Your training is going good. You’re feeling strong. You’re killing it in your workouts and on your long runs. Your easy runs are fast, even though they feel smooth and relaxed. Everything is going great.
Then you push a workout a little too hard and you feel it. The hamstring tightens up, the calf cramps. Something gives and you know you’re looking at some time off.
How do you avoid this? Well, there are many ways but I’d like to focus on one of those things that has saved many of us and could have saved many more.
Stop one rep short. That’s it. If you feel like you could have done five 800s, stick with four. If you feel like you could have done four mile repeats, do three. You can also carry this to your long run. Finish your long run feeling like you could have gone 1-2 more miles at the same pace you ran your last mile at.
Why does this work? It’s all about not pushing yourself to the limit. Bad things are much more likely to happen when we push to our limits in training, especially if we’re repeatedly doing that. Stay short of your limit and you’ll usually be able to avoid injuries such as pulled muscles. Push up to your limit and you’re greatly increasing your risk.
Even better, there’s another long term benefit: saving something for tomorrow.
Long timers recognize this. Save something today so you can be consistent and come back for the next hard day, so you can do some easy running tomorrow. This is how you build consistent training over time.