Blog

One of the reasons I write this blog and share so freely of myself in other ways is because I want you to learn from my experience.

I had the great fortune early in my running life to learn from some very smart and very experienced runners and coaches. I know not everyone has been that lucky, which is why I feel a responsibility to share so freely of myself. Others have shared a wealth of knowledge with me, I feel the need to pass on that knowledge, as well as the lessons I’ve learned myself along the way.

Over the past few years, I’ve been focusing more on the little things that I thought would help me maintain a level of performance I’m happy with. Over this time, I was seeing my performances slide and last year, when I pulled my calf, I realized something needed to change.

So I went back to the basics. After taking some time to return to health, I broke everything down and went back to the fundamentals. While I built up more quickly than any beginner would, I went toward treating my training like a beginner’s. Nothing fancy, just lay a good base with a bunch of easy miles, occasionally running faster than on other days and about once a week going longer.

How should I run an easy run? It seems so basic, it almost seems ridiculous to ask. Maybe that’s why people don’t ask. Even when they should.

Yes, the easy run is basic in principle but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask the question. Because people seem to be afraid to ask, I’m going to ask and answer myself. So here it goes…

I was planning to write a different, far more in depth post for this week but I came down with a cold and didn’t have the time and energy to finish it. So I’m writing this quick reminder instead.

It’s that time of the year. Racing season is over for most of us. We may have a few winter races on the schedule but, generally, we’re looking at least a few months out before our next important races.

So what do we do with this time?

We build our base. Why? How?

Continue reading “The bigger the base, the higher the peak”