3 Tricks To Keep Running No Matter How Much You Want To Stop

While fatigue manifests itself in aching muscles, shorter strides, and decreasing speed, your mind is actually the culprit behind your tiring body. Science has found that your brain is hardwired to slow you down and keep some energy in reserve so you don't run out of fuel. There are simple training tactics you can use to deceive your brain and utilize some of that unused energy, though. Try them during your next workout to run farther and faster than ever before. 

Break up your mileage.
Interval workouts feel less unwieldy than a long run. “Breaking any long run into more manageable chunks of distance makes it seem like you’re not running as far,” says Jason Fitzgerald, a 2:39 marathoner and founder of Strength Running in Washington, D.C. “When you divide it into a warmup, fast repetitions, recovery intervals, and a cool down, the total mileage seems less daunting.” 
You can go harder during those short intervals than you would when just doing a steady run for the same distance, too. This increases your VO2 max, or how efficiently you take in oxygen to turn calories into energy, so you can push your body farther and faster, according to research from the Mayo Clinic.
DO THIS: Head to a track and warm up with 10 to 20 minutes of easy jogging. Run 6 x 800 meters at your 5K race pace with a 400-meter jog between each. The interval pace should feel difficult, but sustainable for a half mile. During the 400-meter recovery, focus on bringing your heart rate down and mentally preparing for the next interval. By the end of this workout, you’ll have banked 3 miles of hard running and anywhere from 6 to 8 total miles including warmup and cool down.