Do you like running? One of the main risks when going out for a run every morning, or every afternoon, is falling into a routine and a lack of motivation. Planning your running route, including possible alternatives or new routes, is an excellent formula so that this does not happen and so that each race becomes a challenge more than appealing.
Putting on your shoes and running without really knowing where and without anticipating possible obstacles or difficulties, is a common mistake that you can easily avoid. Planning your career path will allow you to obtain the maximum benefit from your sports practice, also ensuring that you enjoy yourself while you train.
The time that you are going to use, the areas that you are going to cross, the temperatures that you will have to withstand or the surface where you will take each of your strides. There are many aspects that affect the planning of a running route and the following tips can help you when carrying it out.
How to plan your route to go running?
Take it as an essential part of the preparations to carry out, successfully, any sporting activity. Just as you control your food intake before and after running, check your equipment and material (shoes) or look at the weather forecast, you should pay special attention to the route you are going to do. Planning the running route will only bring you advantages and, to establish yours, write down some tips that will be the most practical and effective.
1. Consider establishing three possible routes to choose from
First of all, to plan your running route you will have to define an area. It is quite simple considering that new technologies can be an excellent help. Look on the map where you are and what is nearby: a beach? A park? A busy street? A shopping center full of stairs? At first glance, you already have different routes at your fingertips that you only have to “work” to know in depth.
2. Take a good look at the different surfaces and their unevenness
When it comes to establishing your route to go running, it is essential to be very clear about where you are going to step at all times. If you have the opportunity, alternate the running surfaces for example, asphalt with dirt / sand / grass… because your training will be much more effective. Also, decide in advance if you want a flat course, ideal for practicing speed, or one that includes a tough hill that makes you gain stamina. And why not incorporate stair training when you run.
3. Calculate the time
Whenever you go out for a run you should try to complete your route. Be realistic and establish the approximate times for each stage included in your route: 5 minutes of warm-up, 3 of flat running, 1 uphill, 30 seconds of running at maximum speed. Being clear about the training phases is important when it comes to achieve goals and achieve the objectives you set yourself.
4. Not everything is running
It is very important to enjoy each test. When planning your running route, it is essential that the space you travel is interesting for you. Monuments, unique buildings, plant species and fauna of high ecological value. Surely, on your route there will be more than one point of special interest that deserves to be noticed while you run.
5. Adapt your pace to the route
Good planning means setting the race rhythms to the specific terrain at all times. As a runner, you will know that your energy expenditure and your level of effort depend to a large extent on the difficulty of the surface you are running on. A high intensity interval (HITT), flat or uphill, a few minutes of jogging on an appropriate surface, or a sprit at the end of the course, are options that are important to include and define when determining the course that may be the best for you. More effective.
