Improving your running game might actually include running games. Sure鈥攖he standard, tried-and-true programming and drills are your best bet for advancing as a runner. But if you feel like you鈥檙e in a rut with your training or need a break from the usual running workouts, why not try something different? Whether it鈥檚 a game learned in high school track or a creative drill introduced by a fellow athlete, there are plenty of fun ways to shake up the routine and introduce a change of pace.

We asked three accomplished run coaches to share some of their favorite out-of-the-box (and effective) exercises that benefit athletes鈥� running form, endurance, and mental fortitude. Their suggestions include games and circuits that incorporate speed work and pacing, as well as other essential skills that runners need to practice.

Here are five fun and untraditional workouts to get your heart pumping and improve your running.

1. Group Run Pace Game

Ben Rosario is the CEO of as well as the former head coach of the HOKA NAZ Elite professional distance running team in Flagstaff, Arizona. Having coached athletes for over 20 years, he鈥檚 a big advocate for injecting creative running workouts in training (alongside standard programming). 鈥淭he mind needs to be stimulated as well, not just the body,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 expect athletes to do the same thing week in and week out and not get bored.鈥� Rosario likes to play a pacing game in group runs.

How to Do It

1. If you鈥檙e in a group of eight people, for example, you start by placing scraps of paper numbered one through eight in a bowl or hat.
2. Mix them up, and have each runner draw one, keeping their number to themselves.
3. During the run, each person picks a moment to increase the pace for the same number of minutes as the number they drew鈥攁nd everyone else has to keep up for that amount of time. This continues throughout the run with each person changing the pace for their allotted number of minutes, and everyone matching their pace.

鈥淣one of your running buddies know when the surge is coming, but they have to keep up,鈥� Rosario says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 this fun way to accomplish some pace change without it being so monotonous.鈥�

An alternative take on the game is to have a designated person call out a number. The person who drew that number would then choose the pace for the same number of minutes (so if you draw an eight, you’ll lead for eight minutes). The pace could be fast or slow鈥攂asically a follow-the-leader .

2. Hill Circuits

As Olympic distance runner Frank Shorter once said, . Rosario finds that doing hill circuits, or building a training run around varied terrain, is a great way to mix things up.

How to Do It

1. First, find an area that has hills of varying lengths as well as some flat surfaces鈥攖his could be at a park, in a neighborhood, on roads, etc.鈥攁nd create a loop of your preferred distance.
2. From there, you鈥檙e basically playing the hand that nature has dealt. You might be popping up a short hill at a 5K effort, then steadily climbing up a long hill at marathon effort, then running a 200-meter flat stride at your mile effort, and so on.

鈥淭he beauty of hill circuits is that they can be done anywhere, and because you鈥檝e run up and down varying grades at different zones, you鈥檝e gotten a really complete workout,鈥� Rosario says.

3. Pursuit

, a running coach,聽likes to insert some fun into running workouts with a game called Pursuit. To play, runners start on opposite ends of the track and try to catch a designated runner. There鈥檚 no set distance in this game, just the objective to not get caught. 鈥淭his is deceivingly hard and requires a lot of strategy,鈥� Browning says.

How to Do It

1. Get a running buddy of similar ability and speed. Start on opposite sides of the track.
2. Both athletes start running in the same direction.
3. The interval ends when one runner catches the other.

Browning allows runners to rest about two to three minutes between rounds and repeats the game three to five times, rotating the pairs if there are more than two runners present.

4. Fox and Hound

Another workout that Browning uses with his athletes is essentially a reverse game of tag, where the whole group of runners tries to tag just one person. 鈥淥ne runner is the fox, the others are the hounds,鈥� Browning explains. 鈥淭he fox tries to keep from getting caught for a predetermined amount of time; if they鈥檙e caught, the interval ends and the game resets.鈥� This chase-based interval workout uses a looped path in a park rather than the track so that runners can spread out.

How to Do It

1. Choose a 400鈥�800m loop in a park.
2. One runner (the Fox) gets a ten- to 30-second head start.
3. The others (Hounds) start the chase.
4. If the Hounds catch the Fox before the loop ends, they win. If not, the Fox wins.

Runners are permitted to rest for 60 to 90 seconds between rounds while aiming to repeat the game four to six times, rotating roles each time.

5. Long Run and Cross-Training Combo

It can be a struggle to recover after long runs; , a Virginia-based certified run coach, encourages runners to give tired feet a rest by swapping some miles for cross-training exercises. 鈥淚n this way, they get the total duration of the workout to achieve their goals without spending so much time on their feet,鈥� Scott says.

How to Do It

An example of this hybrid running workout could look like:

1. Start with two hours of running
2. Hop on a bike for a 30-minute ride
3. Next, hit the pool and get in some laps for 30 minutes

Breaking up the run into a more manageable timeframe while supplementing other types of workouts will allow you to build up your strength and avoid injury at the same time. Plus, it adds some variety to keep your mind and body engaged.

Want more聽国产吃瓜黑料聽health stories?聽. Ready to push yourself? Enter MapMyRun鈥檚聽聽running challenge.

The post Take a Break from Your Usual Running Routine with These Coach-Approved Workouts appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

鈥淐an I do this?鈥澛�

I stopped rolling a pair of pants into a tight bundle and looked over at my husband, Rob, who was surrounded by a sea of gear and hiking clothes. His expression was tense and uncertain.聽聽

鈥淵es, you can. You鈥檒l see,鈥� I answered with more confidence than I felt.

It was our first summer as a married couple, and 鈥攈is first ever. I had spent a couple of months living out of a tent while maintaining trails in the Kentucky wilderness, plus a weekend backpacking a portion of the Appalachian Trail, but I knew better than to subject Rob to too much too quickly. We would spend four days and three nights in the of South Dakota. Nothing crazy, I assured him. To prepare for the inaugural event, we read articles on the best hiking gear and watched YouTube videos from seasoned backpackers. As our departure date loomed and we sat on the living room floor assembling everything on our packing checklist, we were both feeling nervous for different reasons.

We had only met two years before, brought together by a few days of fun conversation on a dating app. Our compatibility was apparent to us from day one鈥揺ven if it might not have been to people watching. Having driven up to Boulder from Denver for our first date, he showed up to the coffee shop in a plain white tee, corduroy jacket, blue jeans, and nice shoes. A stylish, clean-cut gentleman. I strolled in wearing a Pike鈥檚 Peak shirt, running leggings, and a pair of hiking shoes with . Nevertheless, we bonded over our shared values, life goals, and The Office. So what if he wasn鈥檛 as outdoorsy as I was? A little over a year later, we were married鈥攁nd several months after the wedding, we found ourselves hoofing it on the Centennial Trail with a trekking pole each and bulging packs on our backs.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe you grew up in Colorado and never even went camping before we met,鈥� I remarked yet again as we marched through aromatic pines. If I was getting on Rob鈥檚 nerves, he didn鈥檛 show it. His attitude had been upbeat and pleasant from the minute we parked the car and strapped on our heavy backpacks鈥攁nd he was the one carrying the tent. I watched him amble along in and socks that went up to the middle of his calves. It was a new look for him. My heart swelled a little, and I felt a drop roll down my cheek鈥攂ut not from emotion.聽

鈥淩ain鈥檚 starting up! Those clouds look like they mean business.鈥�

We quickly pulled on our rain jackets and grinned at each other as the drops turned into sheets. As fate would have it, the worst of the rain had struck while we were on a portion of trail with no tree cover whatsoever.

鈥淲hat do we do?鈥� Rob shouted.聽

鈥淛ust keep walking!鈥� I yelled back.

Cold rain pelted our jackets and shorts until they were soaked through; soon, our socks succumbed, squelching in our boots. Rob鈥檚 first backpacking adventure was going swimmingly. But instead of grumbling, he was laughing and forging ahead. The rain eventually subsided and gave way to cheerful blue skies, and we paused to wring out our socks in the sunshine.

But the fun wasn鈥檛 over yet: somehow, we had taken a wrong turn while walking through the storm.聽

鈥淵ou stay here and keep drying off,鈥� Rob offered. 鈥淚鈥檒l backtrack to see where we should have gone.鈥� He jogged off and was soon gone from sight. Minutes ticked by. Just when I thought he had , I saw a bright blue raincoat bobbing back down the trail. He had found the correct path and successfully navigated us back on track.

The rest of the trip followed in about the same fashion. It rained on and off every single day, and Rob got in a rhythm of whipping out his rain jacket while we hiked and setting up our tent in record time when we had to quickly make camp before a downpour. He took charge of filtering water from each swollen stream we encountered and was expertly boiling water and cooking meals on our tiny camp stove by the first afternoon. And when we were unexpectedly gifted with an hour-long deluge of hail, we huddled in our tent and gleefully listened to ice chunks zinging into the ground. When it was over, we crawled out of the tent and stood hand in hand, admiring the clouds retreating into the sunset over granite hills.聽

The final day of our trip presented the biggest challenge. , causing grinding pain with each step, and we still had 9 miles to hike (or hobble) back to the car. My husband sweetly gave up his trekking pole so I had a makeshift pair of crutches for the journey back. Rob still wasn鈥檛 complaining, though at this point, I was.. But with my husband鈥檚 encouraging words and patience for my slow pace, we finished our first backpacking trip together feeling even stronger as a couple.

Sipping coffee on that first date, Rob had impressed me with his kind manners and great taste in art and film, but I pegged him for a city boy who might slow me down on outdoor adventures. But I鈥檝e since learned that he鈥檚 more than capable of trekking miles through hilly woods, sleeping outside, and helping me when 滨鈥檓 the one slowing us down. As it turns out, he鈥檚 as much of a gentleman on the trail as he was in that coffee shop鈥攋ust with better hiking shoes.

The post My New Husband鈥檚 First Backpacking Trip Confirmed Why We Fell in Love appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.