Unpopular opinion for hobby joggers

I base trained myself down to a 14 minute 5K

Except those types of runs are the types of runs that help one begin to make strides towards their potential.

Your typical plan is exactly what you propose: most runs and conversation pace and some faster. I, for example, typically follow Pfitzinger plans, and most of my miles are slow but some are faster. Using this approach, I've been able to build up my mileage and PR.

Without a plan, I have to figure out how many miles to run each day and which miles to run faster. With a plan, I don't have to think about it. With three kids and a full-time job, not having to think about it is a bonus. Also, given the three kids and the job, it's too easy to just run fewer miles without a plan telling me I need to run 7 or 10 or however many miles today.

Plans aren't rocket science and I honestly think at the same mileage, typically one is about as good as another. But as Churchill didn't actually say, planning is everything, the plan is nothing.

There are people who have done well just by running easy when they felt like running easy and running hard when they felt like running hard. That's pretty much how I got me best marathon from 4:34 to 2:35.

Do you have any evidence to support your assertion that most hobby joggers run the majority of their miles in the gray zone? I believe some do. And some don't.

As a proud hobby jogger, I run most of my miles 3-4 minutes slower than my 5K pace. I don't think I'm unusual.

If you can run 10 miles at 10k pace, your coach definitely cracked the code for you.

I’ve done this before and reported how many miles/runs were easy/conversational, how many were “faster,” and what “faster” meant for me. And from the “keep it simple” crowd, that elicited the reply “no, not like that.”

Yeah, it makes me laugh when runners come here for lifting advise. Really?

incel comment

you are totally sexless

without Sex

Yes, they watch a video of some world class 800m runners doing big lifts and extensive workouts and think that's the key. They ignore the running part and the fact that those are some of the top 0.1% of athletes in the world.

OP, maybe stopping worrying over what other people are doing, and find peace in your day.

If you're not a billionaire, there's no point in trying to make more money. Just continue living with limited resources until you can prove you're at the top tax bracket.

If you're not a CEO, there's no point in trying to get a promotion. Just continue at the entry level unless you're already an executive.

If you don't have a Ferrari, there's no point in trying to get a better car. Just continue with your economy car until you can show you own one that costs at least six figures.

The bottom line is unless you're exceptional, there's no point in indulging in the process of trying to be the best you can be. Just continue posting on Letsrun about hobbyjoggers.

My personal experience interacting with hobby jogger friends is that they're trying to find ways to be a better runner without running.

A lot of people but hurt by OP. You’re missing the point. If you’re a professional runner or someone trying to make the Olympic Trials small amounts of time are huge. However, to 99.99% of runners, they’re meaningless. There is no difference between a 330 or 340 marathon except in your mind.

It's fun trying to get what you can out of yourself. But I agree that as long as you're running decent mileage, most of it easy with some workouts mixed in, it doesn't matter too much if you're a hobby jogger what those workouts are as long as they're not sprinter workouts

Are you all reading what you're writing? Don't do what the pros do to maximize their potential; you'll never maximize your potential that way!

Expert: You should just run more miles to get faster

Jogger: I can't get over 20 mpw without getting hurt

Expert: You need to get stronger and work on core stability and mobility and good nutrition

Jogger: You mean like my favorite pro does?

Expert: No you're a hobby jogger, not a pro. Just go jog.

I had no idea what I was doing in high school, neither did my coach. I just ran more every season, starting at 25mpw freshman cross country 'naturally' running 10:50 for 3200m at the beginning of freshman track and getting up to 70mpw as a senior. Most of my runs were pretty hard progression runs, occasionally ran an actual organized track workout of intervals. Didn't run easy very often, almost never. Obviously this is not ideal training, but I ended up running just over 9 flat for 3200. If you run a lot and push yourself while running you'll get pretty fast. Once that stops working and you stagnate for a year, then maybe look into a specific training plan.

Yeah people should just know how to train without anyone showing them

Wow...such insight. It is rare to find someone who has come up with something no one has ever thought about before! We need to get you and your insights into the Cabinet immediately.