This weeked I did something that goes against everything I believe in, and wouldn’t do even if I did…run a long distance at a moderate pace in the snow during the morning hours of a day I did not have to work!  As I was yogging away I wondered how many of the paid participants truly enjoyed this…about 45% was my estimate.

I think I figured myself in?  The motivation was not enjoyment but experimentation; to prove a point for my cousin’s high school project.  Her project was to develop a product or service.  Her choice – Road Race Training Plans for efficiency seekers!  The plan was to take the average training plan and develop one that only requires half the time and less than half the mileage commitment.  Instead of spending training time on the road, the plan recommends training in the gym, on the hill, and practicing the skill of running.

I volunteered to be one of the guinea pigs for the project.  Leading up to the event I would classify myself a fit non-runner (0-2 mi/week), who does sprints if the energy’s high and it’s nice out.  Over the last 12 weeks I averaged approximately 0.5 hrs/week kettlebelling, 0.5 hrs/week heavy lifting, and 1 hr/week run training (practice, hills, intervals).  You’ve seen the formula before (here and here).  Except during this period running time was higher than normal thanks to Tough Mudder training at Neuty (worked out to 50 min/week).  The result – comfortably finishing a hilly 15k (or a month’s worth of mileage) at our goal time of 1:20.  Mission Accomplished!

ROI, more free time, joint preservation, a balanced body, etc.  Those are among the many reasons to try getting Good at Running Without Running!  If you happen to find yourself in the truly-enjoy-running minority, then you can get Great at Running with just a Little Running!  Here’s an example of how we practice at LbF – kinda similar to Christopher MacDougall from “Born to Run.”