PIMP your SLR

1. Run with a goal in mind

It can be tempting to chuck on a pair of trainers and just ‘run a decent mileage’ at the weekend, but while there is a time and a place for this more liberated approach, chances are it doesn’t help if your SLR enthusiasm is waning. Be specific about what you want to achieve on the run: maybe it’s a certain increase on last week’s milage, a segment of your run at a faster pace, reaching a certain destination (see kebab run below…), talking to a new person in your group or even running without stopping. Having measurable goals make us motivated to go out and achieve them.

2. Diarise it

You may argue that keeping a running diary is not for everyone, but it arguably can be — it just depends on how you do it. Whether you capture your run in a journal, post about it on social media, take personal photographs along the route, or enter your stats into a nifty spreadsheet, the diary activity encourages you to reflect on your run and take pride in your accomplishment as a tangible ‘thing’. Give it a try for some self-made positive reinforcement.

3. Switch it up

Changing up your route is time-honoured advice for any uninspired runner. Yet, you may roll your eyes at this suggestion — as if it’s so easy to stumble across beautiful parks and canals and trails on their doorstep. The truth is that adding new route options even around residential areas can make a big difference to your running. The choices may not be leafy or glamourous by any means, but you’ll enjoy the variation and maybe even find new roads and areas in your town.

4. Run with People

Get out of your bubble! There is no excuse for not connecting with other runners in your community, and the benefits of running with a group are many. During training for my first marathon by myself, I ran my SLRs too slowly — probably from lack of motivation. For my second marathon when I ran long with a group, not only did I look forward to the runs more, but my pace easily improved quite significantly. It may be that the ‘chatty runs’ lower perceived effort level by boosting our mood and energy levels in turn. Not only this, group SLR-ing lets you meet new people, creates a sense of team spirit and — arguably the biggest pimp factor — may even find you Sunday brunching with a new group of friends.

5. Treat yourself

This leads nicely on to a personal SLR pimping favourite of mine: food. While the mindset behind the stock phrase ‘run to eat’ can be problematic, using some tasty incentives on your run can be useful. Why not run with a friend to a café you’ve always wanted to try, and then take the bus home? Alternatively, treat yourself to a lavish dessert later in the day or take some snacks on your run (my current favourites are mashed sweet potatoes and peanut butter flapjacks). If that’s not enough, can free food tempt you? Yep, look out for schemes such as ‘Kebab Chase’ in Battersea (London) where you can run to different locations for on-the-house grub. I plan to write an article abut similar initiatives soon.

6. All the gear

Who isn’t excited to wear new sports gear for the first time; from trainers, to belts to race souvenir tops? But have you ever held back on gearing up in new running attire, and actively looking forward to testing it out on a longer run? Try it. The dopamine produced when we buy and use new “stuff” makes us more alert, motivated and happy — all great before a challenging long run. We can’t, of course, go out and buy new kit each week, but in a similar way to this, I’d advise to ‘dress for success’ on the long run with the correct gear and backup gels, socks, blister plasters and so on. Ultimately, dress so that you feel confident out in public and have no good excuse to cut your run short.

Thanks for reading and I wish you strong legs, good chats and endorphins in the long run!

Related posts:

The Chilean classical pianist Claudio Arrau, born on the 6th of February, 1903, was the son of an ophthalmologist and a piano teacher. The Arrau’s were an old, prominent family in Southern Chile…

Since Facebook announced chatbots support on the Messenger Platform at F8 2016, I got very excited about the possibilities and started looking for an idea to try so I could learn more about it. I…