By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Back in September of 2020, we published a post titled “7 Bad Running Habits to Quit”. I was surprised by the response it got, but especially how so runners identified themselves, including myself, as being guilty of one or more of these bad habits.

The more I thought about the list, and the more feedback I got, the more I realized there were plenty of missing bad habits that were not mentioned in the previous posting. Of course, neither that list nor this one, or the combination of both, is meant to be a comprehensive one, nor the final word on the subject.

So these are 7 additional bad running habits to quit:

No runner is immune to bad habits. We always have to be on the lookout to avoid them

1.      Allowing fear of failure to derail your goals: Failure is inevitable. If we learned something from it, it will always be worthwhile. Always remember that when we don’t obtain what we originally were looking for, we gain experience, which can be used in the future, making future goals attainable, feasible and possible. Coach Steve Magness puts it this way: “Making failure something that isn’t big and scary, but something that leads to growth, goes a long way in helping dissipate the fear surrounding it”.  So, never fear failure. Embrace it.

2.      Running too hard on easy days: This is the cardinal sin of running. For some reason, most runners have a Superman complex that make them (or us, since I am included) believe that they are indestructible. An easy recovery run is not scheduled because your coach hates you. It is there to get the oxygen/nutrient rich blood circulating through your muscles so they can recover quicker, and you can then go for another enjoyable, hard session sooner while avoiding injury.

3.      Pushing for Results instead of letting them happen: When your program states 8×800 at 3:45; or a 30 -minute tempo run at 9:30/mile; these are guidelines. Nothing else. Of course, we all want to hit our targets and they are there for a reason. But we need to know when to quit. There is nothing to gain on a bad day by pushing on the last couple of repeats and needing a week to recover. We must know our bodies enough to understand where the fine line between being a badass and doing something stupid, lies.

4.      Controlling every parameter through your watch: Science fiction writers from just 25-years ago could not even imagine what wrist watches can do, today.  We still call them watches only because they are on our wrist. They are advanced computers. They measure pulse, oximetry, quality of sleep, recovery, resting heart rate, route, etc. And if that wasn’t enough, they can even tell us time. As great as all this is, we can’t become slaves to the graphs and let them overtake our training. They are but guidelines to consider, not the Gospel of running.

Complicated graphics you can’t even understand are not going to make you a better runner. Concentrate on a few parameters you can control and understand.

5.      Thinking the unsexy stuff is worthless: Our training program will often call for easy recovery miles, or for an easy long run on a day we know we can push, or a foam rolling session, or a day off when we are still feeling strong. But never underestimate the importance of the boring stuff. It is there for a reason. To help you recover, to make you stringer, to make you versatile, to make you patient, to avoid injuries. All worthy qualities in a runner.

6.      Focusing on a system instead of the whole person: Anaerobic work, hill repeats, tempo runs, the weekend long run, or lactate threshold runs are staples of a well-balanced training program. But none of them work individually and this is not the time to look for personal bests. All parts all need to work as a well-tuned machine to provide the results you are training for. It is not in your best interest to set up a 5K PR in a tempo run when you are training for a marathon. Remember that the whole is always better than the sum of the parts.

7.      Believing that only running can make you a better runner: Cross training is basic for our running. If the only thing you do is run, you will most likely suffer overuse injuries.  If running is our main sport, such cross training needs to be in support of our running. Yoga, strength training, core workouts, stretching, biking, swimming, etc., can be beneficial by providing aerobic capacity, strength, flexibility or core stability. If you want to be the CrossFit champion in your gym, a marathon may not the best option at this point.

In the future I will most likely publish “7, Even More, Bad Running Habits to Quit”. Let me know if you want to contribute with one of them by leaving a comment, below.