Do More With Less

It’s everywhere right. Do more with less! You hear it professionally, financially, as a parent….the list goes on.

But in running we can do more with less. We tend to see this insane amount of training that elite athletes do and the message is “If it’s important you’ll make time for it”.

Sure, there is some truth to that statement. To enjoy running and be successful, it does need to be important enough to make time. But how much time?

TOO MUCH TIME

I would argue that most real world runners, meaning you are managing a busy life schedule, carve out too much time for running or at least an unrealistic amount. They also spend much of that time on ineffective training. Running may be the one areas that “Do More With Less” means less stress in your life and more success.

TOO MANY CONSTRAINTS

Most athletes I work with live and die by a training schedule. A training schedule should serve more as a guide that leads us towards the Targets we are aiming for. An overloaded, unrealistic training schedule puts too many constraints on a busy life which in the end leads to a sense of failure. To be successful you don’t have to run tons of mileage and 6 or 7 days per week. Most of my athletes are on a 4-day per week schedule that allows them flexibility to be with their family, go grocery shopping and balance a busy day at work.

CONSISTENCY - HOW?

We hear every day that Consistency Is Key. Heck, I say it all the time. But we need to consistency better. Consistency does not equal run 100% of mileage and workouts scheduled. It means following a realistic schedule and make adjustments when necessary that result in consistent training over the course of months and years. Runners tend to take their schedules as a letter of the law and follow them no matter what. This can lead to burn out, injury, etc. which leads to time off and when we step back that time off ultimately equals the opposite of consistency.

My biggest passion in life is helping people live a full life. Our family motto is Live What You Love. It simply means spend time with who you love doing what you love. Helping runners find effective training schedules balanced with the rest of the life they love….this is what I hope to do everyday.

Live What You Love,

Dusty