The secret to endurance running is…

Here we are mid-January 2022 flying through the new year. Most of us had all longed for a new beginning at the stroke of midnight as we were desperate for a fresh start, a new outlook, and a change of worldly direction.

The Power of Now

Somehow the worlds pandemic didn’t reset despite us doing our best to wish this to be true; I guess somethings just don’t change overnight; they do take time. And that’s OK because we have all the time in the world, we have the power of now and we are going to make the most of that power. We need to believe this.

It is true, some things can change overnight but when it comes to endurance running change happens progressively and respecting this will make you a stronger and faster [planted] endurance runner.

Go faster, faster, faster

You want to run faster as an endurance athlete, right? So run faster. Each run session is fast, every workout is like a race and long slow runs and rest days, what’s the point? You want to run faster.

But then progress doesn’t happen. You feel slow. Tired. Fatigued. And even worse you are getting more injuries than ever before but surely this has nothing to do with your training because you are training strong, fast and 7 days a week.

The tortoise and the hare

It’s time to slooooow down; it’s time to focus on quality over quantity and it’s time to find good rhythm and consistent training. You are building an engine; you are working on developing your aerobic energy system and in turn improving your cardiovascular and respiratory function enabling you to train harder and longer…..you are building you as an endurance machine.

You are building a consistent endurance machine.

Time and place

Absolutely there is a time and place for anaerobic training where training is performed at a harder intensity; this is a great way to improve your fitness levels once the baseline for your aerobic fitness is achieved.

Endurance is all about long distances and solid time on your feet and although training can and should be long and slow, racing although long doesn’t necessarily need to be slow. Your weekly training sessions will be made up of a combination of short/fast and long/slow but more the latter to begin with.

Training for endurance is also about SMART training. To have the smartest approach to running, your program should be individualised and flexible. This is where a coach comes into play; a coach helps you re-evaluate your training set up to better suit your needs and most importantly have you running slow, fast and injury free.

Challenging times

Life is full of challenges and the past few years have seen us faced our biggest challenges yet.  Sure, it’s tough but don’t fight against the world, we encourage you to move with it and rise above the ongoing fight. Just like a kite, it rises with the wind not against it.

The secret

So, the secret is out; slow and consistent training will always win when it comes to successfully embarking on endurance training or races. You must believe that.

If you have a new year running goal that you wish to move towards with belief and consistency then reach out, I would love to coach you to the successful completion of your 2022 running (& nutrition) goals.