Lessons from 200 Days of Running

Run streaks are growing in popularity. 200 days without a break is a great achievement. After completing 211 days of running and drawing my run own streak to an end, my relationship has evolved. The question that remains: are run streaks conducive with performance? In this article i'll seek to answer this question.

The Benefits of Consistency

Run streaks are a fantastic tool to help an average runner develop great habits and routines to take their running to the next level.

However you look at it, if you want to gain progress in any activity, consistency is the number one method to do so. There are so many people who have great potential but lack the consistent drive to reach it.

Making a decision to run every day - regardless of how you feel or if the weather forecast is on your side - is a powerful tool. The most powerful element is that it illuminates how excuses can often be taken off the table.

When there is no longer an excuses to lacing up those running shoes, you quickly learn that logging the miles is well within your reach. Eventually, you get to a stage where it is harder not to go for the run, than it is to go.

However... Consistency is key, up until the point that consistency can be detrimental to performance.

As someone who prizes themselves on possessing obscene amounts of endurance, and a tough, almost stubborn mindset, that refuses to give up, this great strength can become a dangerous weakness. More on this later...

Aerobic Base Building

The biggest buzz word on the internet at the minute is the importance of building a strong aerobic base. You need to run slow - or more importantly, run easy, to develop your capacity to go fast and far. Moreover, more importantly, having a strong aerobic base is the foundation to developing the work capacity to increase training volume - a pre-requisite for almost all performance goals.

I will not attempt to explain the science behind this. The internet is full with articles from experts more experienced from myself on this topic. I simply just highlight the relevance of it from committing to a run streak.

It is true that many athletes, including regular high performing racers, are deficient when it comes to having a strong aerobic base. If you are racing regularly and or are limited to the amount you can train, there is a tendency to think that training sessions should be optimised to keep the momentum of progress.

The impact is that many athletes are strong from a fast twitch muscular perspective, but lack the work capacity that comes from long easy slow twitch muscular development. The result: an increased risk of injury, and or a narrower repertoire of performance capability. I have seen many who can run a fast 5k but unravel over a longer distance.

Making the decision to commit to a run streak mitigates this tendency because you are not going to push the boundaries every single day. When you are tired and focused on simply logging the miles in your legs, you will naturally run easier and slower. The consequence over a long period is that your aerobic base and capacity for work gets stronger. The foundation for increasing performance.

From my perspective, my easier pace increased, and my heart rate decreased, which meant I could run for a lot further, faster than I did before starting my streak. On my hard sessions I noticed that my legs would let me down much sooner than my breathing capacity; during rest periods between sets, my heart rate would fall rapidly.

Performance Vs Logging Miles, For Miles' Sake

There comes a point when logging the miles for miles' sake is no longer enough. The natural evolution of seeing the notable increases of strength and performance for myself was that I started to think competitively, not recreationally, as before.

I was no longer happy with simply finishing races, I wanted to perform in them; pushing my capabilities to see what I could achieve. Taking all of the aerobic work capacity I had developed, and the growing speed, I charged forward with the momentum, seeing notable increases in performance.

As someone who had focused on ultra distance races, I learned that if you get faster in the shorter distances, you can maintain a faster, slower pace over the ultra distance; making you more competitive in these races.

This strategy worked for the most part because my last ultra race, over 42 hard trail miles, I was able to maintain between 8:30-9:00 min miles on the flats (10:00min pace average overall) for the duration of the race. I achieved what I set out to, finishing 6th overall - 20 mins behind 1st place.

I'm certain that my run streak, the consistent logging of miles for a prolonged time, coupled with the strength I developed from increasing my pace, was the primary reason for my recent success.

However, during that race, with lots of steep declines, broken up by endless countryside stiles, forcing me to stop/start frequently in the later stages of the race, I felt the strain in my knees. I obviously ignored this, with the goal of racing to distract my focus.

After finishing the race, my mind immediately shifted to tomorrows goal - to maintain my run streak. It's at this point in hindsight were my evolution of run streaks started to take hold.

In my mind there was no difference to what I had done before. Up until this point, during my run streak I had completed ultra distance races (38 miles, 19th place), and ran multiple hard mountain trail challenges, at pace - Edale Skyline (sub 4hrs), Yorkshire 3 Peaks (5.5hrs), while still maintaining the run streak the following day.

What I hadn't accounted for was how the intensity of racing competitively in the ultra distance would impact my body. The intensity of the race, coupled with the repetitive impact on my knees, needed time to absorb in my recovery. There was a disconnect in the assumptions from my past performances, and how my body would recover now.

The day after my race, and the week that followed, I was able to maintain the run streak, albeit with some expected pain. However, jumping straight back into rigorous training at fast pace in the days following my race, I started to feel the effects of those stiles on my knee. This is where the crux of the conversation begins.

Endurance athletes who are committed to pushing forward, are renowned for ignoring the continuous niggles and strains on the body. I have done so many times before. After a week of ignoring the pain in my knee, with the focus now on training and maintaining my streak, my training came to a grinding holt, literally.

This is where relentless consistency can become detrimental to performance. What my body needed was the time to absorb the intense effort of my previous race with proper rest and recovery. Not days logging extra miles in my legs for the purpose of a run streak.

The run streak, that got me to where I was, quickly became the thing that derailed my progress. The equilibrium had become imbalanced, resulting in an injury, that ultimately stopped my ability to run.

Are run streaks conducive with performance?

Yes, up until a certain point; and if simply logging the miles is what want from your running.

Not if you are committed to pushing your body to the limits, competitively.

In this case, you can get away with it until a certain point. But as I have discovered, move beyond that point, and you can break.

What's Next?

During my injury, while shifting my focus from the roads/trails, to the pool and the gym, I have become obsessed with injury rehabilitation. I have consumed books, articles, Youtube series etc, following elite athletes' journeys to recovery.

Kilian Jornet, the worlds best mountain runner, and someone too who has struggled with injury, before bouncing back stronger than before, said that 'injury allows you to open your mind to the important decisions you need to make along your journey' (Above the Clouds).

He also explains how you need to seriously reflect about the kind of runner you want to become in the mid-to-long term; not according to your next race.

Do you want to perform a few times a year, impeccably, like Kipchoge?

Or do you want to perform regularly, to a high level?

You cannot have both.

In the same way, upon my own reflection, I have focused on long distance ultra performances, while also trying to train intensively to build speed in the shorter distances. The consequence was injury.

I firmly believe both are achievable goals. Perhaps just not simultaneously.

This is because the training schedule of someone training for a 100 mile mountain race, is not the same schedule for someone training for a fast marathon. At least in the short-term; especially someone less experienced in their running journey, like myself. This is only my third year running.

Upon reflection in my own immobility, I have asked myself these questions, honestly. For the most part, during this stage of my evolution, I am excited about the prospect of getting faster, stronger, and more capable in the mountains.

I firmly believe I have the capability and work ethic to be competitive in trail running, so the next phase of my running journey needs to focus on improvements in this space. This means, in the meantime I need to step away from the ultra space, and commit to the toil of increasing speed.

As a result, my season, which was ultra-race heavy, has now been shifted to include a variety of shorter, faster, technical races, where I can push my body more regularly, without the long recovery periods following the strain of ultra distance racing.

Ultra distance racing takes a great holistic toll on your body, physically and emotionally, that cannot be understated.

I believe that by following this approach, In the long-term, it will provide the tools to run 100 mile races, fast.

Concluding Thoughts

We are all on a journey of self discovery. Running, in some strange way has somehow changed my life. It has given me a perspective that transcends all other areas of my life that is difficult to articulate to a non-runner.

I love how committing to a run streak was able to take me from a runner who enjoys running, to a runner who could become competitive. Anything is within your reach if you are willing to work hard with consistency.

Run streaks are fantastic tools to help you break into the next level of your training. However, when you reach that next level, you may find you need to rethink your relationship with your streak.

Remember that run streaks are tools to aid our performance, they are methods. As you develop you may need to find new tools that are more conducive with the goals you are seeking. Unfortunately, and ironically, it has taken a knee injury for me to learn this.

would love to hear your thoughts.

Much love,

Rossi