For a majority of runners, running higher mileage is beneficial. Noticeable performance gains occur when you run enough to develop a robust aerobic base. However, it is not just higher mileage that improves performance. Performance gains come from consistently sustaining higher mileage. One month of high mileage followed by months of injury will not yield any benefits to your running. (This post is about how to consistently run higher mileage without getting injured or burning out. If ...
Training Tips
What are Junk Miles? (And How to Know If You Are Running Them)
Every run should have a purpose. Most experienced runners will describe to you the transformational moment in their training, when they learned to run their easy days easy and their hard days hard. The transition from junk miles - purposeless, always-moderate training - to polarized training allowed them to fully benefit from their runs. Junk miles are not "bad" but they are not optimal for performance. The exact definition of junk mileage varies based on the coaching philosophy. Some ...
How Easy Should Your Easy Runs Be?
Whether you specialize in the mile or the 100-miler, easy runs are the indispensable foundation of training. In every sound training plan, easy runs constitute a majority of your runs. Why do easy runs matter so much - and how easy should your easy runs be? Why You Should Slow Down and Run Easy Running too fast on easy days - even just a moderate effort - inhibits some of the desired adaptations. If you begin to accumulate lactate (evidenced by breathing hard enough you can ...
How to Build a Better Training Base
We are all familiar with the phase “base building". But what does it actually mean to build a training base - and how do you effectively build one? To build an effective training base, it's important to think broad and multifaceted, not just easy running. Steve Magness argues in The Science of Running, “The multifaceted base means that instead of creating a base of just aerobic running, we are establishing a metabolic, neuromuscular, and structural foundation.” Unless you are an ...
How to Find a New Model of Running Shoes
Runners tend to be creatures of habit, particularly with running shoes. We find a pair and develop a minor (or major) obsession with them. We stockpile them, replace them blindly, and only wear them. However, you do not benefit from lifelong loyalty to a shoe. Instead, you want to find a new model of running shoes whenever your needs change, a shoe evolves beyond your needs, or to simply have another shoe in your rotation. Why Try a New Model of Running Shoes? Over time, your feet ...