The Happy Runner: Love the Process, Get Faster, Run Longer

Happiness is not always a choice. But over time, with practice, being kinder to yourself can be. Unconditional self-acceptance is the most important step to being fulfilled independent of the twists and turns of life. And it’s also an essential step toward reaching your potential as a runner.

think of running as something that adds meaning to your life, rather than showing you that your life has no meaning at all.

Strength Work for the Athlete Who Hates Strength Work

On top of that, make sure your hips are strong and mobile. Coach Jay Johnson’s Myrtl routine is what we recommend most.

Start your runs with a solid warm-up consisting of lunges and leg swings (again, Coach Johnson’s Lunge Matrix/Leg Swings (LMLS) warm-up is wonderful).

All year, it’s good to do a long run that is 20 to 40 percent of your training volume each week. But when you start going 20 miles and up, make sure that your running economy is already in good shape, or you’ll just get better at slogging.

don’t overemphasize extra-long runs for extra-long races or crazy-vert training for crazy-vert racing.

when you don’t have an “A” race in the next few months, think about improving your 10K fitness. The 10K is the bellwether of performance at almost all distances—a better 10K means more half marathon potential or 100-mile potential. It rewards lots of easy running, well-developed top-end speed, and running economy at all effort levels, so it support

Specialized training builds the wall. Meanwhile, training focused on long-term development of running economy through a balanced approach to training adds more bricks to the pile.