As runners, we often get stuck in a rut. We've been running for years (or decades!) but see only slight improvement beyond the newbie gains we enjoyed initially.
What gives? You put in the work and run the miles, race the races, and even do some speed work here and there, but you seem to have plateaued indefinitely. You aren't getting faster. Running may feel easier than initially and more enjoyable, but you haven't seen tangible improvements in a long time. Many runners ask, “Why am I not getting faster?”
The answer lies in training and understanding the difference between exercising and training.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXERCISING AND TRAINING
First, what is exercise? Exercise is moving your body for health, enjoyment, or social/community interaction. It can be a jog, walk, cardio class, lifting weights, bike riding, pickleball, dancing, or any other intentional physical activity. Exercise is excellent for physical and mental health. It benefits us and has many positive health outcomes (preaching to the choir here: you should definitely exercise!), but exercising is not the same as training.
What is training? Training is practice—deliberate practice towards a specific goal. Running 10-20 miles a week for several years (or decades) without short-term goals for individual workouts and long-term outcomes is exercise, not training.
Striving outside of your comfort zone to reach a stretch goal that is just beyond your capabilities is training. Identifying weaknesses and working to improve is training. Reviewing trends in your results and applying feedback and new knowledge with outcome-based decision-making is training.
Training is hard; exercise can feel challenging, but it only qualifies as training (or deliberate practice) if it is actively working towards building a new skill that leads to a specific overarching goal.
My point is not that exercising is terrible; training is good. They both have their place. There is nothing wrong with exercising and moving to feel good and be healthy. But many people make the mistake of exercising, thinking they are training, and then wondering why they aren't seeing improvements. If you aren't analyzing and just doing, you are exercising.
Pursue Mastery of Skills:
Running is a skill. Sure, anyone can strap on shoes and start running (and I encourage that—start!). However, to run faster, specific skills may need improvement. The skills outlined here are not an exhaustive list, but some things that come immediately to mind that, when improved, can affect your running performance.
10 Skills to DEVELOP TO Improve Running Performance
Pacing (be able to feel, control, and increase/decrease speed)
Running form (body position for efficient running)
Technique (foot strike, cadence, stride length)
Heart-rate training (training to run faster at a lower heart rate)
Breathing for efficiency
Nutrition for performance and recovery
Mindset for performance, resilience, and self-talk
Strength training for running performance and injury prevention (programming, technique, form, applying progressive overload)
Effective warmups, cooldowns, and stretching to enhance mobility and injury prevention
Recovery, sleep, and stress management for performance and recovery (understanding and applying the principles of rest and recovery on performance improvements)
As you can see, getting faster is about more than speed work or pacing. Many factors affect performance outcomes. You could have other underdeveloped skills holding you back from your potential. Most runners dabble in some of these skills for a short time but quickly move on when they get bored or frustrated.
WORK TO IMPROVE ONE NARROW ASPECT OF TRAINING
It is inefficient to work on everything at once. How could you? Many runners make the mistake of vaguely trying to improve everything at once with no real focus or intention, or they quickly move from one skill to another when things get hard.
The best strategy is to focus on one or two narrow aspects of training to enhance and stretch outside of what feels physically or mentally comfortable. Deliberate practice should feel messy, uncomfortable, and slightly strained. Embrace this idea: Does it feel uncomfortable? Good. That feeling is how you know you are on the right track. And then you don't give up when it gets hard, you fail, or you feel frustrated.
When the challenge equals the skill level, it feels easy; we feel good (which is great), but we don't grow or improve from this place. This place is called exercising.
If the challenge slightly exceeds the current skill, and we don't give up, this is where the magic happens.
STEPS FOR DELIBERATE PRACTICE
1. DETERMINE WHERE YOU LACK THE NECESSARY SKILLS
No matter where you start, skill development is critical to achieving your running goals. We all have varying degrees of natural talent, which can take us far, but you must employ deliberate practice to continue improving. If you have been running for many years and not seeing the desired improvement, the first step is determining where you lack the necessary skills and choosing a place to begin.
I know what you might be thinking. That's a lot of different skills. Now I'm overwhelmed. I always assumed that if I wanted to get faster, I needed to do more speed work. How do I know where to start?
As I mentioned, simultaneously dabbling in all the skills will produce less dramatic results than honing in one skill and working on it for a long time. The time will pass anyway. If you have been running for years with slight improvement, imagine what progress you can make with deliberate skill development over the next few years.
WHAT SOUNDS FUN OR INTERESTING?
One way to choose where to start is to consider what sounds exciting or fun. It will get physically or mentally hard, so if you start with a challenge you think you might enjoy, you'll likely stick to it. Hill sprints or track intervals could be a great place to start if they sound weirdly fun (even if scary fun). What interests you?
WHAT IS THE LOW-HANGING FRUIT?
Another way to choose is to look for the low-hanging fruit. What sounds like the easiest skill to learn or change at first? After all, small wins and building confidence can snowball into more significant accomplishments. For example, if you already have experience with weights and are comfortable in the gym, fine-tuning your training for running-specific strength training could be an effective way to start. I saw my most significant improvements in running performance when I started lifting heavy weights. It can be a game-changer for some runners.
WHAT WILL MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT?
You can also choose a skill that will have the most significant impact, even if it is the hardest or will take the longest. Remember, stretching beyond what feels comfortable is vital. Identify a weakness and work to improve it. For example, runners often struggle with heart-rate training because it is a long and slow process to train your heart to run faster at a lower heart rate, but it can be rewarding and performance-enhancing over time.
2. SET A SMART GOAL
Set short-term goals specific to the skill you want to develop using the SMART goal format: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Ineffective: I will eat better to improve my running.
Effective: I will track my nutrition in an app and aim for 120 grams of protein and 300 grams of carbs to support my training five days per week for the next four weeks. I will journal before and after my workouts and make weekly adjustments based on how these nutrition changes affect how I feel and perform. (For example, actual nutrition goals may vary according to individual needs.)
3. ANALYZE RESULTS
Look at your training as an experiment and enter into problem-solving mode:
Log and track results over time.
Seek feedback (what can you improve instead of seeking cheer and praise).
Adjust strategy with outcome-based decision-making by applying new knowledge to training.
You can do this independently with a training journal (I highly suggest journalling outside your Garmin) or with a coach. I may be biased, but working with a coach on your goals and skill development can fast-track the process.
HELPFUL TIPS FOR DELIBERATE PRACTICE
The point is failing (and then learning). If you always achieve the goal you set for yourself, then you are not reaching enough.
Try to approach practice without self-judgment. You are not a failure, stupid, incapable, weak, or slow (or whatever else your unhelpful brain comes up with) because you didn’t hit a goal. You are doing work that most people won’t do.
Deliberate practice does not mean beating yourself into the ground. It is not a hard effort for hard effort’s sake. See skill #10 (applying the principles of recovery).
You can improve almost anything with an applied effort at the far edge of your current skills. Often, the difficulty is in the mental work as much as the physical practice, which makes the deliberate practice so strenuous (and why so many runners skip over it).
Run because you love it; then, you can take that love to new levels when you practice and apply new skills for continuous improvement. Does it mean you will make the next Olympic team or qualify for Boston within six months? Probably not, but you can improve beyond what you ever thought possible with focused training and dogged determination.
The payoff is not just in the results but in the person you become in the process.
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Questions? I’d love to help.
