Before you attempt your long run, you may feel overwhelmed by the distance, or have concerns about finishing. That’s normal and should be expected. One trick is to break down the long run into segments. For instance, if you normally run around 5 miles, and this time, you are attempting to run 10 miles, break your run into two 5 mile runs, or so on. This will allow you to accomplish one 5 mile distance and then give yourself a little break to hydrate, refuel, take a small breather, and evaluate how you feel. After this, you can continue on with your run. If you are running in a loop starting from your home, you can use your home as your own personal aid station. The downfall of this approach is that some people find the repetitiveness of the same running environment boring and unengaging. To avoid this, you can try changing the direction of the loop. Also, know that you only have to use this tactic for a little while until you have built enough endurance to run longer distances without stopping for a break.

It is important not to lose momentum during these breaks, so you might try doing some running in place, or other anaerobic stretching, while you are taking this breather. The main thing is to not feel overwhelmed during your long run. After all, the point is to help improve your running, not to make it seem like a chore. So take the time to relax and even do some breathing exercises before your run. Adding more pressure to yourself can possibly hinder your performance, as (believe it or not) stress consumes energy. So keep your mind at ease, and if you are just adding longer running distances to your regime know that the only thing that matters is that you make steps to improve your running.