the morning shakeout | issue 486
Let the silence do the work, precise pacing under pressure, not missing days, and a lot more.
Good morning! As I do every few months, I recently sat down with my good friend and frequent collaborator Simon Freeman of Like the Wind magazine for an unscripted conversation on a topic we’re both eager to explore. In this episode of the podcast, an excerpt of which appears in Issue 44 of LtW, we discuss the importance of slowing down, creating space, and making time for quiet in both running and life. As admitted overachievers we’ve both had to learn (often the hard way!) how to prioritize, get comfortable with, and even embrace stepping back, or maybe just sitting still, and doing nothing from time-to-time. When life, work, and/or running is in a “quiet” period, many of us have a tendency to try and make some noise, so to speak, by looking for something to do, picking up another project, or signing up for a race. However, the best course of action is often to, as we explore in this conversation, “let the silence do the work.” Anyway, we hope you enjoy being a fly on the wall for this conversation, which you can listen to wherever you get your podcasts or at this handy link. Let us know what you think by replying to this email or leaving a comment below this post.
As I wrote here last week, this is the first issue of the newsletter that’s going out to all subscribers entirely via Substack. Hopefully it landed smoothly in your inbox, just as it has for the past 485 Tuesday mornings. As a thank you for the continued interest and support of my work, I’d like to offer up a PDF copy of my first mini e-book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Runners, which you can download for free below. (And by all means, yes, please share it with your fellow running nerds, training partners, athletes you coach, or anyone else you think might benefit from reading it.)
Quick Splits
— There have been at least a couple articles that have come out in the past week, specifically in The New York Times and Outside, looking at a recent study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science that theorizes Faith Kipyegon of Kenya could possibly run 3:59.37 in the mile as early as this year with the help of pacemakers who would reduce drag and make her more aerodynamic. The authors of the study seem convinced that Kipyegon, who owns the women’s world-record of 4:07.64, could crack 4 “with greatly improved (but reasonable) aerodynamic drafting.” The commentary, as you might expect, is all over the place. Objectively, Kipyegon, or anyone else for that matter, taking nearly two full seconds a lap off the current world-record anytime soon is an extra tall task. This is a fact no one seems to deny. I’m not convinced, however, that it’s solely a physics problem to solve, and, even with ideal pacing and drafting, I think Kipyegon or another viable candidate would need to step to the line with at least 1:52 800m speed (ideally closer to 1:50) to have a real shot. (For what it’s worth, the current women’s 800m world record, which is perhaps track’s most suspect mark, is 1:53.28.) All of that said, I am in agreement with Alex Hutchinson’s closing line in the Outside piece: We need a Breaking 4 Project. Why? Because whether it’s Roger Bannister becoming the first person to break the barrier in 1954, well over one hundred collegiate men running 3-something this past indoor season, or the prospect of a woman going under 4 minutes for the first time in history, there are few things that create as much athletic intrigue as the 4-minute mile. Of course, everything from drafting to pacing to training to technology to weather should be optimized so that women have the best possible chance to maximize performance in the mile and give sub-4 a scare, but pairing that with a compelling narrative around the pursuit would create real excitement and capture the imagination of athletes and fans alike.
— If you're going to be at the Boston Marathon next month and want to partake in some running-related fun on Saturday night, April 19, from 4-8 PM, I'll be captaining a team at the New Balance Marathon Relay, to be held at their indoor track facility, aka THE TRACK. I’m looking for between 10-26 runners to collectively tackle the marathon distance along with me. Every runner on the team will run between 1 and 3 one-mile legs until we total 26.2 miles. You’ll get a custom bib, racing singlet, tote bag, food, drinks (alcohol and non) and more. Let me know if you want in before this Friday, March 7, by replying directly to this email and I’ll take care of the rest. Note: I don’t care how fast you can run, I just want this to be FUN for everyone involved. If it sounds like a good time, please don’t hesitate to reply. The first people to get back to me until I fill the maximum number of allowable spots be on the team.
— What’s it take to break world records like Grant Fisher did recently? The short answer is precise pacing by super fit athletes who can perform under pressure. This was a fun read from Sarah Lorge Butler on what went into Fisher’s rewriting of the indoor 3000m and 5000m record books. My favorite part was how direct Fisher’s coach, Mike Scannell, was with Henry McLuckie, who took Fisher through 2500 meters of the longer event. “He basically said to me, ‘I want 61 to 61.5 [per 400 meters], and anything slower is too slow,’” McLuckie explained. “He agreed to do his best,” wrote Lorge Butler. “But Scannell’s tone—and the track packed with spectators on the infield and in the stands—added to the pressure.” Scannell’s explanation: “The most important thing with the pacer is that you hold the rhythm of the run,” he said. “The rhythm of the run was 61. If you can’t hold that rhythm and you run 62, now you’ve created a rhythm in Grant that’s 62. It’s the wrong rhythm. I was pretty, uh, direct. Henry did a great job. When he left, Grant continued on 61s, right? That’s what we wanted.”
— Speaking of pacing (and racing), I got a few emails from readers about a study I linked to in last week’s issue that showed competitive 10K runners were more likely to perform better when they focus on racing other people versus trying to pace themselves to a fast time. The questions I got largely had to do with how this approach would apply to longer distances (where the risk of blowing up is greater) and how to square it with the age-old advice to “run your own race,” both of which are valid queries, especially for athletes who aren’t competing at the elite level. To both of those, I’d say this: Yes, obviously intelligent pacing and running within yourself are important, especially early in a race, where getting off to a good start is key to minimizing the risk of a late blow-up. For me, however, to “compete” doesn’t just mean trying to stay ahead of the people around you. It means getting the most out of yourself, which, as I wrote last week, requires you to be aware, stay engaged, and take some calculated risks somewhere along the way. Doing this is going to push the person or people around you to get the most out of themselves too, which is what helps all of us bring out the best in one another. That’s what competition is all about and it’s an approach worth undertaking whether you’re in the hunt to win the race or just trying to maximize your own performance. I’ve seen far too many people leave potential (and time) on the table because they’re just running to hit a number on their watch. To use Fisher above as an example, he had someone(s) leading him out and taking both a physical and mental load off for half to ⅔ of both races. After that, he was on his own. In the 3000, both he and Cole Hocker, who finished right behind him, admitted to running faster than they thought they could that day. How did that happen? Over the last 3-4 laps they were just racing, trying to shake and break one another, and it resulted in a massive breakthrough for both men. Even in the 5000, where he was largely on his own after McLukie stepped off the track, Fisher was trying to hold on to a fast pace, yes, but I’d bet you with 4-5 laps to go he wasn’t concerned with whether or not he was still running 30.5-second laps: he was just running as hard as he could, scraping whatever was left at the bottom of the tank at that point, while his legs were screaming at him to slow down.
— Bestselling author James Clear has a goldmine of articles on his website about self-improvement, developing better habits, decision making, motivation, and other related topics. One of my favorites is also one of his personal: what he learned from squatting 400 pounds, which, at the time he wrote it, was the most he’d ever done. What I love about the piece is that if you substitute “running a personal best” for “squatting 400 pounds” all ten of his lessons would still hold true. Sure, while the X’s and O’s of running fast and lifting heavy aren’t exactly the same, the fundamentals that form the foundation for getting better at just about anything are, whether it’s running, writing, music, or some other pursuit that’s meaningful to you. Case in point: “2. Don’t miss workouts. Here’s the recipe for squatting 400 pounds: Squat two or three times per week. Increase by about 5 pounds every week or two. Don’t miss a workout for two years. I would wager to say that most young, healthy men could squat double bodyweight if they followed that simple program. That said, the exact numbers aren’t the point. The point is that it doesn’t matter what program you do, how smart you think you are, or what genes you were or weren’t born with. Unless you fall in love with boredom and do the work consistently, everything else is irrelevant.” This made me think of something I’ve shared here before from world 1500m champion and multiple Olympic medalist Josh Kerr, who was asked the secret to his success the past few years. “I don’t do crazy workouts or crazy mileage,” he told Athletics Weekly. “I just don’t miss days.”
— A couple weeks ago I wrote that what I wanted to share from the recent SNL50 concert at Radio City Music Hall wasn’t online yet, but now it is and here you go: Jack White covering Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In the Free World,” an interesting if not intentional choice, and just absolutely f*cking nailing it. Not only does White kind of resemble Young when it comes to looks, he sounds pretty good throughout this one and delivers an absurd guitar solo to close it out.
— From the archives (Issue 225, 5 years ago this week): How to write usefully: “Useful writing is bold, but true,” writes technologist Paul Graham, who has recently become one of my favorite essayists. “It's also two other things: it tells people something important, and that at least some of them didn't already know. Telling people something they didn't know doesn't always mean surprising them. Sometimes it means telling them something they knew unconsciously but had never put into words. In fact those may be the more valuable insights, because they tend to be more fundamental.”
A big thank you to Tracksmith for supporting my work throughout 2025. The brand just dropped its Spring Collection featuring some upgraded styles and fresh colorways to take us out of winter and into the warmer spring months. My two favorite pieces are ones I’m wearing more days than not right now, often at the same time: The upgraded Harrier Long Sleeve (men’s here, women’s here) features a heavier Merino knit that’s perfect for cool to cold mornings and the newly added thumbholes provide even more coverage for your hands if it’s not quite cold enough for gloves. The Turnover Half Tights (which come lined or unlined, but I’m telling you, once you go lined you’ll never go back) provide plenty of coverage for your upper legs and they’re great whether you’re going long on the weekend or ripping around the track before work. If you pick up either of these items, or buy anything on Tracksmith.com for that matter, and you’re doing so for the first time, use the code MarioNEW to save $15 on your order of $75 or more. If you’re already a Tracksmith customer, use the code MarioGIVE and you can get free shipping on your next order (and 5% of your purchase will go to support the Friendly House in Worcester, Massachusetts, an organization that is near and dear to me).
Workout of the Week: The 90/30 Fartlek
The following workout comes from Jon Green, head coach of the Verde Track Club who guided Molly Seidel to a bronze medal in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It’s essentially an enhanced version of the broken-up tempo run, alternating 90 seconds at around threshold pace with 30 seconds at the faster end of your easy running pace for 4-6 miles, and one of Green’s go-to sessions for all the athletes he works with. It was originally inspired by a workout Green did regularly when he was a collegiate athlete at Georgetown under coaches Pat Henner and Brandon Bonsey. “This is a sneaky hard workout,” Green told me. “The lore is that everybody hates it.” Here are the details.
The bottom line.
“You just got to put in the work. That’s all it is. If you watch enough Rocky movies—and there are six of them, three of them are really f*cking good—anytime Rocky tried to take a shortcut in training, he got his ass whooped. And, you know, Rocky III, he’s in a nice gym and the girls are there kissing his muscles and all that bullsh*t, and Mr. T beats the sh*t out of him and then he has to go in the dirty gym with the black guys. There’s no shortcut.”
— Chris Rock dropping truth bombs in this 2014 Rolling Stone interview
That’s it for Issue 486. If you enjoyed it, please forward this email to a friend (or five!) and encourage them to subscribe at this link so that it lands in their inbox next Tuesday.
Thanks for reading,
Mario
Hello Mario, I would like to join the relay team if you still need people. My email address is bthacker2@hotmail.com if you need any additional information.
Thank you,
Ben Thacker
It's a very interesting discussion on the pacing vs racing aspect of road running. Coming from a track and field background, and now moving into longer road races, it is interesting how different the mind set is when it comes to racing vs splits. Track is all racing, and we spent all of our time training with other people and learning to feed off the energy of the people around you. I would venture a bet that I would be 5-10% slower in any given race if I had to do it alone vs feeding off other people. There is something about being able to zone out and just get in the flow of the run that takes over at a certain point. Very similar to the Grant Fisher anecdote about wanting to FEEL the 61 sec pace vs having to worry about grinding it out himself. Your body has more in the tank then I think some people give it credit for if you let it do its thing. Don't get so hung up on the splits that if you start to feel good and see some fast ones in a race that you think that is somehow a bad thing!? That is what you did all that training for!
Trusting the training, only using the watch as a guide, and learning to check in with how the body feels throughout the race will get people father then I think they realize! Obviously you still need a race plan, but I personally like plans more about "how I want to feel" at 5k, 10km, etc, vs clock staring every 250m.
You might just surprise yourself!