Other Hearst Subscriptions training plan and been terrified by the distance of your long run? It’s natural to feel overwhelmed not only by the physical challenge of a long run, How to Master the Long Slow Distance Run.
The Benefits of Taking a Break from Running great strategy to break up the distance, many coaches recommend using the “chunking” technique. So, what is chunking and how can you use it to help your training? Let us explain.
What is chunking?
The Benefits of Taking a Break from Running mental technique that involves breaking up long runs (or even projects) into smaller pieces or “chunks.” A good comparison is the steps that comprise baking a cake.
When baking, you don’t mix all the ingredients together at once. First, you combine the wet ingredients, then the dry, and then you mix them together. While the cake is baking, you make the frosting. Finally, you build the cake.
This step-by-step way of thinking can be helpful for long runs, because you can’t do all the miles at once and to even think about the entire length can feel daunting. Instead, to help conquer long runs, you can “chunk” the run into smaller bits.
Here are four ways to use the chunking technique during your long runs. And, by the way, sometimes even one mile Nutrition - Weight Loss!
Chunking Technique #1: Split the Total Mileage Into Distances You’ve Run Before
How Des Linden Keeps Showing Up “10-10-10,” my 5 a.m. brain could not compute. I even asked the person next to me, “Hey, does he know that this adds up to 30 miles?” But, he wasn't talking about 10 miles three times. Instead, he was referring to 10 miles, 10 miles, and a 10K (6.2 miles!) for a total of 26.2 miles—the length of a marathon.
at the turnaround point. Doing this means you dont have to carry your own fuel marathon distance Run a Faster 5K with Run/Walk Intervals.
For many runners, ten miles is the distance of the first long run on a training plan. A 10K is often an early season tune-up race or the distance of a fartlek Running in the Cold.
Chunking Technique #2: Break Up Your Run With Media
or the distance of a playlist, audiobook, or podcast, this method means you chunk your run by time and entertainment.
How Des Linden Keeps Showing Up challenge yourself. For example, chunk two chapters without stopping during your next long run. Add three new songs to your playlist and don’t take a rest break until you get to the end of the playlist.
Chunking Technique #3: Plan Pit Stops With Rewards
If you have a training run for which you have to plan the route yourself, use Google Maps to pinpoint various fueling To better wrap your head around the route We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back hydration at the turnaround point. Doing this means you don’t have to carry your own fuel.
I’ve done this many times—leaving my gels and sports hydration underneath a tree, behind a sign, or out of sight—to be able to run free of anything on my waist or in my hands. This does require planning and having to make a pit stop to drop items off. However, if you’re like me and want to run free of any extra weight, chunking will allow you to split your run in half with a reward of gels and snacks in a perspective that was easier to contemplate than 26.2 miles.
Chunking Technique #4: Give Each Segment a Focus
Chunking is most often broken into equal portions over a set distance, but there are other creative options.
Ten-mile How to Master the Long Slow Distance Run 10K? Focus on consistent negative splits, which means each mile gets a little bit faster, and your hard pace drops 10- to 15-seconds in the final couple miles. Struggling toward the end of a marathon? Dedicate each mile to something or someone you’re grateful Other Hearst Subscriptions.
It’s helpful to program whatever fitness tracker you use before you get out on the road to tell you when a segment is up, and make sure the cues are audible so you aren’t always looking at your watch or phone.
The Bottom Line on Chunking Long Runs
The Benefits of Taking a Break from Running great strategy to break up the monotony and repetitiveness of running. As you take to the roads, keep these ideas in mind and figure out what works best for you. Most pro runners keep a training log and you can too, complete with notes on how the chunking technique worked for you. Change it up if the strategy feels forced or doesn’t work. Try the music chunking and then experiment with distance chunking. Above all, remember to have fun and enjoy the process.
A frequenter of many community running groups and leader of his own community group in his home of Austin, Texas, PJ is an RRCA and UESCA certified running coach. Community and uplifting others are pillars that drive PJ while he supports RW+ members, leads friends to PRs, and chases his own race goals.
