3 ways to increase stamina for running 

If you’re into the sport of running. you know what it feels like to run outta gas while you’re out on a run. The feeling is terrible. You may have to switch your planned run over to a run walk or take breaks during your run. Building stamina for running is important. It allows you to keep going at a steady effort without running out of gas. Training to improve stamina for running will also improve your race times. The most important part of increasing stamina for running is that it will keep you coming back for more because having more stamina will make the runs a lot more fun. 

Here’s our tips on how you can improve stamina for running

The Steady State Run 

The steady state run is a moderate pace run. It is done at half-marathon to marathon pace for anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. The purpose of this run is to work in between a fast zone and a slow zone. If you’re new to the steady state run. Make sure to start with the 25 minute run before moving up to the hour and 15 minutes of running. The run may feel easy at first but it can burn you in the end. Our goal is to improve stamina for running not burnout. The steady state run requires an easy warm up and cool down around 2-3 miles. 

Side note: Many runners make the mistake of aiming for a steady state pace for all of their runs. Staying in this zone will cause burnout and lack of improvement in your speed or stamina. Make sure to treat the steady state run as a workout session not an easy run. 

The Tempo Run 

The tempo run is a great tool for improving stamina for runners. This is because it builds up slow-twitch muscle characteristics in the convertible muscle fibers. The type IIa muscle fibers are fast-twitch but can be converted to act more like slow-twitch muscle fibers. With 3-6 weeks of stamina training. When doing a tempo run you’re training the legs to handle fatigue directly which will give you more stamina while running or racing. While doing a tempo run you will need to pick a pace that you can hold for about one hour. When you’re doing workouts you will be doing intervals of 10-20 minutes of running depending on the race you’re training for. An example of a tempo workout would be 2-3 mile warm up 2×15 minutes at tempo pace with 60-90 seconds of jogging between reps and a 2-3 mile cooldown. Make sure you pick a pace that you can hold for the length of each interval. The tempo run is a key workout to increase stamina for running. 

The Long Run

If you’ve been running for awhile you have most likely heard of the dreaded long run. This workout is a staple for marathoners but is improving for anyone trying to increase stamina for running. Technically a long run is any run that you do that lasts over an hour and a half maxing out around 2 and half hours. Doing a run longer than an hour and a half will change those convertible muscle fibers muscle fibers just like the tempo run but also will increase mitochondrial density. The more mitochondria you have in a muscle the more aerobic benefit you will get from it. Aerobic exercise uses oxygen to convert fat to energy and mitochondria are powered up by the use of oxygen. This is an important factor when trying to increase stamina for running because we have a lot more fuel in our body from fat and fat is the main fuel that we use during aerobic exercise. If you want to increase stamina for running it’s important to change the convertible muscle fibers and to increase mitochondrial density. 

Side note: Only do one long run a week and make sure not to go out on a run that’s too long too fast. Always start your long run slow and try to finish faster than when you started. 
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