David Roche Quotes

I had to learn slowly to open the door just a crack to let love in, maybe just a few seconds at a time. We all do.

A process-driven running life is the first step to being a happy runner long term. Because you are enough, every day, no matter what.

The Happy Runner is the story of what happened when we decided that unconditional love and support in the face of an uncertain running future were just as important as expertise on training methodology

the key to a sustainable love of the running process was to practice a perspective that supports unconditional self-acceptance in the face of an uncertain running (and life) future. So we started SWAP to provide runners with unconditional support on their journey toward self-acceptance. SWAP has excelled because we talk about injuries when healthy, about sadness when happy, about aging when young.

It all gets back to how running progression happens through a series of aerobic, neuromuscular, and musculoskeletal adaptations that build on each other for years and decades. Aerobically, the body improves oxygen processing capacity by increasing the number of capillaries to carry blood to working muscles, decreasing the amount of oxygen those muscles need in the first place, and turning fuel into energy more efficiently. Essentially, the gas mileage goes up while the engine gets bigger, turning a Kia into a Tesla. On the neuromuscular front, the brain gets better at transmitting signals to the body to perform complex movement patterns, decreasing ground contact time, making faster cadences feel easier, and improving how the nervous system operates. Just like you learn to play the piano or dance, you learn to run efficiently.

Independent of injury risk, easy running is indispensable for long-term speed development. That seems counterintuitive. But if running training were an episode of MTV Cribs, when they got to the room with easy running, you’d say “This is where the magic happens” as you winked at the camera. Easy running enhances capillary development and aerobic enzyme activity—introduce an anaerobic stimulus to the mix, and it all gets mucked up. It also increases your running economy, reducing the amount of energy it takes to go a given pace.