4 Key Ways To Make Running Feel Easier

(Rem)ember To Sleep. Some people think that when you sleep, you’re not actually doing anything. But this is just not true. When you’re sleeping your mind is definitely working: your body may be still, but the mind is definitely not idle.

And this has an impact on how you feel the next day as well. In your own experience, you know that when you score a couple of those deep sleep REM cycles, it’s like your body has a chance to tend to your physical body through the night.  In fact, research shows that people report feeling better overall when they have had a good night’s sleep. That’s because if you’re not getting good sleep, your body won’t have a chance to make those repairs to your muscles, which will increase the chances that you’ll have pain the next day.  

Tune up your tunes. Before you launch out on your run, get some music that makes you move. Which songs you play honestly doesn’t matter as much as the fact that they are your jam. Music does a few wonderful things for you as you run, and all of those help make it easier on you.

Psychologically, it adds energy to your movements, and translates your positive feelings for that song into positive feelings for the run. The beat also gives your feet something to sync your stride onto, which also makes it easier. Just keep in mind when you’re outside running that you should only have one ear listening to the music, so you can have the other ear open for traffic and other hazards. 

Belly up to Zen out. This is an amazing life hack. When you run, use what is basically a meditation technique. That is, practice belly breathing. When you deeply breathe from your belly, you activate the area of your nervous system that relaxes your body. By contrast, when you breathe from your chest, you activate the area of your nervous system that turns on the “fight or flight” stress response.

What’s more, belly breathing is a deeper breath that therefore brings in more oxygen, which means your body has more fuel to use on the run itself. This means your muscles will not fatigue as quickly. 

To learn belly breathing, lie faceup with one hand on your navel. As you inhale, expand your belly, pulling more air down into the lower part of the lungs. Your hand should rise as your belly expands. As you exhale, contract your belly and push the air out so your hand falls. Practice this (lying down or sitting) two or three times a day, taking at least 10 breaths each time, and try it while you run. If you start panting during your run or notice your shoulders and chest are going up and down, you’re chest breathing. Slow to a walk, catch your breath, and try again.

Slow down. Out of breath? Side stitch? Discomfort or pain? Decrease your pace to a walk. As you feel better, gradually get back up to speed. This is actually an excellent strategy to slowly work your way up to better fitness while reducing the chance of injury. 

Muscle aches and even some joint pain are normal in the beginning—as long as they don’t last for more than a day or two. If the pain doesn’t go away or recurs more often than not, it’s time to get it checked out.