The best run advice (no cap) to elevate your life, twice a month

🏃🏽‍♂️Skim time (5k pace): 1 min 24 sec

🚶🏽‍♀️Read time (long run pace): 4 min 59 sec

👋🏽 Hello! New faces, new energy! And to the familiar faces, a tip of the (running) cap.

TLDR about what’s coming up;

1. 🥵 Late night runs & 8 great recovery foods | Present things you can try right now!
2. 📊Training Updates & What I’m digging | Past things to learn from me
3. 🏃🏽‍♂️Tabata style intervals + Doing Real Work | Future stuff for you to try

Feeling this? Why not…

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Announcement time: Goodbye Three Thing Thursday. Hello, One Percent Better, aka OPB.

The internet’s most-exciting running tips, wisdom and (bad) jokes newsletter.

Guess what? In 5 minutes or less, twice a month (ish), I’m saving you 11 years by reading/listening/watching this newsletter. You’re welcome.

Why? Because I already did it. Yes, over the last 11 years, I have scoured the internet figuring out how to *bio-hack and experiment on myself to perform better as I age. (yes, I know ‘hacking’ isn’t a cool word anymore, but you get what I mean).

In my quest to better myself one per cent each day, the time has come to retire “Three Thing Thursday” While dope and fun, new beginnings are happening all the time, and I think One Percent Better summarises what my goal is for you as a reader and myself.

In each newsletter, I’ll present a few dope ideas from the internet or me that, even if you just pick one thing, will be actionable enough that it will alter the trajectory of your training, racing, business, and personal life by just one percent.

I’ll then break each part into The “What, Why, How” framework, which should help make it that much stickier and easier to implement.

Different name, has the same great taste and is information-packed with a dash of fun. #funformative

You down with OPB?! (and if you were born in the 80s you know you would scream out in the club “yeah you know me!”)

I’m still breaking things up into past things, present things and future things, but there is a bit more spice in the middle where I give you more

THE FEEDBACK LOOP

Let me know what you tried, what you didn’t, and what I’m missing! Also, share with the Master of Some community me your own training updates and articles you’ve found.

Let’s go.

🥵 Late night runs & 8 great recovery foods | Present things you can try right now!

How heat therapy and late night exercise could improve your sleep

Read more here

What is it?

Heat therapy, like a sauna or hot bath, can boost slow-wave sleep. And, no, I don’t mean sleeping in your oven.

Why is this important?

Better sleep = better running. Plus, it can improve your overall health and mood, making you less likely to snap at your boss for stealing your stapler.

How to implement this right now?

Hop in a sauna or soak in a hot tub for 20-30 minutes, 1-2 hours before sleep. Just make sure to cool down after, or else you’ll be sweating like a sinner in church all night.

The eight best science-backed foods for run recovery

Read, listen and learn more here

What is it?

It’s a podcast episode about eight real whole foods that can help you recover after a run.

Why is this important?
Eating the right foods after a run can make you feel like you’re Wolverine from X-Men. It can help reduce inflammation, improve joint health, and even make you faster! Plus, you get to eat yummy food.

How to implement this right now?

Add fish, protein shakes/smoothies, rice, potatoes, berries, nut butter, salted nuts, and seeds to your post-run diet. But don’t go overboard and eat like a sumo wrestler after every run. Eat in moderation and listen to your body. And remember, avoid processed foods and stick to natural, whole foods as much as possible. Your body will thank you for it.

📊Training Updates & What I’m digging | Past things to learn from me

May was interesting as I completed an unprepared 5k. It was an odd race because I knew I wasn’t fit, but I didn’t let myself not do the race on the date that I agreed on a few months prior.

I love moving race dates around to suit my schedule, and this time I said, “No, Daren. You’re not doing that anymore. Play the cards. You’re healthy and adapt, mang!” (yes, that’s how I speak to myself).

I then gave myself two weeks “off” of unstructured training. At that time, I figured out wtf I wanted to do.

It was one of three things;

Keep training the way I was training for the last few years and “hope for the best”

Just do a bunch of z1/z2 heart rate aerobic base training until next year and enjoy my life

Lean into my strengths, do more of what I love doing and see how far you can go by picking a race in August (City 2 Surf) but doing training the way I want.

I chose option three, and two weeks into this training period, I already love it.

More to come about what I’m doing in my June newsletter, so stay tuned!

🎧 What I’m Listening To

Listening to this lo-fi chill-out playlist at night when I do work. I really love this genre and, ironically, have also been producing this style of music since 2003. Glad I was 20 years ahead of the trend. #humblebragISstrong

Yes, I know I should be going to be at 8 pm, but I’m a night owl, and I do my best work at night. Can’t change the DNA of a person; you can only work with it.

🏃🏽‍♂️Tabata style intervals + Doing Real Work | Future stuff for you to try

💪🏽 Physical Thing For You To Try ASAP

What is it?

Tabata Ladder 40/30/20 Effort-based Workout – Jun 2023

HIIT isn’t just for CrossFit and gym-goers. HIIT works great for runners, cyclists and even swimmers (whatup Triathletes?!). Here’s the low down.

Why is it important?

Allowing you to be at max power/vo2max pacing zones/heart rate for longer because of the frequent breaks

When?

Early season or right before a race during your taper week

What distance is it good for? Anything from 400m to ultra, tbh
(dope pro tip – most run and gym workouts can be used for most people depending on how fast/hard you run then, the rest, and when you do it in your training blocks. shhhh… can’t give all the secrets away)

How to do it?

• Do this on a track or flat straight surface (200m should be long enough to do one rep)

• Warmup 10mins
• Do some 20-30 sec windups (90% effort sprints that ramp up every 5-7 seconds)
• 40 secs on and 20 seconds off
• Beginners do 4 reps, Intermediate runners do 6 reps and advanced do 8 reps or more (careful on your first time, though)
• rest 3mins (yes, it will feel long, but by the last set, you will wish you took that rest from the first set)
• 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off
• Beginners do 6 reps, Intermediate runners do 8 reps and advanced do 10 reps or more (careful on your first time, though)
• rest 3mins
• 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off
• Beginners do 8 reps, Intermediate runners do 10 reps and advanced do 12 reps or more (careful on your first time, though)
• straight to 10 min cooldown of easy joggingSome notes

• Pacing is crucial – for the first set or you will blow up
• Rest – Try not to stand still. Keep moving in a slow job (walking is okay later in the session). Try to jog between at what feels like a marathon pace – it will be much slower on your watch, but this is a full effort-based workout. We don’t really care about time.
• Bring some good music to keep the cadence high
• Make sure you eat a lot of carbs the night before or before this, as you will be spent.
• Make sure you have a base level of fitness before doing this, as it’s very difficult.

Notable Quotable

Hit reply to answer and/or hit me up on Instagram (link tbd) to learn from the Master of Some community and one percent better your running life.

🧠 Mental Thing For You To Try ASAP

From Jeremy Enns newsletter.

Busy work is tangible. It can be measured on a clock, checked off a task list. There’s a start and an end, and a finished product.

Real work is rarely so solid.

Real work has no end, stretching out endlessly into the horizon. It’s hard to know where you are in the process, how close you are to your destination… and if there even is a destination.

This work is about thinking. About searching. About exploring. It’s about seeking and finding, and connecting the dots in a way they’ve never been connected before.

The real work happens during every conversation you have in your day-to-day life. It’s every person you meet, every idea that comes across your radar.

And…

… for June 2023.

PS – If you were in need of a coach, I’m finally offering limited coaching spaces. Go here or email me if interested – coach@dlakecreates.com

PPS – How slow runners are doing God’s work.