If you want to learn how to run long and not feel like a dying swan, then it’s time to pay attention to how you run. Focus on quality rather than quantity. Aerobic base training is work primarily on the quality of running. This is what builds endurance and allows you to run further and longer. Here are a few tips to help spice up your running routine.
1. Increase the volume gradually
Yes, mileage matters. But if you have never run more than 70 kilometers in one week, then increasing this figure to 100 would be pure madness. In this case, it is important to listen to your body and gradually prepare for a new maximum.

2. Try Fartlek
Fartlek is a long running session (usually at least 40-45 minutes), the essence of which is to alternate sprints and light recovery runs. Imagine that you are playing with speed – then for a few seconds you are trying to squeeze the maximum out of yourself, then you switch to easy jogging. Fartlek is best to run without a watch and a smartphone, focusing solely on your own feelings.

3. Don’t Forget the Tempo Run
Tempo running is running at the level of the anaerobic threshold, when you have already left your comfort zone, but have not yet crossed that very line. The optimal speed for tempo running is when you can no longer speak in whole sentences, but you can still pronounce a few words; you are not suffocating yet, but you can no longer call this breathing calm.

4. Spacing
Interval training consists of alternating short intervals of fast running and slightly longer recovery periods. For example, after a warm-up, you run for two minutes at the limit of your capabilities, and then for two or three minutes you switch to easy jogging or even a walk – your breathing is restored and you start all over again. The fundamental difference between interval running and tempo running is that you run as fast as possible and count every second until the end of the interval. But do not forget that the whole point of interval training is in recovery periods: resting, the body adapts to the load and becomes stronger and more resilient.

5. Add at least one long brisk run to your weekly training plan
If you are used to run at an exceptionally easy pace, even for long distances, then very soon you will feel that progress has stopped and something needs to be changed. If you’re having this problem, then it’s time to add at least one run at a pace as close to competition as possible to your training plan.

6. Accelerate After Easy Runs
Almost all professional athletes, and not only runners, practice running with acceleration before going to the start – this helps them prepare their muscles for maximum loads. Amateur athletes can also take this technique into service – if you run with accelerations (8-12 runs of 60-100 meters each) after light runs at least a couple of times a week, you will soon feel that you have become not only more enduring, but also improved their speed performance.