After running XC in high school (I wasn't good), I was so burnt out on it that I swore I'd never run again - only to pick it back up in my mid 20's and I've been going strong ever since. Running has been an important part of my physical and mental well-being for years. There's a distinct difference in how I feel on the days I run as opposed to the days I don't. This has never been more apparent than during the pandemic. In a time when nothing seems normal, running is one of the only normal things I have. With nothing to train for, I've been pushing myself harder than I have in years. I think this is partly to see if I still "have it." I qualified for Boston and ran it in 2011. I'm now 42 and while I wouldn't say I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, I'm definitely in really good shape. My split times are the fastest they've been in at least 5 years. I also think that part of why I've run so much during the last several months is to prove that I'm healthy. Side note - I had shoulder surgery in June and had to take 6 weeks off from running. I knew it was going to be a challenge to not run for that long, but I needed to get my shoulder taken care of. When I was finally able to get back out there, it was like a re-birth. I've always known running is a huge part of who I am and I should probably be more appreciative of the fact that I can keep putting in miles. I'll also say that I enjoy finding new ways to challenge myself, even without a race on the horizon. Every day and every run is a new way to measure yourself physically and mentally - even on the days when my legs are heavy or I don't feel like rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn. As John L. Parker wrote in one of all-time favorite books, Once a Runner, running truly is 'The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.' I'm grateful to have it in my life.
I’m 38 and had been a runner, but before it was effortless. I went out, I sweat, I didn’t put too much thought into it and I would steadily improve. It’s not so effortless these days. I do about 3 runs a week, 5 km each run. Living in an icy climate, the goal is to maintain that routine and not get hurt. Maybe start trying to improve in the Spring. But I’ve never put much thought into training before. And I also have never really talked to anybody about running or done research. So your newsletter is coming around at the right time. Weirdly, reading your first two posts before runs has led to me putting more effort in. It’s like just reading your words makes me more accountable. Cool.
That's amazing. Thank you. I don't know why, but things start getting harder when you hit 40. At least they did for me. But with age comes wisdom, or something. Keep at it and stay healthy.
Honored to be mentioned for running slow! In all seriousness, a family friend is a running coach, who works with a lot of fast people. After I ran a marathon a precious few seconds under three hours, she had me hop on the phone with one of her clients, who flat refused to take her word that I had done my weekend long training runs at 9- or 10-minute mile pace. (She says long, fast training runs tend to be the ones where people get hurt.) Especially in the pandemic, I have to admit my primary pacing thing has been: I'll run with you. In fact, a half-step behind you, so you don't feel rushed. Whoever you are. If we need to run fast as hell or slow as molasses, I'm just happy for the company.
Where do I sign up? Honestly, this is the best secret underground community. Scaling hills with Paul in the hills above Berkeley in the Finals, all through the "pearl necklace" of Boston with a U of Oregon business professor every MIT Sloan, through the June heat of San Antonio, Miami, or Los Angeles. My people!
loving the newsletter. Flan has long been a running inspiration for me, and he's a fantastic writer. Best of both worlds. Set to run my first half marathon on Saturday. If I don't make it back tell my family I love them
I am 33 and, thanks to years of being more worried about building muscle with weights as opposed to pursuing cardiovascular health, I was almost 300 pounds with dizzyingly high blood pressure as of this July. I decided to change course and stop worrying about my bench press. I changed my diet and started running. I've lost 42 pounds since mid-summer but am starting to plateau and am desperate not to sacrifice my progress at the altar of poor holiday decision making. I find Google searching useless when it comes to sourcing the best run tracking apps, training programs, and nutritional insight (eating for running). If anyone in this thread has resources that they use and would be comfortable replying with I'd be thrilled to receive your suggestions. Thank you!
Wow, that's great progress. Kudos to you. The plateau is something we all struggle with. I like mixing things up, maybe backing off just a bit to get that feeling of excitement back. Trust yourself. You can do it.
"Repetitive runs" -- I run a fairly similar route each day. Sometimes I run further and sometimes I run less, but even those are fairly similar. I don't know if it's the uniqueness of where I run -- downtown Washington DC to the White House and along the mall to the Lincoln Memorial (or to the Capitol and then Lincoln Memorial for longer runs) -- but it hasn't gotten old for me. I have started to make some modest changes, but I'm still enjoying that stretch.
At some point I want to break out a bit more in terms of distance. I think I max out at about 9 miles and I usually only run that a couple times a month. I was going to run my first half marathon this past March, but that obviously changed. I'm re-registered for next March, but that too remains up in the air. Either way, I want to get up over 13 miles in my training.
If I were to point to a specific challenge, it's a lack of a specific plan. I want to build distance but I also just enjoy my regular runs. I don't track speed at this point, and I'm trying to decide if I really want to formalize my process or just run with what feels good and that's that.
Finally trained for and completed multiple 10Ks on my own in June/July this year. Before the pandemic, I signed myself up for a 10K trail run out here in the Seattle area and was really looking forward to it. Once it was clear I wasn't going to be running in any events with other people, I just focused on the training plan and got to it.
Then in late July, we bought a house and spent the summer figuring out how to start living in it and working on it. My running fell off, especially because we moved to a different part of town where I'd need to find new routes.
I've gone out in fits and spurts in September, but yesterday I really embraced the slow, meandering glory of it all and made up a new route that took my along Lake Washington, up through a ravine in one of the parks, down through the neighborhood and back along the lake. I logged exactly none of my best miles, and nothing close to my longest from earlier this year, and the runner's high was still incredible.
Thanks for starting this space, Paul. Longtime fan of yours and so glad to be a part of it.
Really glad I stumbled across your writing. I’ve been for years a “fair weather runner”. I’m 90 mins west of you and ran when the weather was nice. That usually meant late March to October. The same 3ish mile route once or twice a week. Most I’d even run in a year was 190 miles. Not much I know. At the end of 2019 I decided to set some goals and stop making excuses. I was getting older (turned 48 this year) and not feeling good about myself. I set a goal of running 300 miles and doing a 10 mile run at some point (previous high was 6 miles). Hit the 300 miles much earlier than anticipated. Changed it to 400. Then 500. I did my 10 mile run and am 15 miles away from 500 for the year. One thing that really made a big difference for me was realizing my form was dogshit and I’d been running wrong my whole life. Thanks to Born to Run I worked hard on my form and injuries have been minimal this year unlike every other year. I’ve come to grips with the fact I’m never going to run a 5k with splits that start with a 7. Those days are gone. Now I run for myself. And if that means a 3 mile run or a 9 mile run that’s cool. If that means an 8:30 pace or 10:00, whatever. I got out there. And everything’s relative. Your 12 mile trail run seems insane to me. Yet I have friends that see my runs and tell me I’m crushing it and they couldn’t keep up. One thing I am struggling with severely right now is motivation. It’s dark in the morning and it’s dark after work. And cold. And dammit is it hard to get out there. Even geared up. So if you’ve got any tips for this older dude to become stronger mentally I’m all ears. Happy to be a part of this community.
I started running a few years ago to try and get into shape. I hated running my entire life and I couldn't believe I enjoyed it so much. I was running a 5k about every other day. I stopped running in July because it goto too hot. I look forward to starting up again. Thanks, Paul!
Made some of those mistakes over the past year and it's catching up to me. In PT right now to strengthen my hip, which has apparently caused a lot of the problems. Learning a lot about my body as I do it. Really hoping to run pain free in the next few months so I can stop worrying about what the next day will bring post-runs.
Love the stuff so far, Paul. Will be sharing it with my running club up here in NYC.
As a former college runner I have to remind myself to not live in the past in terms of times and expectations. I've tried to limit my comparisons to what I've run in my 40s not my 20s. I can definitely say that running slow on easy days is important and that if you are scheduled to run hard and don't feel up to it, sometimes it's best to adjust your training rather than risk injury. Glad to be able to follow your running journey
Newsletter is great -- almost as good as hitting the Skyline Trail! In other words, I'm here for the Boston-based content (as long as it doesn't involve Cambridge). I was getting into a nice groove last year -- after months of having my local running club's 5:30am start circled on my calendar I finally showed up... and never left. Making friends as an adult is hard, and I immediately clicked with this group and now I'm bummed we haven't been able to meet for months. I'm not a super fast or competitive person but I got really into hitting a personal goal of a 90 minute half (the BAA Half Marathon route is basically entirely my neighborhood) and hit it last Oct... then geared up for a full marathon which was canceled from the pandemic. Without something circled on my calendar I'm having a hard time figuring out how to do more an improve. The race-date was helpful to make sure I carved out the time from family responsibilities, and need to find a way to replace it with another goal... maybe that Skyline trail needs me to hit the whole thing?
I'm just beginning to get back into running after a couple of years of not doing much. Tomorrow will be day 3. Nice to get back into it, and training for my 6th marathon next year in the fall hopefully.
One other major way we push ourselves is mentally. This past April I had a 50-miler planned as part of training for my first 100-miler in September. The race got cancelled, but I ran it on my own anyway because I had so much training under my belt and I knew it was important for the eventual 100.
The run went by great, I felt great and super proud of what I'd accomplished. But immediately after I thought "there is no f*ing way I can do the 100." It wasn't that I thought I'd fail, it was more than the thought of all that training - so much more than what I'd done for the 50 - made me feel nauseous. I didn't want to spend ten hours each weekend running circles around New York City all summer.
It took me a week or two of introspection, along with some very kind words from family, to decide that there was absolutely nothing wrong with bailing from the 100. I'll run one someday when I'm in the right mental space to do so.
Running is a very individualistic pursuit, which makes it much easier to beat yourself up: about your performance, about your toughness, about your dedication. But a lot of times it's completely unwarranted, and we need an outside perspective to remind ourselves that simply running (in any form) is something to be proud of. The rest is just gravy.
Super cool by you to do that 50. My first 50 was canceled and I replaced it with the AT. 41 is close to 50 ... but it's not 50. Good to take a step back. Love the perspective.
Paul, I haven't run consistently since high school but this was a great read. Miss you on the NBA beat and glad to still have a chance to read your stuff.
Former 5k & occasional 10-miler trying to get back a decade later in much worse shape at age 49. Looking forward to your posts giving me that push.
Happy to have you on board. Let's get it.
After running XC in high school (I wasn't good), I was so burnt out on it that I swore I'd never run again - only to pick it back up in my mid 20's and I've been going strong ever since. Running has been an important part of my physical and mental well-being for years. There's a distinct difference in how I feel on the days I run as opposed to the days I don't. This has never been more apparent than during the pandemic. In a time when nothing seems normal, running is one of the only normal things I have. With nothing to train for, I've been pushing myself harder than I have in years. I think this is partly to see if I still "have it." I qualified for Boston and ran it in 2011. I'm now 42 and while I wouldn't say I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, I'm definitely in really good shape. My split times are the fastest they've been in at least 5 years. I also think that part of why I've run so much during the last several months is to prove that I'm healthy. Side note - I had shoulder surgery in June and had to take 6 weeks off from running. I knew it was going to be a challenge to not run for that long, but I needed to get my shoulder taken care of. When I was finally able to get back out there, it was like a re-birth. I've always known running is a huge part of who I am and I should probably be more appreciative of the fact that I can keep putting in miles. I'll also say that I enjoy finding new ways to challenge myself, even without a race on the horizon. Every day and every run is a new way to measure yourself physically and mentally - even on the days when my legs are heavy or I don't feel like rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn. As John L. Parker wrote in one of all-time favorite books, Once a Runner, running truly is 'The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.' I'm grateful to have it in my life.
I'm grateful you're here with us. Keeping my running schedule has been the only normal thing about this time. Fantastic story. Thank you.
I’m 38 and had been a runner, but before it was effortless. I went out, I sweat, I didn’t put too much thought into it and I would steadily improve. It’s not so effortless these days. I do about 3 runs a week, 5 km each run. Living in an icy climate, the goal is to maintain that routine and not get hurt. Maybe start trying to improve in the Spring. But I’ve never put much thought into training before. And I also have never really talked to anybody about running or done research. So your newsletter is coming around at the right time. Weirdly, reading your first two posts before runs has led to me putting more effort in. It’s like just reading your words makes me more accountable. Cool.
That's amazing. Thank you. I don't know why, but things start getting harder when you hit 40. At least they did for me. But with age comes wisdom, or something. Keep at it and stay healthy.
Honored to be mentioned for running slow! In all seriousness, a family friend is a running coach, who works with a lot of fast people. After I ran a marathon a precious few seconds under three hours, she had me hop on the phone with one of her clients, who flat refused to take her word that I had done my weekend long training runs at 9- or 10-minute mile pace. (She says long, fast training runs tend to be the ones where people get hurt.) Especially in the pandemic, I have to admit my primary pacing thing has been: I'll run with you. In fact, a half-step behind you, so you don't feel rushed. Whoever you are. If we need to run fast as hell or slow as molasses, I'm just happy for the company.
Still haven't forgotten that hill workout Henry. Next up: The Beast!
You know what? I might run over to that hill right now. You have inspired me.
Hope it’s cool if we hang out across more than one substack, Henry. Basketball nerds who run, unite.
Where do I sign up? Honestly, this is the best secret underground community. Scaling hills with Paul in the hills above Berkeley in the Finals, all through the "pearl necklace" of Boston with a U of Oregon business professor every MIT Sloan, through the June heat of San Antonio, Miami, or Los Angeles. My people!
loving the newsletter. Flan has long been a running inspiration for me, and he's a fantastic writer. Best of both worlds. Set to run my first half marathon on Saturday. If I don't make it back tell my family I love them
Look at you! You'll be fine. Go get it, brother.
I am 33 and, thanks to years of being more worried about building muscle with weights as opposed to pursuing cardiovascular health, I was almost 300 pounds with dizzyingly high blood pressure as of this July. I decided to change course and stop worrying about my bench press. I changed my diet and started running. I've lost 42 pounds since mid-summer but am starting to plateau and am desperate not to sacrifice my progress at the altar of poor holiday decision making. I find Google searching useless when it comes to sourcing the best run tracking apps, training programs, and nutritional insight (eating for running). If anyone in this thread has resources that they use and would be comfortable replying with I'd be thrilled to receive your suggestions. Thank you!
Wow, that's great progress. Kudos to you. The plateau is something we all struggle with. I like mixing things up, maybe backing off just a bit to get that feeling of excitement back. Trust yourself. You can do it.
"Repetitive runs" -- I run a fairly similar route each day. Sometimes I run further and sometimes I run less, but even those are fairly similar. I don't know if it's the uniqueness of where I run -- downtown Washington DC to the White House and along the mall to the Lincoln Memorial (or to the Capitol and then Lincoln Memorial for longer runs) -- but it hasn't gotten old for me. I have started to make some modest changes, but I'm still enjoying that stretch.
At some point I want to break out a bit more in terms of distance. I think I max out at about 9 miles and I usually only run that a couple times a month. I was going to run my first half marathon this past March, but that obviously changed. I'm re-registered for next March, but that too remains up in the air. Either way, I want to get up over 13 miles in my training.
If I were to point to a specific challenge, it's a lack of a specific plan. I want to build distance but I also just enjoy my regular runs. I don't track speed at this point, and I'm trying to decide if I really want to formalize my process or just run with what feels good and that's that.
Hey Fooch! Man, if it's working for you right now, I say roll with it and enjoy. It's never too late or early to make adjustments.
Finally trained for and completed multiple 10Ks on my own in June/July this year. Before the pandemic, I signed myself up for a 10K trail run out here in the Seattle area and was really looking forward to it. Once it was clear I wasn't going to be running in any events with other people, I just focused on the training plan and got to it.
Then in late July, we bought a house and spent the summer figuring out how to start living in it and working on it. My running fell off, especially because we moved to a different part of town where I'd need to find new routes.
I've gone out in fits and spurts in September, but yesterday I really embraced the slow, meandering glory of it all and made up a new route that took my along Lake Washington, up through a ravine in one of the parks, down through the neighborhood and back along the lake. I logged exactly none of my best miles, and nothing close to my longest from earlier this year, and the runner's high was still incredible.
Thanks for starting this space, Paul. Longtime fan of yours and so glad to be a part of it.
Happy to have you, Simon. That sounds like a gorgeous run.
Rainier with sunset is undefeated.
Really glad I stumbled across your writing. I’ve been for years a “fair weather runner”. I’m 90 mins west of you and ran when the weather was nice. That usually meant late March to October. The same 3ish mile route once or twice a week. Most I’d even run in a year was 190 miles. Not much I know. At the end of 2019 I decided to set some goals and stop making excuses. I was getting older (turned 48 this year) and not feeling good about myself. I set a goal of running 300 miles and doing a 10 mile run at some point (previous high was 6 miles). Hit the 300 miles much earlier than anticipated. Changed it to 400. Then 500. I did my 10 mile run and am 15 miles away from 500 for the year. One thing that really made a big difference for me was realizing my form was dogshit and I’d been running wrong my whole life. Thanks to Born to Run I worked hard on my form and injuries have been minimal this year unlike every other year. I’ve come to grips with the fact I’m never going to run a 5k with splits that start with a 7. Those days are gone. Now I run for myself. And if that means a 3 mile run or a 9 mile run that’s cool. If that means an 8:30 pace or 10:00, whatever. I got out there. And everything’s relative. Your 12 mile trail run seems insane to me. Yet I have friends that see my runs and tell me I’m crushing it and they couldn’t keep up. One thing I am struggling with severely right now is motivation. It’s dark in the morning and it’s dark after work. And cold. And dammit is it hard to get out there. Even geared up. So if you’ve got any tips for this older dude to become stronger mentally I’m all ears. Happy to be a part of this community.
That's awesome. I do almost all my runs first thing in the morning. The thing about running in the cold is, once you get started you warm right up.
I started running a few years ago to try and get into shape. I hated running my entire life and I couldn't believe I enjoyed it so much. I was running a 5k about every other day. I stopped running in July because it goto too hot. I look forward to starting up again. Thanks, Paul!
Awesome, glad to have you on board.
Made some of those mistakes over the past year and it's catching up to me. In PT right now to strengthen my hip, which has apparently caused a lot of the problems. Learning a lot about my body as I do it. Really hoping to run pain free in the next few months so I can stop worrying about what the next day will bring post-runs.
Love the stuff so far, Paul. Will be sharing it with my running club up here in NYC.
Wow, I'm honored. Thank you. I really wanted to get PT just before the pandemic hit. Those hips, man. They're trouble.
As a former college runner I have to remind myself to not live in the past in terms of times and expectations. I've tried to limit my comparisons to what I've run in my 40s not my 20s. I can definitely say that running slow on easy days is important and that if you are scheduled to run hard and don't feel up to it, sometimes it's best to adjust your training rather than risk injury. Glad to be able to follow your running journey
That's such an important element. I struggle with letting go of what I was, but trying to embrace who I am.
Newsletter is great -- almost as good as hitting the Skyline Trail! In other words, I'm here for the Boston-based content (as long as it doesn't involve Cambridge). I was getting into a nice groove last year -- after months of having my local running club's 5:30am start circled on my calendar I finally showed up... and never left. Making friends as an adult is hard, and I immediately clicked with this group and now I'm bummed we haven't been able to meet for months. I'm not a super fast or competitive person but I got really into hitting a personal goal of a 90 minute half (the BAA Half Marathon route is basically entirely my neighborhood) and hit it last Oct... then geared up for a full marathon which was canceled from the pandemic. Without something circled on my calendar I'm having a hard time figuring out how to do more an improve. The race-date was helpful to make sure I carved out the time from family responsibilities, and need to find a way to replace it with another goal... maybe that Skyline trail needs me to hit the whole thing?
90 minutes is a great goal. Sometimes maintaining is as important as progress.
I'm just beginning to get back into running after a couple of years of not doing much. Tomorrow will be day 3. Nice to get back into it, and training for my 6th marathon next year in the fall hopefully.
That's awesome. Good luck.
One other major way we push ourselves is mentally. This past April I had a 50-miler planned as part of training for my first 100-miler in September. The race got cancelled, but I ran it on my own anyway because I had so much training under my belt and I knew it was important for the eventual 100.
The run went by great, I felt great and super proud of what I'd accomplished. But immediately after I thought "there is no f*ing way I can do the 100." It wasn't that I thought I'd fail, it was more than the thought of all that training - so much more than what I'd done for the 50 - made me feel nauseous. I didn't want to spend ten hours each weekend running circles around New York City all summer.
It took me a week or two of introspection, along with some very kind words from family, to decide that there was absolutely nothing wrong with bailing from the 100. I'll run one someday when I'm in the right mental space to do so.
Running is a very individualistic pursuit, which makes it much easier to beat yourself up: about your performance, about your toughness, about your dedication. But a lot of times it's completely unwarranted, and we need an outside perspective to remind ourselves that simply running (in any form) is something to be proud of. The rest is just gravy.
Super cool by you to do that 50. My first 50 was canceled and I replaced it with the AT. 41 is close to 50 ... but it's not 50. Good to take a step back. Love the perspective.
Paul, I haven't run consistently since high school but this was a great read. Miss you on the NBA beat and glad to still have a chance to read your stuff.
right back at ya, scott. Can't wait to come back to NOLA