Elevate Your Running Game: Insights for Intermediate Runners

Embarking on my running journey at 16, I have accumulated now two decades of experience. The most important lessons I have learned that I believe can significantly benefit intermediate runners.

Train

1. Diverse Training – The Nutritious Run: Running is not like a box of chocolate, it is like a balanced diet. Incorporate trails, hills, track work, sprints, strides, and drills to prevent injuries, bolster strength, refine form, and ultimately, become a much more rounded runner. If you only eat chocolate, your tummy will hurt at some point, and you will start to feel weak (read: injury).

2. Purposeful Training – The Conscious Run: Every run should have a clear objective. Understand why you are hitting the pavement, whether it is for fun, speed, endurance, or specific physiological gains. Avoid the common pitfall of running at a moderate, non-specific effort level. Train either aerobically or anaerobically, not both simultaneously, to optimize progress and reduce injury risk. Otherwise, you will find yourself burnt out quickly, especially when progress is not as fast as it was at the beginning.

3. Exploration – The Autodidact Run: Occasionally, disconnect from metrics and run solely for personal discovery. Run alone, focus on your form and breathing, and immerse yourself in the sensory experience of running. This reflective practice can yield profound insights into your body’s capabilities and form improvement. This is when you truly learn your “zones”, e.g. the difference between a recovery run and an easy run.

4. Training Approach – The Effort-Based Run: Rather than fixating on distance and pace, prioritize training based on time and perceived exertion. This approach establishes realistic expectations for your body, aligning your efforts with your training goals. Train with a goal of time (e.g., 1h today), not distance.

5. Prioritize Running Form – The Proper Run: Investing in proper form is akin to a wise financial decision; it pays off in dividends. By optimizing your biomechanics, you prevent injuries, enhance speed, and reduce discomfort. Focus on higher knee lift, minimal ground contact time, and engaged core muscles. Remember, mastering form precedes investing in advanced footwear (esp. carbon shoes). I see you out there with race wheels on a rusty car :).

Start (if not already)

1. Embrace the Joy of Running: Running is a gift often overlooked. Cherish the ability to explore your surroundings with your legs. Consider joining a local running club to share this passion with a supportive community. If you are in LA: Koreatown Run Club!

2. Diversify Your Training Routine: Cross-training is the key to a well-rounded fitness regimen. Engage in activities like swimming, gym workouts, cycling, or yoga to keep challenging your body and mind in fresh, stimulating and different ways. The easiest way to minimize injury.

3. Post-Run Stretching Ritual: The power of a good stretch. Enough said. All of you, skipping that post-run stretch all of the time to check Strava and Instagram! It aids more than you can imagine and promote injury prevention.

4. Listen to Your Body: Treat your body like the finely tuned machine it is. No more squeaky wheels! Address any discomfort promptly by consulting specialists like physical therapists or orthopedists before minor issues escalate.

5. Invest in Proper Running Gear: Equip yourself with attire and footwear designed for running. No more basketball shorts or oversized shirts! Avoid ill-suited gear that can lead to discomfort and chafing, ensuring a more enjoyable and injury-free experience. You will thank me later.

6. Cut the Bulls**t: Unpopular opinion, at the amateur level, there is no overtraining. No matter how big you think your volume or intensity is, it is not. What amateur runners experience usually is poor recovery, poor nutrition, poor sleep, poor stretching. At the pro level, fatigue comes from (over)training. At the amateur level, fatigue comes from poor habits around the actual run. It is to confuse and it leads to the wrong fix.

7. Respect the Race: This one is only for people wanting to PR or place. Rest well before. Use oil on your legs to warm them up before a race (99% of pros are doing it but 1% of amateurs), study the course, take the inside of the turns. It is a race, not a supported fun run (unless you plan not to race the course).

Key Concepts

1. Optimized Nutrition: Fuel your body before, during, and after runs. Intermediate people usually feed well during the run as opposed to beginner runners. Where they usually fail is post-run and everyday nutrition. Please prioritize protein intake within an hour post-exercise to help you recover faster and replenish energy stores.

2. Respect the Recovery Phase: True progress occurs during rest, not training. Prioritize ample sleep and proper tapering to allow your body to regenerate. Alcohol consumption hinders the recovery process. Massage helps. Stretching is paramount. Try to live a life without an alarm clock (just for emergencies or unexpected life events). Your only body will thank you!

3. Cultivate Discipline: Dedication trumps mood and motivation in the pursuit of improvement. Assuming improvement is your goal (it is not for everyone), commit to a structured training plan, understanding that consistency is the bedrock of progress. However, postpone by a day a tough session if your body says no. I usually make my decision 20 minutes after warm-up and postpone 5% of my training to the day after. No training is often better than poorly executed training.

4. 80/20 Polarized Training GO EASY: Have a conscious run. 80% easy, 20% hard. Easy runs must be easy so you can go hard on your hard ones. So if you start your hard one feeling tired, your easy was not easy enough. Simple, right?
   My best analogy is here. Training is like a pyramid, and you want to go high. When you go easy, you build your base. When you go hard, you build those pointy things at the top. If you go hard all of the time, you will have plenty of little pyramids. And at the first sand storm (read injury, lack of consistency,…), your level is gone. So, first, build a strong wide base, then build the pointy things that can go now much higher and be solidly attached.

5. 80/20 Polarized Training GO HARD: The opposite also happens nowadays. Easy does mean not meaningless wandering. Use that time to focus on your form, engage your core, and do some strides. I see runners overuse the 80/20 to justify not going hard either. A wide base in the desert with no pointy thingy is also fairly useless (in terms of competitiveness and level improvement). So the 80/20 method should not serve as an excuse to cruise all of the time. There is still 20% of the time dedicated to going pretty hard and that does not include your warm-up time or recovery! 20% of total time with intense efforts is a good chunk of time. If you train 6h per week, that still means 1h15 at high intensity per week. I see you out there 🙂

6. Mastering Heart Rate Metrics: Heart rate is an incredibly valuable tool but requires complete understanding and customization. You have to set up your heart rate zones for various exertion levels and familiarize yourself with concepts like cardiac drift to effectively integrate this data into your training. Otherwise, it will be like throwing numbers without knowing the scale. Comparing max heart rate is like comparing foot size. If your foot is swollen after an effort, that is an indicator, but if your foot is larger than your friend’s, how does that impact your running? Misunderstanding heart rate monitoring is much worse than having no heart rate monitoring. It leads to absurd conversations and conclusions.

In Conclusion

Maintain your body, relish the journey, and remember that every step is a privilege. By incorporating these lessons and concepts into your running regimen, and continuously learn about it, you will become a better runner and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the art of running.

Which of these insights resonate with you?