In my years of running, I have noticed three mistakes that amateur runners and young long distance athletes often make that ultimately cost them.

The training plan is the recording of a mental task which in our case aims to prepare someone to run a long distance race. Therefore, it must be executed consistently to get the best result and any deviation from it will bring negative results. Of course, there are also impermanent factors that must be taken into account.

Below I mention three situations that someone should pay attention to in terms of how to act, where amateur runners often misjudge and act incorrectly in these specific cases.

The exception that proves the rule

Sometimes it is better to deviate from the program, but always with the consent of the coach. In the event that we do not feel well, for example if we are sick or very tired from daily obligations, it is better to adjust our program or skip the specific training. If this does not happen, it is more likely that the program will not work out as it should and there is a fear of complete exhaustion. Consequently, this may cause problems in subsequent training sessions and in the psychology of the athlete.

I follow the program faithfully.

The program must be followed closely in terms of repetitions of the pieces, the time of the breaks and the running paces. The repetitions, the time of the breaks and the running paces were not determined randomly. They were determined based on the adaptations that we want to achieve in the body in the specific period of time, taking into account the workouts that have been performed and the workouts that are to be performed. If we arbitrarily change something from the training program, the balance of the plan is disturbed and it is most likely that we will not have the expected results.

I rest my body when my training schedule allows.

It is a mistake that often happens and can be avoided if the program is followed faithfully, which is why I put special emphasis on it. Such workouts are often underestimated by amateur runners. When the program has free-paced or recovery-paced running, it is important to stay there and not go faster. These paces are given in the training plan, so that there is no confusion about how fast or slow someone should run. If the body does not rest in these workouts, it is most likely to have an impact on some of the more serious workouts that follow. In simple words, I would say that there is a tendency for amateur runners to lean the range, the gap, between the fast paces and the slow paces of the training plan, which is wrong.