Consistency
In his book, The Little Red Book of Running, Scott Douglas suggests consistency is the runner’s holy grail, emphasizing that without it, we will never realize either our short-term or long-term potential. He says this makes running different from some other sports, such as golf, that can be set aside and then picked up more easily.
I agree with Douglas’ premise and would further suggest the importance of consistency for the distance runner who competes increases as we age due to two key factors. One, all of our physiological systems are subject to the use-it-or-lose-it principle. Father Time is on the prowl! Two, what makes a runner truly competitive is his or her willingness to go deep, both in some training runs and then of course during races. There is clearly both a mental and physical component involved and being in that zone during some of our training will allow us to access it during a race. Physically, regular running – four to six days a week – supplemented with alternative aerobic exercise is vital. I counsel against running every day – our running muscles and joints can use a break. But including something aerobic every day is good practice. When injured, continuing to put in an effort that borders on uncomfortable requires some creativity. Options like the spin bike or Concept 2 rower can get us to that stage quickly, more so than water running, elliptical, or the StairMaster. However, we need to be careful not to injure some other part of our bodies not used to that type of exertion. It might take some building up if the injury is extended.
Part of the challenge we face is having those we ran with, in some cases for many years, dropping out for various reasons. Group runs and workouts are both fun and motivational. If the group was eight to ten people and two didn’t show, there was still critical mass. When that group shrinks to three or four, or even just two!, no shows have a big impact. This puts more of the burden on us to make the space and time, often on our own, to continue to put in the work.
Douglas also suggests organizing our training so we are not mega-training and then taking extended time off. So, not to train hard for six months and then just do easy runs for the next six. Taking a couple weeks “off” after a vigorous cycle can be good, but longer than that we are apt to begin losing our fitness, If this pertains to younger athletes Douglas is speaking to, it certainly applies to us seniors.
We all develop our own training and racing rhythm, including days of the week and time of day. Some may aim for track workouts in the morning, others in the evening, and either midweek or the weekends. Same with long runs, which typically are held on weekend mornings due to greater flexibility for many. Some don’t mind long drives the morning of races; others prefer to incur the expense to avoid this. However we manage our training and racing, consistency goes a long way. We’re not looking to be automatons, rather interesting, creative people who make space for running in our lives. Finding our rhythm and sticking with it, helps to keeps us grounded and motivated.