The Focus of Running Should Be Injury Prevention and Not Cardiovascular Training

Run slow to run more, further, and faster

I maintain a consistent running schedule of 12 miles at an 8-minute pace every other day. I’ve also completed numerous 26.2-mile marathons in 3.5–4.0 hours including two ultramarathons of 51.6 miles in 2011 and 2013.

In absolutely no way do I claim to be a talented runner. I’m amazed that I can maintain such a consistent running schedule long-term and hit such distances. The performance is achievable by anyone reasonably healthy since it’s more a testament to good training and ability to run “despite” not having any natural ability.

It hasn’t always been this way and it has required a lot of experience and learning to get here for what seems like a simple activity.

I want to share my own experiences and hope that the lessons I learned can make you become a better runner without having to learn them the hard way as I did.

Experiences as a Beginner

Injuries

When I first started running seriously over a decade ago, I always focused on pushing myself to run further and faster. I thought simply pushing harder was a self-evident strategy to become a better runner. But it…