Easy run

Sun May 21, 2023

Stop worrying about improvements to start progressing.

I started running regularly last February. Eager to progress and motivated by a big race six months away, I ran, ran, ran. Nice improvements, ever longer runs, I’m on fire and… I hurt my knee within two months — tendinitis from the heavy load and insufficient rest. I had to stop running for a month and could only do short runs for the rest of the season.

I fell into the trap of “harder is better”. The more I pushed yourself, the more I should see progress… right? Unfortunately the body does not feel that way, it must recover after the effort. Like debt, stress on the tissues piles up and your body must pay interests: too much and you go bankrupt. Long and fast runs are especially pricey. In the end, I basically ran myself into the ground twice as fast.

This year, I wanted to have a healthier season and hopefully never get hurt again. So I started reading about the sport on the internet — and as a beginner it’s a lot better than just going with my guts.

Multiple sources emphasize running more distance per week but significantly slower: the easy run. So slow it’s actually difficult to do at first. You will need to walk so you can keep your heart rate low enough. It’s a hit to the ego to be in full running gear, going at crawling pace and having to stop to recover. And when you’re done, seeing the terrible stats on your watch. Now, I’m told that about 80% of my runs should look like that. Great.

Frustration was replaced by contentment as I no longer had to walk to keep my HR down. The dreadful-but-necessary 4-session weeks became stress-free: three of my runs are basically about showing up. I ceased to treat my running log as this sacred wall of fame only worthy of the best times. I’m just as happy seeing the pages fill up with “bad” runs. What started as a sprint to reach a goal evolved into a sustainable habit.

Maybe there’s something to learn about slowing down to go further?

If you stumbled upon this post searching how to prevent injuries, have a look at this excellent post on the subreddit /r/running (in three parts):