Five ways to practice running without being boring

Runner will sometimes find it boring, tired by repetitive exercises for a long time. Here are five ways Running Magazine suggests keeping runners motivated and making their workouts fun.

For those who don't regularly do exercises on steep terrain, this is one way to make the process interesting. According to Running Magazine, running uphill is difficult and exhausting, but it is a method to build strength and help avoid injury.

For steep hills, it is recommended to combine two techniques: walk briskly with long strides and put your hands on your thighs, then take short, faster strides. "Combining the two techniques works on many different muscle groups," says Emelie Forsberg, a Norwegian mountaineer. She also noted that the short step technique is more difficult and takes more strength, so this exercise should be prioritized during practice.

Emelie Forsberg recommends the following uphill exercise:

For beginners, warm up with 10 minutes of light running (from 7 to 10 minutes per kilometer). Then run 10 times up and downhill, 2 minutes each time. Before finishing the exercise, the runner ran on a flat track for 10 minutes.

For those who have experience running, it is possible to practice sprinting on steep terrain. Start with 10 minutes of light running, then run at full strength 10 times 30 seconds. 10 seconds between rests. Then rest for two minutes and repeat the exercise two more times and end the session with 10 minutes of easy run.

Note that after each session of steep or speed training, the runner needs to spend a day recovering or doing foundation exercises.

For more motivation to practice, runners can choose short distance races or races that don't focus on achievements and expertise. Currently, on the V-Race platform, there is a 35-year FPT Virtual Run - Happy Footprint, with not too strict regulations in terms of running time and space.

Athletes participating in the tournament can run an unlimited number of times, depending on their ability and desire to conquer their own limits. To be recognized as an achievement, a runner only needs to run at an average speed of 3 minutes/km to 13 minutes/km (pace 3 to 13). Participants only need to download the V-Race and Strava apps to their phones and link up. Sign up here.

Most marathons today usually have four main distances: 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km. Those who regularly practice, compete in these four distances can change by looking to participate in short competitions of about 3km, 2km or 1km. Those who are used to competing in half marathons and full marathons can change the distance down to 5, 10km.

With shorter distance runs, the runner can push the speed up, personal performance will reach the best milestone. In particular, for those who practice hard, compete in long distances but fail to reach their goals, lowering the distance is also a way to improve results and regain motivation.

Fartlek comes in many forms, but basically this is an exercise that requires the runner after a warm-up to run acceleration intervals, alternating with slow recovery runs in a middle distance run. With this exercise, the runner does not need to calculate distance and speed.

Fartlek is unstructured, it's done randomly or over time. Runner can run at a faster pace than usual, until tired can rest or can run fast for a minute.

Many people mistakenly think that running is synonymous with putting on their shoes to the track every day. However, in order to run fast, run sustainably, limit injuries and reach goals soon, runners need to add additional exercises to the lesson plan.

According to Running Magazine, running mainly affects the heart and lower body. Combine upper body weight exercises with just enough volume to help keep the whole body strong and flexible. In addition, cycling or swimming are also good recovery exercises after running.

These training sessions also help to stretch the running schedule. This brings psychological comfort, ready to return to the lesson plan the next day. Finally, if you feel tired from training, you can take a few days off. Get enough sleep and rest to help your body recover faster and avoid injury.