Fitzgerald Matt - 80/20 running : run stronger and race faster by training slower

F ifteen years ago, when I was training at a high level with my twin brother, Weldon, a twenty-eight-minute 10K runner, and dreaming of the U.S. Olympic Trials, I had a conversation with my beloved ninety-year-old grandmother, BB, that Ill never forget.

Boys, I dont understand this running thing, she said. I can imagine nothing worse than waking up and realizing I was going to have to run fifteen miles that day.

BB, its not like you think, I replied. Running is the best part of my day. Most of the time Im not running hard. Weldon and I just run side by side at a relaxed pace and carry on a conversation for an hour and a half. Its a ninety-minute social hour.

Oh, that doesnt sound too bad, BB said. I always viewed running as a form of grueling punishment.

My grandmothers misconception was far from uncommon. A lot of people viewed running as she didand still do. But Matt Fitzgerald is about to let you in on a secret: Running isnt always supposed to be hard. In fact, most of the time, it should be easy and enjoyable.

You see, in order to yield steady improvement, a training system must be repeatableday after day, week after week, month after month. And guess what. Hard running isnt repeatable, either physically or psychologically. If you do too much of it, your body will burn out if your mind doesnt first.

The ultimate compliment for me in my peak training years was being passed on my easy runs by a runner who had a marathon time more than an hour slower than mine. Id say to myself, Hes wearing himself out today. Im building myself up.

All too many runners wear themselves out by running too fast too oftennow more than ever. There is an obsession these days with high intensity. Most of the trendy new training systems are focused on speed work. Running magazines, Web sites, and books cant say enough about the magical power of intervals. Even champion runners are more likely to credit their speed work instead of their easy running when interviewed after winning a race. Yet the typical elite runner does eight miles of easy running for every two miles of faster running.

Speed work may be sexier than easy running, but just as a weight lifter doesnt go hard two days in a row, a runner shouldnt either. A weight lifter actually gets stronger on days off. Similarly, a runner gets faster by going slow in the majority of his or her runs. Strangely, most weight lifters seem to understand this principle, while most recreationally competitive runners dont. Too much hard running is the most common mistake in the sport.

Thanks to Matt Fitzgeralds truly groundbreaking 80/20 running program, thats about to change. Building on new science that proves that a mostly-slow training approach is more effective, 80/20 Running makes the number one training secret of the worlds best runners available to runners of all abilities and all levels of experience. I only wish this book had existed when I was competing. As much as I appreciated the value of slow running, Fitzgeralds 80/20 running program makes optimal training simpler and more reproducible than its ever been by boiling it all down to one basic rule: Do 80 percent of your running at low intensity and the other 20 percent at moderate to high intensity. The rest is details.

I know it might be hard to believe that you can actually race faster by training slower, but after you read the compelling case for Fitzgeralds new method, you will definitely think its worth a try. And once youve tried it, I guarantee you will be completely convinced. If 80/20 running doesnt make your race times faster and your running experience more enjoyablewell, then I guess my grandma BB was right about running after all!