a slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done. 😀 – Dr. Seuss
So true!
I have been having an awful time with my running for the past year. I am not a super-high milage runner, if I get 80-90 miles a month I consider it great. Late in 2011 that’s exactly how much I was running, and most runs felt good.
In January 2012 I had surgery for kidney stones. Not drastically invasive, but I did miss some 6 weeks of running. (had two such surgical procedures).
When I got back to it I began at about a mile to mile and half.
After persevering for a few months it had barely improved. I rarely made it more than two miles, and even then it did not feel good. It has hardly limproved at all since then. And, my runs feel awful.
This has been going on for a year. My general goal is to run 5 days a week, though usually the monthly average is slightly less. I don’t try to run the same distance every day, if it doesn’t feel good I am content to take a shorter distance. Even when I was at my best that occasionally happened.
The thing is, it never feels good any more. After a year it should have improved (should have improved after six months!), but it barely has at all. Several time a week i trudge through my two miles (sometimes not even that). It feels awful, but I keep doing it hoping it will improve. This isn’t a case of “sometimes everyone has a bad run,” it is ALWAYS and I can find no reason for it. Nothing I do makes any difference.
I have tried resting. I have tried diet. I have tried occasional interval/fartlek type training (I usually just do long slow distance). Talking to doctors is useless, all they say is “well you need to keep trying” or “maybe you need to try something different.” But, I don’t really enjoy anything else. I like running, staying with it has never been a problem. I don’t see how forcing myself to do something I hate will make my body respond any better.
I don’t like running with a partner. I am quite introverted, even when my running was going well I hated having anyone else around. Now that it’s going badly having someone else there would make it even harder.
Suggestions such as trying something else or getting a running partner assume that the problem is lack of effort or persistence. I maintain that I have never had any problem staying with it.
I am very frustrated. I don’t do any racing, I do not care about ultra-marathon type distances, I just want to get back to my 80-90 miles a month with the occasional 6-8 mile run.
Is there ANYTHING I can do?