Running when does it get easier

More Running Articles. Look for this banner for recommended activities. Cancel Yes. Join Active or Sign In. All rights reserved. Go Premium. Need Help? Learn More Customer Login. By Sabrina Grotewold Active. Let music push you through the toughest runs. Listening to music can help with picking up the pace and letting go of negative thoughts. Need a few song suggestions?

Check out this epic playlist that will keep you going from your first mile to your last. Keep running simple. Run mile by mile, not by how much more you have to run. The stronger your legs and core, the easier they will work. This will help your stride and pace, making you a strong runner—and help you feel light on your feet. If we keep to the same routine, of course running will begin to get harder beyond a certain age. Conversely, if we adapt our training, and maybe include more quality training and importantly, more recovery, we might find running gets easier.

One great way to keep motivated and maintain our hunger for running is to use age-grading. Age grading enables you to monitor and compare your running ability as you get older. So, yes, we might be 3 minutes slower over 10k than we used to be, but age-grading might tell us that we are actually running better than we did back then. The weather does play its part in making running hard or easy. First of all, the weather can actually stop you even opening the front door.

But, as many seasoned runners will confirm, the hardest part of those runs is the first few minutes. The running body generates a huge amount of heat compared to the resting body, but the furnace takes a few minutes to fire-up. One thing that will make running in inclement weather much, much easier is some protective weather kit. Once you are going, running in bad weather can be surprisingly pleasurable and rewarding.

Battling the elements, whilst other people shelter in their homes, creates a warm glow all of its own. Of course at the other extreme is the heat. Some people suffer more than others running when the mercury rises. Personally, I love running in the heat. Sure I expect to be running slower than normal and will remain cautious about running a long way, especially without hydration.

But the great news is that we adapt quite quickly to running in higher temperatures, and running in the heat will get much easier and less stressful on the body after a week or so of training.

If you only ever run for 3 miles or 5k then running a marathon is going to be very hard indeed. Likewise, if you only ever run at minute miles, then trying to rip up the running track is going to be tough and possibly demoralising especially if you are with others who are used to it. Allow yourself to develop gradually. Some people can get away with running a marathon on very little training, but they are few and far between. Most of us will need a solid few months to build up to running 26 miles.

And that marathon, it could be very hard or relatively easy, depending on a number of factors. Cruising around a big city marathon, running well within your capabilities could feel easy, whereas trying to run your fastest time is going to be tough. Pushing the limits on distance or speed can change our whole experience of running. When you go from non-runner to runner, your body changes.

Muscles strengthen, including the heart, which becomes better able to circulate the blood and oxygen to the working muscles. The muscles change in structure, for example, the mitochondria within the muscles that convert fuel and oxygen into the chemical energy that feed the muscles proliferate and increase efficiency. As we train and recover, our mitochondria become better at creating the energy the muscles need to function. Exercise develops our blood vessels to deliver more oxygen to the muscles.

The heart, itself a muscle, grows stronger and can circulate more blood around the body. This increased efficiency of the heart and circulatory system to both deliver oxygenated blood to the muscles and clear carbon dioxide away has a dramatic effect on how we feel when we run. Although running has marginal effects on lung capacity and function in the healthy adult body, it certainly feels like the lungs get more efficient because we feel less out-of-breath when we run.

Also importantly, running has psychological benefits too: lifting the mood, improving sleep, and concentration. All of these things over time will help to make running easier. In simple terms, when we run, we get fitter, stronger and happier. Certainly, if you gradually move to that level of running from a largely sedentary position, then you will improve.

Conversely, if an elite marathon runner was to train at that level, then their fitness will deteriorate. Log in the app today to see the newest workouts. Like anything else, the more you do a certain activity, the more your body gets accustomed to it. You may notice how after a long, tough day some runs can be therapeutic, while others will be difficult from start to finish. Most of all, the mental ups and downs of running will likely become more tolerable.

Running builds your confidence, and that goes hand-in-hand with achieving your goals. A study says mental fatigue is one of the biggest roadblocks to running performance.

This is because negative thoughts trick you into thinking that your rate of perceived exertion RPE is higher than it actually is. Usually, the first thing beginner runners want to know is exactly when running will get easier. Kranz tells clients it takes about four weeks to kickstart a workout routine , which includes a focus on strength and mobility, running habits , and scheduling your workouts.

Additionally, if running is the only thing you do, you may want to think twice. Effective runners utilize cross-training , such as other forms of cardio, as well as strength training and yoga, to stay fit and avoid injury.