Dreadful Running Advice and What to Do Instead

Wiping the stinging sweat from my eyes, I sucked in as much oxygen as possible to join the rest of the group in celebrating the end of our run. Already hoping that no one had noticed how far behind I fell a few times, I was nearly destroyed when the leader said “you just need to do start doing 800 repeats on the track and you’ll feel better.”

Grrrrrr. I was there for community, not for someone to tell me the best way to train. Beyond the fact that I train by low heart rate because my body tends to be high in cortisol and those types of workouts put me down for days!

The thing is that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to BAD running advice, that just happened to be a running tip that was suited for me (or asked for).As with most things in life, everyone has advice. The most common being that we should stop running now so that our knees don’t hate us later…which science has happily debunked.

Since we’re all out there looking for the best running tips to run faster, run stronger, run injury free, I wanted to make sure we talk about some of the one’s that need to be avoided! Because for some reason many of these continue to linger on from doctors, coaches and yes even our running friends.

Running Makes You Fat

In an new era of HIIT workouts and CrossFit there’s a sudden notion that running will make you fat. Certainly you’ll find runners who end up gaining weight during marathon training because of muscle or food excuses, but realistically a smart running plan is a great way to lose weight.

However, this was the most hilarious way I’ve heard it said to Ann Rania “hat it will make me fatTER (yes, he said “fatter” – I was at the time a size 4 and 109lbs) because my internal organs and fat will drop to my lower ab region and make it look like I’m always 3mos pregnant.”

You Need to Lose Weight Before Starting

The flip side of it makes you gain weight is that it’s too hard on you to run if you aren’t a certain size. I ran my first marathon with a guy friend who towers at 6’7″ and was in the category “Clydesdale” due to his weight. Stand at the finish line of any marathon and you’ll watch runners of every size crossing that finish line and I don’t mean at the back.

While we all have to listen to our bodies, weight shouldn’t be the reason you’re ever told you can’t run. At any weight, we all struggle and need to stop if there’s pain!

In fact, nothing can say it better than this photo of Mirna…except Mirna you gotta follow her.

Run Through It

While we are loathe to take time off for injuries, “just run” isn’t exactly the solution to most things. Though people like Melanie have been told this by a coach when dealing with an Achilles injury, we all have to learn how to do my favorite thing “pre-hab“.

Running is always a fine line of knowing when you need to push to make progress and when you need to rest to prevent a major injury. Checkout these tips for helping you to know the difference AND know that running through pain doesn’t make you a runner, it makes you someone sitting on the sidelines wishing you could run.

Everyone Needs Orthotics

For awhile we swung between those who said you must run barefoot and those who said everyone needs an orthotic to really fit their foot and create the best foot strike. Orthotics can be a lifesaver for some runners, but they shouldn’t be our first answer to fixing issues.

If we don’t resolve weak hips or poor foot strike, an orthotic will just delay those injuries. The same goes for stability shoes, a great tool, but make sure that you aren’t simply masking a bigger issue (like weak hips!)

Don’t Eat to Burn Fat

So you’ve started running to lose weight and everyone has told you the best way to do this is to run first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Ahhh so many things to say here….

1. If you can’t do a full workout because you’re tired or hungry, you aren’t burning more fat.
2. You have to train your body to burn fat by doing things in your low heart rate zone.
3. If weight loss is the goal, the overall intensity, duration and quality of the workout matter more than if you eat or not.

In other words, eat if you’re hungry. Eat if it will give you some energy. Keep it light so you don’t have stomach issues.

You MUST Use Energy Gels
While we all need to fuel our bodies for optimal performance, I don’t believe running gels are a requirement. For many runners they cause stomach distress and quite honestly the calories just aren’t warranted in many cases.

Test out fueling with whole foods and remember that your body does have quiet a bit of fuel on board.

Hydrate A LOT

The common advice many people like Leslie used to hear was “drink 6 oz of fluid every 20 minutes”. BARF!!!

Yes you need to take in fluids, but over hydrating not only causes major stomach problems but it washes your body of electrolytes. Try sipping water every mile, being well hydrated when you start and getting in more fluids when you finish.

Run the Full Race Distance

In the lead up to the marathon, I have so many ask me if 20 miles is really far enough?! Because mentally it’s terrifying and a good coach will say yes, but far too many will tell you what Leslie heard “Someone told me you have to train the full distance or longer for a marathon so your body knows what to expect – the year I did long runs over 20 Miles was the year I had the most and worst injuries …”

The longer you’ve been running the more you can go above and beyond if it fits your body…but you really don’t have to. In the half marathon, I will often run a 16 or 17 mile training run but that was after doing them for years.

And of course this advice can shift based on running a 5 or 10K, but even then if it’s your first don’t freak out about not having covered the full distance yet. Part of race day is the excitement of achieving something new.

Females Shouldn’t Run

I’ll be honest, I really thought this was a thing of the past. But when I asked about bad advice, I was floored by the number of women who responded with tales like this:

Doctor: Don’t run if you’re trying to get pregnant.
Me: Why?
Doctor: All the bouncing.

Also followed by “I was told that I should run less because all of the running I did prevented me from having intimate relationships.”

And yes a few others nothing that there was too much jiggling, it just wasn’t good for you and of course because it will ruin your knees. If I have to debunk the knee myth one more time I’m going to toss someone in to a very cold river.

Ahh friends, you’re insides aren’t going to fall out. You aren’t going to become less of a woman and studies have shown that our eh hem bedroom fun is better thanks to those sweat sessions!

I wish I could say this was all the bad advice I’ve heard and seen given, but honestly I have more than enough for a round two! Until then, be safe, guard your thoughts and run on.

Have you ever received any really bad running advice?

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