11 tricks to train through long outdoor cardio-sessions

January 7, 2009 at 12:14 am · Filed under Uncategorized

Hello Shredders,

people asked me what I do to get through boring outdoor-cardio sessions. Here are my little tricks and games.

1. I put a certain amount of pearls (mostly 10 to 15) or tiny pebbles into one of pockets of my running-pants. After a warm-up-period I run a certain distance and one pearl or pebble wanders from the first pocket into the second pocket. My work-out is over when I put all pearls from pocket # 1 into pocket # 2.

2. I think about a certain small reward while I am running, cycling, swimming, walking, Nordic-skiing with which I might reward myself for finishing the training successfully. I like a nice cup of tea on the couch, a new pair of running-socks for keeping my cardio-plans, a relaxing, indulging bath, a piece of chocolate, etc.

3. I run a Fartlek, which is literally Swedish for “speed-game”. It means basically that you play with speed and distance. Just mix it. And run from pole to pole, from lantern to lantern, with a little bit more intensity and speed to the next tree, etc.

4. I search for new cardio-tracks: I always look for a river to train by, nice streets, forest, and beaches. I love to run along the ocean or lakes, in forests.

5. I put my favourite training-clothes on or get some new items.

6. I take a bus or ask my partner to take me to a certain spot in town and I just run home. (Carry some money, a cell-phone and something which shows your identity with you for emergencies.)

7. I run with a running-buddy or with my partner or I ask them to come along on a bicycle.

8. I mostly run without an MP3-player but it can be fun to take some music with you. Then I listen to cardio-coach-programs (http://www.cardiocoach.com/) or some music.(N.B. Running with headphones can be very dangerous because one is not completely aware of the traffic around.)

9. I learn vocabulary for a foreign language and carry them with me on a little card while I train outside.

10. I “write” a mental “for-what-I-am-thankful”-list.

11. While busy training with a very long cardio-session and feeling bored I think about some personal successes which I already had. (reaching my first personal best time, running for the first time 5 or 10 kilometres , etc.) and try to re-feel the feelings which I had reaching these goals.

Until tomorrow,

Run hard.
Take massive action.

Juli

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