miles per week

Rewiring my brain to lose the obsession with miles has had two mega-boosts this week, first with news of how Spartathlon winner Scott Jurek trains, and second with an inside take on what the 2:10 Kenyans like Ben Maiyo and "Baba" Kiogora are doing.

The "quality versus quantity" debate is drawing some passionate and well-informed comments here and elsewhere on this site. As a result of my research, I've already stopped doing "easy" morning runs, "recovery runs" and anything else that smacks of long, slow distance work.

Is the magic in the coach, the schedule, or the runner?

I'm beginning to think that the greatest gift a coach can bring to the table is the ability to encourage people to train consistently over time.

Yes, there is the technical aspect of knowing/feeling numbers and quality of reps and intervals and hills, but the most important thing is to keep people at it. That's where "the schedule" comes in. You get it once a week and know roughly what you'll be doing when... it makes it easier to find the time and to motivate yourelf knowing that there is a purpose to it AND a group of people waiting for you at 5pm!