Slow running: Why it's good for you - Advice Decathlon

The many benefits of running slow · 1. It prevents injuries · 2. It will boost your performance · 3. It'll make your metabolism more efficient · 4. You'll have more ... Slowrunning:Whyit’sgoodforyouRunningslowmightsoundlikeanoxymoron,buteasingyourpaceactuallyhasseveralbenefits.Findouthowslowingdowncanmakeyouabetterrunner.Thereareconsiderablebenefitstovaryingyourpacewhilerunning.Whilemostpeoplewillgladlyaddsprintsintotheirrunningroutine,slowrunstendtobeundervalued.Hereareafewreasonswhyyoushouldrunslowandfeelgreataboutit!Justhowslowshouldyourun?Fortheaveragerunner,aslow5kwouldtakeatleast40minutes.ForCanadianchampionMohammedAhmed,a“slow”5kwouldprobablytake15minutes(hisrecordis12:47.20).Soreally,italldependsontherunner.Thebestdefinitionofslowrunningmightbeapaceyoucouldkeepupfor1hour,evenifyou’reonlyactuallygoingtorunfor20minutes.Ifyou’rebreathinghardorfeelingtired,slowdown(youcanevenslowyourpacetoafastwalk).Onewaytokeepgoodmomentumonslowrunsistoshuffleyourfeetfastandkeepyourstepssmall.Afteraslowrun,youshouldbethinking,“Well,thatwaseasy.Idon’tevenfeelthattired.”Themanybenefitsofrunningslow1.ItpreventsinjuriesWhenyourunataleisurely,comfortablepace,you’relesslikelytoinjureyourself.Theimpactonyourjointsisreduced,andthereislessriskofoverstrainingyourmuscles.Thisisgreatforbeginnerrunners,thoserecoveringfrominjury,oranyonelookingtoincreasetheirweeklykilometrelog.Plus,whenyou’relessfocusedonspeed,you’remoreawareofyoursurroundingsandcanspottriphazardsaheadoftime.2.ItwillboostyourperformanceRunningslowbuildsendurancewithoutputtingtoomuchstrainonyourmuscles.Agentleruncanalsohelpyourecoverfasterthedayafterachallengingworkout.Plus,pacingisanessentialskillforanylong-distancerunner—andwhatbetterwaytopracticethantorunataslow,steadypace?3.It’llmakeyourmetabolismmoreefficientTherunningcommunitylovestousefancywordssuchasaerobicandanaerobicthresholds.Inplainlanguage,thefirstone(aerobic)isthebody’s“defaultsetting”forcreatingenergybyusingoxygentoburncarbsandfats.Thesecondone(anaerobic)happenswhenyouexerciseatahighintensityandyourbodyhastoproduceextralacticacidtocompensate.Youknowyou’vereachedthisstagewhenyou’rebreathinghardandfeelingyourmusclesburn!It’shardtokeepgoingformorethanafewminuteswhenallyoucanfeelispaininyourlegs—that’swhereyourslowrunscomein.Bykeepingagentlepace,you’llteachyourbodytoremainin“defaultmode”duringamoderateeffort.Thebetteryougetatthis,thehigheryouranaerobicthresholdwillbe,andthelongeryou’llbeabletoavoidpainandfatigue.Youknowhowsomepeopleseemtoruneffortlessly?Nowyouknowtheirsecret.4.You’llhavemorefunEasyrunsreleaseendorphinswithoutleavingyoufeelingexhausted.Ifyouhaveagoodtimeonyourrunsandhaveminimalsorenessthenextday,you’llbemorelikelytowanttorepeattheexperience.Plus,takingitslowmeansyou'llbeabletotakeinyoursurroundingsorchatawaywithabuddywhileyourun!Plus,atracingevents,peoplewearingfunnycostumestendtobeontheslowerside,andtheyareDEFINITELYhavingmorefunthanmost.OnemoretiptokeepaslowpaceIfyou’reusedtolisteningtomusicwhilerunning,switchtoapodcast.Musiccanmakeyougetcarriedawaybecauseyoufeelpressuretomatchyourstridetothebeat.Pickinganaudiobookorapodcasttolistentocanhelpyourbodysettleintoamorenatural,relaxedrhythm.(Justmaybedon’tpickathriller!)NOW,WHATIFYOU’REALREADYASLOWRUNNER?Ifyouthinkyou’retheslowestrunnerwhohaseverrun…youmayberight.Butmostpeoplewhopickuprunningforthefirsttimebelievethis,sodon’tletitbotheryou.Keepapplyingtheseprinciplesandyou’llgetbetterinafewweeks.Happyrunning!Running:it'sstartinghere