Whenever my friends first start running it always goes the same way…
They dust-off their Strava accounts, pop in their favourite tunes and run as hard as possible for as long as possible before their lungs give up.
After a few flat-outs, the endorphins of exercise and the dopamine of digital accolades keeps them coming back. Two runs a week. Then three.
Each time they keep one eye on the clock as their obsession with going further or faster takes hold. It works at the beginning. Their fitness improves.
Until suddenly that little niggle they’ve been putting off turns into an injury and they’re forced to accept that they’ll need to take a break.
They rest up. The weeks pass. And then they try again.
But this time they realise they’ve lost all their fitness.
And they’re back to square one.
By which point they do one of three things:
Quit and declare they’re ‘not a runner’.
Start the exact same cycle all over again.
Or reach out to their runner friend for advice.
Which, it turns out, often happens to be me.
To whom they always ask the same question “how do I get faster?”
To which I always give the same answer “to run fast, you must run slow”.
Rethinking Pareto’s Principle
Which seems like counter-intuitive advice, I know.
But, given I’ve managed a 5k in 14:49, a 10k in 31:24, a half marathon in 1:09:55 and am aiming for a sub 2:30:00 marathon next year, I can attest that it works.
For one very simple reason: every distance over 400m is an endurance sport, which requires a healthy aerobic base to build from.
Yes, the tempo, threshold and interval sessions are crucial. They’ll sharpen you for race-day. But, only if you easy run a lot first.
Meaning that the reality is a new twist on the classic Pareto’s principle…
Which states that in theory the 20% of training volume directed to the fast sessions should deliver 80% of the performance results.
And in some ways its true.
But, only if you’re focusing the other 80% of your training volume on cruising at a chatty pace in what we runners call “Zone 2 easy”.
Choose to neglect the 80% and the 20% can’t deliver the results.
And you’ll just end up injured.
Endlessly repeating the same cycle until you get bored.
But, It’s Not Just Running Advice
You see, a lot of life requires the same baseline.
You can’t be in a healthy relationship with someone else (20%) without being in a healthy relationship with yourself first (80%).
You can’t make the most of life saving treatments (20%) unless you’re already looking after your body first (80%).
You can’t invest money into your personal finances (20%) without actually covering all your (real) costs of living first (80%).
Each 20% might deliver 80% of the results.
But, none of that is possible without you first putting in the work to build the baseline that will enable you perform your best.
Never neglect the foundations.
Or you’ll find that the injury in your running career will become the cash crunch in your business and the falling out of love in your relationships.
To play offense (20%) you need strong defence (80%).
Summary
In a world obsessed with getting results in the shortest time possible preaching to focus on the ‘high value’ tasks because they ‘move the needle’ is seen as completely ordinary. And often even as great advice.
On the surface it makes sense. Our time is in short supply. And we want to spend it in the ‘best’ way possible. But beneath the tasks that we’re excited to tick off we must realise there exist four times as many that provide the baseline from which we can take on what matters with ease. So, when you look to excel in a new area of life don’t just look at the one-off events or breakthroughs, remember the daily consistent actions too.