A 100% effort, regardless of distance, is as challenging as it gets. The challenge just hits differently at different distances.

This week, dangerous weather is messing with my training plan. Instead of panicking or trying to “make up” what is being missed, I’m embracing the extra rest.

Things don’t always go as planned. Missing a few runs isn’t a disaster. The added rest might even help in the long term.

#running

For every run you do, you should be able to answer one simple question.

Sometimes, choosing in advance to give up on perfection allows us to get as close to perfection as possible. #running

When a training method starts trending, people tend to take it too far. It's often best in this case to look the other way and find a more moderate path.

Back in the day, the comparison game was easy. We'd compare ourselves to relatively few locals. Now, we are comparing ourselves to the global population. To everyone, especially younger runners: Be careful when doing these comparisons. You are better than you think you are.

I just ended a 704 day running streak. Other than "I don't like streaking" what did I learn from it?

The last point may be the most important lesson, for runners of all experience levels.

An outstanding 2 days!

Marathon. It sucks up all the energy but the truth is you invest 6 months for one day and, if anything goes wrong, it's all gone. A 5K, you can be back out there in a week or two.

Or maybe it's just because I've been burned by bad weather on marathon race days.

35F and rain. Wind for extra credit.

Darn, I'm late to the game but I just got back from the state championship track meet yesterday, where my awesome daughter's awesome friends/teammates finished 4th in the 4x800, 2nd and 7th in the 3200 and 14th in the 800. A member of the guys team took 3rd in both the 1600 and 3200.

Just caught myself thinking "I don't know why I always feel like I'm almost out of shorts. I'm only running 8-9 times a week right now." 🤷‍♂️

The talk test: if you can speak in full sentences, it's an easy run. You don't need to be able to recite poetry but you should be capable of more than a few words.

Talk test -> zone 2 -> talk test. Is the pendulum swinging back? If so, I think this is a great thing. The talk test is easy and automatically adjusts to multiple factors.

Who doesn't love summer running? With a bit of preparation and a few reminders, you'll be ready to make the most of it.

Cross Country is a great metaphor for life.

From the outside, it looks like an individual sport. A bunch of people running their own race.

But in reality, it's a team sport. The sooner we embrace the team aspect, the better we perform, and the more joy and connection we create.

The blog post that would be normally scheduled for tomorrow will be postponed 1 week. Sorry for the inconvenience but life got hectic and I'd rather be a week late than compromise on quality.

Planning to use your GPS to track splits and make sure you're on target pace at your next race? Be careful.

We often mistake complexity with knowledge.

A recent study found that people use jargon when they lack perceived status. They are compensating.

When we aren't secure in our knowledge or understanding, we complexify. When we know what we're talking about, we focus on clarity.

Don't be a Workout All American. Do your workouts the way they were designed to be done.

Very good point and she will definitely hear things at times she didn't ask for. Sometimes it's difficult to know what strings to pull but that's part of the art of coaching or, possibly even more challenging, being a parent/"coach" (according to the co-head coach, a title I'm hesitant to accept).

Or just ask. I saw that Ed Eyestone does that with the BYU guys and I'm borrowing that for my daughter and maybe a few of her friends. "What do you want to hear during the race? What will help? What will give you a boost when you most need it?"

I'm supposed to be taking my recovery time right now but my daughter's friend needed a partner for her long run yesterday and my daughter needed a partner for her long run today. Of course I wasn't going to say no to either of them. I know what my running priorities are.

From this past weekend. The rest of those guys look so young!

Yes! I see people racing their training runs way too often.

Success can and should mean different things to different people. Know what it means to you and strive for that. Don't fall into the trap of letting someone else, even your past self, define what success means for you.

When your training is going incredibly well and you're feeling invincible is exactly when you are very vulnerable. You're on that fine line between great training and doing a bit too much. Be cautious when you find yourself in this position.

When your birthday falls on a Saturday, race! It was a good birthday.

If you're racing to the best of your ability, no matter your fitness, it's going to be hard. Don't expect anything else.

The latest running influencer trend seems to be blaming all tightness on weakness. "You don't need to stretch, you need to strength train." While that may sometimes be true, tightness is often just tightness and stretching/massage helps.