Twenty-three years ago, when I started running, very few people really understood how to structure a training program. Back then, almost every workout was done at maximum effort. The idea was simple: if you trained harder every day, you would become a better runner.
And, to be honest, it seemed to work.
Our race times improved, we felt ourselves getting fitter, and we believed we were doing everything right. If the stopwatch showed progress, why would we question the process?
Over the years, I had the opportunity to work alongside outstanding running coaches and deepen my understanding of exercise physiology, biomechanics, and injury prevention. Gradually, I realized that becoming a better runner isn’t simply about training harder.
Today, we know that staying healthy requires much more than logging miles. Strength training, muscular balance, joint stability, mobility, and proper recovery all play a critical role. But there’s another piece that often doesn’t get the attention it deserves: a well-structured weekly training plan, where every session has a purpose and fits within the bigger picture of your training cycle.
Even today, I still see many runners making the same mistakes I made more than two decades ago.
And that’s understandable.
Running has grown tremendously over the past several years. More people are discovering the sport every day, which is fantastic. But with that growth comes an even greater need to educate runners on how real progress actually happens.
Many runners still believe that easy running is wasted training. They think every workout should leave them exhausted if they want to improve.
Science tells us otherwise.
Easy runs are essential for developing your aerobic system, the foundation that allows you to maintain your target pace for longer periods of time. The stronger that aerobic base becomes, the more efficiently your body can sustain faster speeds when race day arrives.
Easy running also supports the constant recovery and adaptation your body goes through during a training cycle, especially after harder sessions. Those adaptations—not the workouts themselves—are what ultimately make you a better runner.
There’s another benefit that often goes unnoticed: running economy.
Because easy runs are performed with less fatigue, they allow you to accumulate thousands of high-quality repetitions. Your nervous system has more opportunities to reinforce efficient movement patterns, gradually making your running mechanics smoother and more economical. In other words, you’re not only training your heart and muscles—you’re also teaching your brain to move more efficiently through repetition. That’s one of the most powerful forms of motor learning an endurance athlete can develop.
Perhaps the biggest mindset shift any runner can make is understanding that not every workout is designed to make you tired. Some workouts exist to prepare your body for the next quality session.
So I’ll leave you with one final thought.
If the fastest marathon runners in the world are comfortable running close to a 6:00 min/km (around 9:40 min/mile) pace on their recovery days, chances are you should be running even slower than you think on yours.
Allow your body to adapt gradually to the speed and mileage you hope to achieve. Don’t rush the process.
And most importantly, don’t compare yourself to people who only appear to be training better. Compare yourself to those who continue improving year after year because they stay healthy, remain consistent, and trust a training process built on science.
Performance isn’t built in a single workout.
It’s built over hundreds of them.
