I run as fast as I can everyday, why am I getting slower?

Falling into the trap of running fast every day

If you’re someone who laces up each day ready to try to tackle your local loop and beat your yesterday's self, you might be getting frustrated because you’re probably not progressing. I am assuming you’re pushing yourself to the limits every day and finding you aren’t actually getting any faster. Have I got good news for you? Firstly, as the old saying goes, slow down to speed up, yes, counterintuitively running slower for a lot of your runs will help you get faster. Secondly, running is about 80% easy running, 20% intensity across a week of running. Which means that most of your runs should be super comfortable, not trying to beat yesterday's self, just tuning into your body and taking it somewhat easy. Which, if you ask me, is giving zen, and we love zen.

I am here to tell you it is better for your running to take the time to zone out and take it easy.

Periodization of training

Alright, let’s chat about why running slower helps you run faster. Running slower is an essential part of periodizing your week around your more intense workouts. Periodization is all about the manipulation of load and intensity to maximise performance benefits over time. A “good” and I say “good” because, trust me, I have seen some bad running programs out there, but, a good week of training is a perfect example of this. Some days will be more intense and hard on your body and some days will pull the intensity right back. A good training program will consist of some easy runs, a speed run, a steady run, a run with strides and a long run all scheduled on balanced days to give you time to recover in between.

So why do we pull intensity back on your easy run days?

Running at an easy pace allows your body the time to recover from the intense workouts, such as a speed run. When you push your body hard in a speed session where your heart rate reaches high levels and your muscles are put under a lot of stress, you need time to recover. Recovery is just as important, if not more important than the training itself, so if you’re someone who hammers your runs everyday, I am sorry to say, you are just not allowing your body to recover and see progression. Running slow also means you will likely feel more fresh and ready to crush your next more intense run, such as your long run or steady run. The other reason we run slow to run fast is to improve aerobic fitness. When you run slow and keep your heart rate in an aerobic zone you are utilising oxygen as fuel and building your aerobic fitness. Aerobic fitness is the ability of your body to use oxygen efficiently as fuel when exercising. The higher your aerobic capacity, the fitter and faster you can be. Think about aerobic fitness as the base of a pyramid that you build upon with speed, strength training and other sessions that work on your other energy systems. So, to maximize your beautiful pyramid, you little Cleopatra Queen you, you need to run slow to then run fast.

Stop to smell the roses

So, to summarize, running fast everyday is a quick (pun intended) way to go backwards. Running is hard on your body and you need time to absorb and recover from the intensity. Know that pulling back pace does not mean you are a slower runner, it means you are a smart runner, prioritizing progress and sustainability over a punishing workout. Also, you get to enjoy the scenery, stop and smell the roses and truly take it all in. I will finish up with a final motivational one liner for you; to be the best runner you can be, give yourself grace to ignore the pace. You’ve got this Queen.