I failed as a runner for decades. But in the last 8 years I’ve run 9,000+ miles and 7 ultramarathons by making a few simple changes (that you can do too). Here are 10 tips to bulletproof your running:

Running is like making love: - don’t skip the warm up - consistency is everything - comparison is the thief of joy - mostly go slow, occasionally hard - you don’t have to set a PR every time What did I miss?

Are we debating running by feel vs heart rate yet again? For the one zillionth time? Really? I’m jumping straight to the end: SLOW THE FUCK DOWN Felt too hard? Slow down Ankle barking? Slow down 170s HR on easy day? Slow down 6/10 RPE on easy day? Slow down Why? So you can come back tomorrow and so on your hard days you can actually go hard instead of feeling tired as fuck with an ankle, calf, and knee all yelling at you. It’s simple bro. They all are useful. You get to pick and choose and try shit out: RPE, HR, Power, whatever. Just remember for most of us most of the time: SLOW THE FUCK DOWN.

I get it

Noooooooooooooo!

Wife: “Weather looks bad this weekend for your race.” Me: “Good.” Wife “Good? Does rain and wind help you in some way?” Me: “No.” I have become a man of few words. Game face on.

Often it feels like you’re always working toward something: the next race, business milestone, family vacation. But then you get an early fall night at the track with your daughter playing soccer and you just feel presence for right now. This is the good old days. Enjoy it.

Why does something always start hurting during race week? My mind is fucking with me.

7 days until the MetroWest backyard ultra. It’ll be my 5th backyard in the last two years. Previous results: - 11 hours, 45.8 miles - 9 hours, 37.5 miles - 16 hours, 66.6 miles - 14 hours, 58.3 miles Time to explore what’s possible. I can’t wait.

I’m getting this for my backyard ultra

Waking up early sucks. But doing something that sucks is the solution.

2 weeks out from my backyard ultra race and my foot started hurting. But we don’t stop. We pivot. Less running, more walking and biking. Get stronger in the gym. Show up at the start line ready. No training plan should be set in stone.

I resigned from running today. I spent the last 3 years syncing my Garmin watch to my Strava account. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight toward self-improving training loads and gambling with our lives. More thoughts below.

Most AI running coaches are meh. They either agrees with everything you say or push you straight toward injury. Good coaching knows the difference and lives somewhere in the middle. Sometimes you need to back off. Sometimes you need a push. That’s the standard I’m building Coach Carl to meet. He’s my AI running coach I text with.

I truly believe that running enhances the richness of human experience: the highs, the lows, the grind, the flow, the pain, the joy, the suffering, the pride. Name an emotion. You'll experience it all running.

Sophomore year of college I put up a few posters on my wall. One of them was an elephant balancing on a beach ball. The line below it said "Balance i the key to life." That's what this week ending up being about for me. Expected to go 50+, didn't do that, Needed some recovery. Foot's been hurting. Less than 3 weeks out from my race I gotta play this smart.

She’s gonna outlive us all. Let her be.

This is the most miles I’ve run in a month in over 3 years… when I was training for a 100 mile race.

Back on the up and up lfg

Advice I’d give to anyone in their 20s: - stop trying to win the race on day 1 - go for an easy run or walk - occasionally go harder - strength/mobility matter Repeat this simple playbook and you can run for the rest of your life.