Guides
How training actually works.
The methods underneath a plan: why easy running is easy, what threshold is for, how a taper is supposed to feel, and how the pieces stack into a block that peaks on the right day.
Why easy runs are easy
The most common error in recreational running, and the cheapest one to fix.
ReadThreshold running, properly
The single most productive session in distance running. What it is and how to run it.
ReadVO2max intervals, and when they are worth it
The most satisfying session in running, and the most over-prescribed.
ReadThe long run, properly
How far, how fast, and why time is a better cap than distance.
ReadHow to taper
Cut the volume, keep the intensity. And expect to feel awful in the middle.
ReadBase building
The phase that decides the ceiling of everything after it.
ReadHeart rate zones for runners
The five zones, how to set them properly, and when heart rate lies.
ReadHow a marathon block is built
The four phases, what each is for, and what to protect when the weeks go wrong.
ReadHow a half marathon block is built
The most threshold-dependent race you will run, and how to build for it.
ReadHow a 10K block is built
The most balanced race there is, and the block that serves both ends of it.
ReadHow a 5K block is built
Feels like a speed event. Is about 90 percent aerobic.
Read
Stop reading. Start training.
This is the theory. Shed is the schedule.
Knowing what a threshold run is for does not tell you which Tuesday to run one, or how fast, or what to do when you miss it. Shed writes every session of your race block and adjusts it as you train. Ask it where a number came from and it will tell you.
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