Whether you think life is funner as a runner or not, there’s something we can learn about how to make progress in many endeavors from a recent study. Some British number crunchers sifted through training logs of participants from over 150,000 marathons. They studied what the training volumes were for runners from four months out from an event right up to the event itself. The numbers told a straightforward story. Those with the best event finishing times were those that had put in the most time training.
The fastest finishers in marathons achieved times between two and two and a half hours. Runners in this group ran 100 to 120 kilometers each week during their preparatory period. Those taking an hour longer to finish were running less than half the volume in the same preparatory period. Those taking even longer, trained less.
The best performers had training volumes two to three times those of the slower performers during the training periods studied. Surprise, achievers were putting in the time. Yes, the training volumes were substantial. However, the volumes were attainable because the intensity of the training was less intense. Much of the training was done at easy to moderate levels of intensity.
The results of this study are likely replicable across domains. Putting in the time is the proven path to develop legitimacy in any area. As the adage offers to be more, do more. Are you doing two to three times more than most? Are you putting in two to three times the work effort that your peers are producing?
Put differently, our capabilities may be the product of our capacity and our competence. Where our capability is the output of our skill (competence) multiplied by the time spent working (capacity). Our capacity is what we’re talking about here. We’re aiming to build our base, construct our chassis, develop our diesel, expand our energy reserves, and grow our gas tank through more frequent efforts at lower intensity. The more work of which we can undertake, the more capability we have for a given level of competence.
An added benefit of developing our capacity is that we develop durability as well. We’re more likely to stay in the game when we’ve forged a firm foundation.
In the letter E of our Alphabet of Accomplishment we discussed embracing effort. We offered three levers that tinkerers of training use to apply effort that make a DIFference: duration, intensity, and frequency. Putting in the time is emphasizing the frequency and duration components while sacrificing on intensity. It’s prioritizing consistency over intensity. In what ways can you put in more time to get better at something you care about?
