It took me three years to learn how to run slowly.
It’s common knowledge among the distance running community that most of your weekly mileage should be at an easy pace (aka Zone 2). As distance runners, we need to run dozens of miles each week to build up a strong aerobic base, and there isn’t enough time for our bodies to recover if every run we do is a hard one. The injury risk is too great. It’s sort of counter-intuitive, but to get faster, you don’t need to be pushing the pace every time you lace up your running shoes.
I knew this, and yet I would find myself starting at my watch at the end of runs, breathless, disappointed that I couldn’t run faster. I knew better, but damnit 12-year-old Clement could run faster than that!
It’s been fascinating learning how to dial in many different aspects of training. Running long distances is astoundingly difficult on the body (watch recent marathon finishers try to ascend or descend stairs). Running them fast is even harder. Even as amateurs in the sport, there are so many levers we can pull in our training process, to improve our fitness and stay healthy.
Let me attempt to stack rank them, in descending order of importance:
(1) Consistency
(2) Recovery
(3) Mobility + Strength
(4) Effective Workouts
(1) Consistency is THE most important factor to improving fitness. I’ve learned this the hard way (I was a “seasonal” runner my first couple of years in the sport). Though my yearly mileage isn’t very impressive at all (~300-500 miles per year; hoping to hit 1K this year), I’ve already seen some improvements in that my heart rate has dropped significantly while holding the same paces over the past few years. Consistent, easy miles help us build our aerobic base safely.
(2) Recovery comes in at a close second. Proper sleep and nutrition prepares our body for the continued stress of training and allows us to push further than we’ve ever gone before. Consistency in sleep schedules (not just time in bed) affects the quality of sleep. Nutrition not only applies to our regular meals, it’s also important to monitor what you’re eating during and after your workouts.
(3) Runners like to grumble about Mobility + Strength. I don’t mind it, but it has always taken a backseat to the actual running bit in my mind (perhaps undeservedly so). After a bad ankle sprain, which resulted in recurring left foot issues, I’ve come to appreciate the preventative power that a regular mobility and strength routine can have on problem areas. Do your homework!
(4) I put effective workouts last, because it’s not the most important thing for amateur runners to perfect. I believe you can get plenty fast and enjoy the sport immensely just by consistently running easy (developing your aerobic base) and taking care of your body (recovery, mobility, and strength).
So there it is — a few of my reflections on effective training, as a runner of three years. It’s been quite a circuitous journey. The good: a building sense of accomplishment, an overwhelming sense of freedom and joy at times while running, an amazing community and friends. The bad: injuries, too many trips to various physicians’ offices, another outlet for my trigger-happy ecommerce habit (shoes shoes shoes). Onwards to 1,000 (mostly slow) miles this year!
clem’s world 