Level up: Week 2

How does running feel?

Welcome to Week 2 of the RP Level Up Challenge. This free 8-week program is designed to boost your running, whatever your current level. For the next eight weeks, I’m at your disposal for any questions or concerns about anything related to running. Feel free to email me by hitting reply to this newsletter or by leaving a comment (paid subscribers only.) 

One of the best things about building a sustainable running practice is the opportunity to improve with age. The years may ultimately slow our times, but experience brings hard-earned wisdom that serves us well in the long run that is life. 

Perhaps the most important lesson we can teach ourselves is how to run by feel. Especially these days when so much of our activity time is tied up in data and metrics, simply asking yourself – How did that feel? – can be an empowering question. 

While pace, time, and distance are all important variables that we can use to measure and track progress, running by feel offers an experience that’s both intrinsically rewarding and externally validating. You don’t need your watch to tell you whether your run was “good” or “bad” when you already know deep in your bones how it felt. 

There are no shortcuts or hacks. Learning to run by feel comes from a deep well of knowledge that’s collected via the time-tested method of trial and error. Every mile counts, and every outing offers the promise of a new opportunity for growth and development. 

This week, try making the most of your runs by leaning into how you feel both during and after your run. Whether you’re stressed and sore, happy and carefree, or some combination of the two depending on the day, take a few minutes to write about your experiences in your journal. 

Here are this week’s challenges:

Level I: Dial in your running time 

Are you a morning run type of person or does the thought of getting out of a warm cozy bed fill you with dread? Perhaps the afternoon is better for your schedule. Or, maybe an early evening time frame fits your lifestyle. The only ‘right’ time to run is the time that feels right to you. 

Your task this week is finding an optimal running time that works for you and your life. If you’re completely unsure where to begin, try running at different times of the day to see how they feel. If you have a general time frame, like morning or evening, use this week to begin locking in a more specific time of day. 

We’re building muscle memory along with habits. The more specific we can make our running time, the more our bodies will understand when it’s time to run. That will help us get out the door, even when we’d rather not. 

Week 2 Challenge: Experiment with different run times until you find one that’s repeatable and sustainable. Make sure you continue getting out three times a week with a rest day between runs. Take special note of how these runs feel in your journal. You're opening a dialogue with your body. Give it a chance to speak. 

Level II: In search of new routes 

Unlike our friends in Level 1, routines are not our problem. While it’s theoretically possible to be a middle-aged runner without regimented routines, it seems highly unlikely that a laissez-faire approach can be sustainable once all of life’s other responsibilities are factored into the equation. (Genuine kudos if you can pull it off.) 

The issue is when our routines take over our practice, trapping us in what my NBA friends refer to as, “The treadmill of mediocrity.” Let’s keep breaking out of our paradigms!  

This week, add at least two new routes to your repertoire. These runs can be entirely different from your regular routine, or they can be familiar routes that you run backwards. Maybe take a little from your A loop and combine it with your B loop. Whatever works. 

Week 2 Challenge: Switch things up, get creative, and make having fun a priority. In your journal, note three things that caught your eye during your run. The goal is to be intentional with your attention.  

In addition to running new routes, keep adding to your weekly mileage total. Assuming you’re not feeling any ill effects from last week’s bump, go ahead and add another 10 percent to last week’s total.

If you were a 20-mile a week runner before this challenge started, you should be up to 24 miles this week. (24.2 to be precise.) That’s a 20 percent increase from your normal week! Great job. 

Feel free to spread the mileage out over your runs, but try adding a mile or two to your long run. If you don’t have a long run, now would be an excellent time to start thinking about developing one. 

Level III: Pick up the pace 

Tempo is one of those running terms that gets thrown around indiscriminately. Depending on its context, a tempo run can take on very different meanings. For purposes of this program, a tempo run refers to any sustainable effort that is moderately more intense than your average running pace. 

If you’re familiar with heart rate zones, think Zone 3 effort rather than Zone 2, but not quite Zone 4 (threshold.) If all that sounds like gibberish, think about running a little bit faster than your average pace for a set period of time. If your average running pace is around 9 minutes per mile, try dropping down to 8 minutes. 

Tempos are not sprints or time trials. They are not meant to exhaust you or make you go to the well. (At least not yet.) At this point in our training cycle, tempos are meant to teach your body how to run at different speeds.  

Week 2 Challenge: This week, we’re adding tempo pickups to our regular runs. Following a suitable warmup of 1-2 miles, increase your effort for 1-2 minutes at the beginning of every mile before returning to your normal pace for the rest of the mile. 

As with strides, focus on acceleration rather than sprinting. Once you find your goal pace, stay there even if it feels easy. Tempo pickups should feel exhilarating, rather than exhausting. If making the effort to run a little bit faster feels like you're asking too much, back off. That’s your body's way of telling you to cool it. 

In your journal, make note of how running at a faster pace makes you feel. Does your body seem tense knowing it’s about to run fast, or is it loose and relaxed? How about your mind? Is it wary and anxious or ready to rock? 

No matter your level, it’s important to note that however you feel is how you feel. There are no right or wrong ways to feel when you’re running. Rest assured that everyone reading this has felt overwhelmed, tired, sore, and/or totally wrecked at one point or another during a run. 

Your goal throughout this challenge is to find where you are without judgment or prejudice. Only then can we begin fine tuning paces and developing our practice. Happy running, everyone.