i don’t really do long runs.

i mean, i do them. they happen. but i’ve never once laced up on a saturday morning and thought “today is my long run day.” that’s not how it works for me. the long run finds me. i just show up and try not to blow it.

here’s what actually goes down.

it starts with the playlist

this is not a small thing. this might be the whole thing.

i run to dj podcasts. not music playlists, not curated spotify mixes, not algorithmically generated anything. dj podcasts. tiesto, david guetta, alison wonderland, w&w. the reason this matters is that a good dj set is usually about an hour of uninterrupted music. no dead air. no talking. no ads. just one long, building thing that starts somewhere and goes somewhere else and takes you with it.

when the vibes are right (and you’ll know, about ten minutes in, whether the vibes are right) you just don’t stop. the music is building, your legs are fine, and stopping feels like the wrong answer. so you don’t.

that’s run number one.

then there’s the weather

i have a very specific long run weather. it’s overcast. flat grey sky, maybe a little cool. sunny days still happen. i’ll still go, i’ll still cover the distance. but there’s a tax. it’s hotter, it’s less fun, and by kilometre 10 i’m negotiating with myself in ways i don’t love.

cloud cover and i can just go. no negotiating. if i wake up on a saturday and it’s overcast? i already know it’s going to be a long one. i’m just not sure how long yet.

the route thing

i don’t plan my routes around bathrooms. i want to be clear about that. i’m not sitting at home the night before with google maps open, plotting a course based on public washroom infrastructure like some kind of digestive system logistics coordinator.

i just… know where they are. years of running the waterfront will do that to you. there’s one here, one further down, another one that’s surprisingly decent for a public washroom (low bar, fully cleared). that knowledge lives in my head rent free and honestly it might be the most useful thing in there.

the point is, when you’re 9km in and your body starts asking questions, it helps to already have the answers. i’m not saying it’s ever happened to me specifically. i’m just saying i know where every bathroom on the toronto waterfront is and i consider that a core life skill.

water fountains too. less urgent, same general principle.

the thing about goals

every running guide will tell you to have a goal for your long run. pace goal. distance goal. time on feet. something measurable.

i mostly don’t do this and honestly my long runs are better for it.

my version is: i have a rough idea of where i’m going, i have music i like, and i’m out before 11am so i still have a real saturday when i get back. that’s it. that’s the whole plan.

there’s something genuinely fun about not knowing if you’re doing 10 or 14 until you’re already past the point of no return and you’ve decided to just see what happens. it’s not a training methodology. i’m not recommending it as a methodology. but it works for me right now and i’m not going to overthink it.

the run ends when it ends. i check the distance after. sometimes i’m surprised.

the 11am rule

this is the one thing i’m rigid about. i’m out early, back before 11, and the rest of the day is mine.

there’s something weirdly motivating about this. knowing that a 14km run still gets me home with the whole afternoon ahead of me makes the whole thing feel manageable. it’s not eating the day. it’s part of the morning. that framing matters more than i expected when i came back to running.

also, toronto in the summer after 11am is just hot. that’s less a philosophy and more a survival instinct.

the part where i admit this probably isn’t a system

it’s not. i know that. at some point, if i’m actually training for something with a finish line and a clock, i’ll need to be more intentional. structured long runs, target paces, the whole thing.

but right now? i’m rebuilding. and the best run i can do is the one i actually go on. if leaving the house without a plan and letting a dj podcast decide how far i go means i’m consistently getting long efforts in on saturdays, then it’s working.

the long run problem turned out to be not that complicated.

show up. pick a good set. check the sky. know where the bathrooms are. be home by 11.