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How to “Keep House”

Just as you want your space to be comfortable and tidy when entertaining guests, you want your body to be well prepared for performance, as elite trail runner Matt Shepard explains

There are a lot of tricks, strategies and science behind the workouts you’ll find on the Internet, but for the majority of runners, these things can be made much simpler. Imagine your body as a house, and running as being like having friends over for a visit. The harder the run, the more guests you’re planning to entertain. For example, a Sunday easy run would be like hosting a few close friends for lunch, and a 50-mile race would be like a house party. Hosting the party would obviously require a lot more advance planning than the lunch – it will involve snacks and beverages, decorations, music selection and tidying up beforehand. And when you’re done, you’ll likely be left with a sizeable mess.

You want to be ready to welcome guests any time they drop by, so in addition to planning and preparing for big events, you’ll want to spend a little time each day tidying up your place. Looking at fitness this way will help you develop great body-maintenance habits, and you’ll always be ready to “entertain.” As you grow to enjoy longer distances, you may end up having guests who stay overnight, or even for a few days. If you want to keep your guests happy, you must learn how to keep your house tidy while they are still around. Being the magnificent host that you are, you want to ensure that your guests are getting sufficient rest, having fun and are well fed for the duration of their stay. Practising these skills will help you plan your greatest party ever!

Shoring up the foundation
Easy-pace running should make up 70 to 80 per cent of our weekly volume. Reimagine the easy run as having your best friend drop in. You don’t need to feel pressure with this guest – a quick tidy, and you’re ready. You’re so comfortable with them that they could arrive any time and you’d welcome them with open arms. You can use them as a guinea pig to really dial in your party-hosting skills. Try out new snacks and beverages, curate a playlist or test-run a new outfit. (Notice that these could be metaphorical or not.) You’ll be spending a lot of time with this friend, so be sure to make the most of it.

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