Remember those days when you just, well, ran? No fancy gadgets, no Strava stalking, just you and the open road? That was totally me when I first laced up my sneakers. I was a pure “feel” runner – a little trot, a little walk, a little more trot, and then… yep, more walking. It was a beautiful, chaotic mess, and little did I know, I was actually doing something called fartlek training. Who knew my totally unscientific method had a fancy Swedish name? It took me years to figure that out!
My big goal back then? Just to run non-stop. And eventually, after much huffing and puffing, I got there! That’s when I truly fell head over heels (sometimes literally) for running.
The Game-Changer: Embracing the Plan
While going with the flow was fun, my running started to soar when I finally caved and followed a plan. Back in the day, Runner’s World had this awesome app that would spit out a personalised program based on your details. It was glorious… until they put it behind a paywall. Womp womp.
Sure, there are tons of free generic plans out there, and they’re a great starting point. But if you’re serious about seeing real progress, I can’t recommend investing in a coach enough. My running group is a treasure trove of plans, from speedy 5km sprints to epic ultra-marathons. Whenever I’ve had a new goal, boom – there’s a plan just waiting for me.
Life Happens, Running Adapts
The last few years have been a bit of a blur, race-wise. No specific goals meant I was just maintaining fitness. But even then, was I following a plan? You 100% betcha I was! Even just maintaining benefits from some structure.
However, let’s be honest, my running mojo had taken a serious nosedive. The last few years have been, shall we say, a bit “arse” when it came to pounding the pavement. With some pretty big life shifts – COVID, moving in with the in-laws (love ’em!), building and moving into a new house, job changes, and then the delightful rollercoaster of perimenopause with its uninvited guest, weight gain (thanks, medication!) – running just felt like slogging through treacle.
The 20-Minute Revelation
But then, a glimmer of hope! I decided to go back to basics, right back to the good old 5km. If I ever want to conquer another ultra, I need to rebuild that base distance and endurance. For the last six months, I’ve been consistently hitting about 15km a week. Not much compared to my past glory days, but it’s a start! My initial goal was to consistently get to 20km a week and then gradually build up to a peak week of 50km.
So, I reconnected with my amazing coach, and her suggestion was a total game-changer: a 5-10km training plan based on 20-minute sessions.
Twenty minutes?! It doesn’t sound like much, does it? Especially when you’re already time-poor and it’s the middle of winter. But let me tell you, those 20-minute runs have been a revelation! Not only have they helped me build endurance back into my legs, but I can now run on consecutive days without feeling completely trashed. I can knock out a 20-minute run and still have energy to hit the gym afterwards. It just made sense!
And then there’s my dedicated long run day. It started at a manageable 30 minutes, then gradually crept up to 40, 45, 50, 60, and now I’m comfortably cruising for 70 minutes. And the best part? I’m loving every minute of it! I’m not feeling that crushing fatigue like I used to, my legs aren’t made of lead, and I’m not having to stop and walk.
So, if you’re thinking you can’t get much done in 20 minutes, think again! Sometimes, those tiny bursts of effort are exactly what you need to get your running mojo not just back, but soaring higher than ever before.
What small step could you take to get your running back on track?