Runners love collecting and comparing data, especially when it comes to improving their performance in the sport! We track average speed, total distance, number of steps, average heartrate, altitude… there are so many things to track! But what if I told you that you could gain an incredible insight into your performance capacity by measuring a single metric? ​When it comes to training and performance optimization, one of the leading indicators is heart rate variability (HRV).

​For us mere mortals, this won’t make us Usain Bolt fast anytime soon, but something the majority of us runners aim for in our training is to run a little bit (or a lottle bit) faster (it rhymed so I’m sticking with it).
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I myself am working towards a few goals, one including shaving five minutes off my average 5k time and bring it below 25 minutes, and to get towards 55 minutes for the 10k. My main goal for 2020 is to bring my half marathon time to sub-2 hours. 

​Running is relatively simple – but it can also be very complex. Usually we think about running as just putting one foot in front of the other for as long as possible but there is more to it than that!
 
Running economy is all about improving various aspects of your running (like how steps you take per minute, your posture, your strength, and much more) so that you may make running as easy as possible.

​It’s no news that strength training is beneficial for runners. Strength training boosts and bolsters your running efficiency! A stronger core is useful in maintaining a strong and stable upper body, which will help you keep a strong posture throughout your runs. Developing leg strength will give you great benefits in racing – especially for the shorter endurance races like the 5K and 10K! 
 
Overall, stronger muscles usually mean more power in each stride and stronger ligaments, which will make you less prone to injury. 

Last week’s article, “How to Run a Strong Marathon” seemed to be quite controversial.
 
As I shared the article with the R&RT group, the community members started voicing their opinions. On one hand a few runners were surprised by the concept of running the full race distance in training but agreed that this concept made sense… on the other hand, a few members were skeptical and shared their concerns about running too much during training, stating that this could increase risk of injury.