By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

It is human nature to doubt when your running is not going your way. You doubt your training, or your training plan, or your gear, or your health, or your coach. Especially as racing season or your goal race approach and you may not be hitting all your workouts or paces on the dot. I am not saying it can’t be one or more of those topics, maybe a combination of all of them, sure. Yet, if you’re able to identify the culprits and tweak your training, you fall in the category of the perfectly normal runner. These things come with the territory.

Doubting during a difficult time is human nature, but it doesn’t necessarily mean defeat (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels)

It is imperative differentiate if what’s happening is an isolated incident or a chronic issue sabotaging your entire training cycle. I recently had a trainee questioning his training because he couldn’t hold marathon pace on a 3rd 2-mile rep within a 14-mile long run. It was later determined that he started way too late, so it was too hot; a rest day was skipped, and not enough water was consumed during the training session.

An athlete must understand that all workouts have a specific purpose, and workouts are interwoven with each other. A long run alone means nothing without the speed workouts, cross trainings and rest days that compliment it. Understanding the objective of each workout is a shared responsibility between runner and coach.

These are some factors to consider when doubt starts creeping into your training, so you can return to the path of success and be in a position to conquer your running goals:

Training vs. Racing: In 40 years of running, I’m yet to see the first medal or podium for winning a training run. Too many runners train at 100% effort on a regular basis, not understanding they are undermining their performance by basically racing once, twice or even three times a week. Training is training and you shouldn’t be racing through it. It is that simple. If you train at 80% effort, you should be able to race at 100% effort. It is basic physiology. If you run faster, you will run shorter.

Long run: Sure, it is one of the staples of training and one of the most important drills in our entire plan. But on its own, it does nothing for you. If you don’t run throughout the week, if the long run occupies too large a percentage of your mileage or if you are running faster than prescribed, you won’t be reaping the benefit you are supposed to obtain. Even worse, you could end up injured.

If your training runs end up with this feeling, you are in for a rude awakening (Photo Pexels)

Peaking: Most have questioned at one time, how am I supposed to run 26 miles in October if we can barely make it through 16 in July. And the answer is quite simple: follow your training plan. It is designed to help you run a certain distance, at a certain pace, on a certain period. It is not good to be ready to run goal distance at goal pace, 6-8 weeks before the race. It is physiologically impossible to keep yourself at top performance condition beyond 3-4 weeks, so the time to peak must be managed.

Accumulated Fatigue: As training evolves, the athlete accrues fatigue. This results in heavy legs or not hitting the mark on certain training sessions. When you need to run 20 miles, or 10×800 with four weeks to go on a marathon training cycle, you should be very tired. It is normal. But remember a tapering period is on its way so you’ll be to get the starting line with fresh legs and a strong mind.

Recovery: Runs together with fatigue. Recovery is as important of an element in a training plan as the work itself. Now, as you train hard, the time will come when a recovery run or one off-day is not enough. Be smart and take an additional off-day or a recovery week if needed. Be wise and don’t overtax yourself by completing a specific workout when your body just doesn’t have it on any given day. You are better off cutting a few miles or a couple of reps than spending additional days recovering from an excessive effort.

Adrenaline: Be mindful that race conditions are way different than training conditions. Starting a pre-dawn run around your block is not as appealing as the starting line of the Berlin Marathon or arriving to First Avenue at the NYC Marathon. The spectators, the surroundings and your excitement will give you an adrenaline boost to carry you through. So, don’t overthink it if you lack enthusiasm for a few days. It is covered during race day.

While many of these parameters seem to be common sense, it comes the time when the obvious must be stated so a struggling athlete can be guided to that eureka moment that will allow him/her to regain the trust in the process.