2Run Forever

AVOID THESE 10 COMMON RUNNING MISTAKES

1) Over-training
2) Repeating the Same Runs
3) Not Setting Goals
4) Not Following a Training Plan
5) Running in Bad Shoes
6) Making Excuses
7) Not Eating Enough Nutrients
8 Not Hydrating Enough
9) Not Cross Training
10) Doubting Yourself

Get Motivated! ... Daily in 2026

July 14
If you have to remind yourself to concentrate during an event, you got no chance to concentrate! - Bobby Nichols
Concentration is something we learn over time. It is invaluable to each and every sport we participate in and is something that takes as much practice as learning the skills of the sport. When we work out, we need to work on both the physical and mental part, for even if we never compete, we will always reach a higher level of performance if we have a focused mind. Today's workout will be both for my body and my mind. I'll practice good concentration skills along with my physical ones!

WHAT ARE THE BEST RUNNING MANTRAS?

The best running or race day mantras are simple, repetitive, and actionable.

#1: “Relentless”
#2: “Calm, calm, calm. Relax, relax, relax.”
#3: “Focus, focus, focus”
#4: “You Get to Do This”
#5: “Mood Follows Action”
#6: “This Too Shall Pass”

The Best Everyday Running Mantras

#7: “On-wards”
#8: “I can do it.”
#9: “Strong, confident, relaxed.”
#10: “I am a runner.”

The Best Mantras For Low Motivation Days

#11: “The biggest privilege is being able to choose your struggles.”
#12: “Anything is better than nothing.”
#13: “Any job worth doing is worth doing badly.”
#14: “Just finish.”

The Best Mantras For When Running Gets Tough

#15: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
#16: “Keep going, Lion”
#17: “Up and over.”
#18: “I’m stronger than I think.”

RUN SLOWER, GET FASTER

There is a mistake that almost all ambitious runners make at some point. And at first glance, it doesn't even look like a mistake – it looks like progress.

You are running a long run. Slightly strained in the famous Zone 2 with your target pace of 5:15 to 5:45 min/km. You look at the watch. 5:20 min/km gradually becomes 5:05 min/km. Your breathing gets faster, your easy run becomes brisker. That must be a sign that you're getting better – right?

Not really.

WHAT EASY RUNS ARE REALLY SUPPOSED TO ACHIEVE

The goal of base training is not primarily to improve your easy pace. It's about something else, and that's crucial:

Easy runs are meant to build your aerobic base – that is, your ability to run a certain pace for longer with the same effort. They should help you accumulate kilometers without overloading the body. Because the total volume per week is one of the strongest factors influencing performance improvements overall. And they should ensure that you are rested and fresh for your really important sessions – intervals, tempo runs, long run.

Pros run the majority of their easy kilometers even in Zone 1 – slower than Zone 2. Not because they are lazy. But because they understand what these sessions are for.

THE "BLACK HOLE" MANY GET STUCK IN

If you consistently run your easy runs at the upper end of Zone 2, you fall into a trap known as the "black hole." You never train hard enough to set strong adaptation stimuli – but also never easy enough to benefit from the effects of base training. The result: a permanent state of slight exhaustion.

Before the important sessions, your legs are never really fresh. You can't perform at your best in interval training. Your body doesn't adapt to the training stimulus, it just survives it. After weeks or months, what many know happens: a plateau. Despite regular training, performance stagnates or even injuries occur.

That's not bad luck. That's the almost inevitable result when long runs, the actual base of your training, are systematically done too intensively.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU'RE RUNNING TOO FAST

A simple rule of thumb: During an easy run, you should be able to speak effortlessly – full sentences, no gasping between words. If that's not possible, the pace is too high. Another sign: If your hard sessions feel tough or you constantly feel tired, even though you're "not training that much."

Many have a psychological hurdle to running slower. It feels wrong. It doesn't feel like training. But that's exactly the point – it's not supposed to be hard training. It's supposed to prepare you for the hard training.

DIFFERENTIATION IS NOT COMFORT, BUT STRATEGY

The core of a good training plan is not the intensity of each individual session – it's the differentiation between the sessions. Hard sessions really hard. Easy sessions really easy. This polarization is what distinguishes elite runners from ambitious recreational runners – not talent, not just the number of kilometers, but the discipline to let go during easy runs.

Slowing down to get faster – it sounds like a cliché. But it's physiology.