By Dan Curts
I’m going to preface this by saying that performance, in a classical sense, is not everyone’s goal. That’s perfectly fine. Running is infinitely more than just how fast you can run and what your best finishes are. Those who run for the love of it are the foundation of the sport, and those who are chasing performance are supported by this foundation. Both groups stand to have a better experience in the sport by learning from one another. This being said, I think I can provide some insight as to what makes the pros so good: the careful balancing act that is training and recovery.
One ability of the pros is that they’re able to cut through the minutiae and extract what will help them most. The margins are too thin to miss and be wasting effort and energy. Training really comes down to a duality of focus. A fine balancing act between stubbornness and flexibility. When does this present itself? Everyday. Each day is an expression of this: knowing intuitively when to push on and when to back off. Creating adaptations requires an initial stress; your ability to recover allows you to absorb this stress and improve. The end result of this is effective training. The trick is being honest with yourself and approaching the training without an ego. Race performance is not dictated by how impressive your easy runs were. There are many pros who won’t break 7:30 per mile on easy days. There’s no trophy for workout champions.
“The trick is being honest with yourself and approaching the training without an ego.”
The latest gadgets and technologies that are pushed on social media aren’t what matter. Yes, they can help you accumulate metrics about your run and even perhaps derive data on your ‘recovery state,’ but ultimately, the personal relationship you have with your body and the ability to process the information it gives you and make the necessary decisions are most crucial. Performance below the elite level can often be shifted by whole percentage points simply by how you live your day to day life. When you’re trying to make changes at an elite level, those whole percentage points become tiny fractions of a percent. For the everyday runner, or even the serious runner, the largest and most impactful changes you can make come down to your focus, your recovery, and sticking to the plan.
Where is the value in all this information? Ideally, it can help you to loosen your mental grip on your watch metrics and instead focus on internal signals from your legs. The essence of a comprehensive training plan is understanding the goal of each day, which should be tailored to your specific race (or fitness) goals.
When you are able to distance yourself from split times, heart rate, or recovery recommendations, you may find that you’re able to more honestly and accurately evaluate how you’re doing on any given day. Listening to your legs rather than your watch is in and of itself a practice that takes time to cultivate and perfect. This careful balancing act, much like the rest of running, is not achieved overnight. However, with a bit more trust in your own intuition and a few less glances at your GPS, you can fine tune how you evaluate your training and recovery, and perhaps you will find that rather than expensive new watches and gadgets, the most valuable training tool that you can have is a focused and honest relationship with yourself.
About the Author
Dan is a runner currently chasing track marks around the country, from the mile to the 5000m. He prefers to run in the woods and plans on making an appearance in some trail races this coming year. When he’s not training, he enjoys listening to music, reading, or finding a new spot to go swimming.
