Building running fitness like a wall: The long game

Something that's fundamental to any training approach but often gets overlooked in our instant-gratification world is a simple truth: building running fitness is a long-term project where shortcuts only serve to undermine your progress.

Think of it like building a wall. Your workouts are the bricks - solid, substantial building blocks that add structure to your fitness. But bricks alone don't make a wall. You need cement to hold them together, and that cement is your easy running. Apply it properly and you get a structure that can withstand years of training. Rush the process or use poor materials, and the whole thing comes tumbling down.

The temptation of big bricks

We've all seen them at the track (or on Strava), runners slamming out 400m repeats at mile pace, grinding through 1000s ‘at 5k pace’ (despite never having run that 5k pace) that leave them bent over gasping, treating every session like it's their last chance to prove something. It looks impressive. It feels hardcore. And it's exactly like taking a massive brick and hurling it at a wall that isn't ready to support it.

Running workouts too hard relative to your current fitness level doesn't accelerate your progress, rather, it undermines the foundation you're trying to build. That crushing session might provide a temporary high, but often requires days of recovery, disrupts training rhythm, and increases vulnerability to injury.

Sub-threshold or easy interval approaches recognise this. By working according to controlled guidelines, you're laying bricks of appropriate size for your current fitness level. They're substantial enough to stimulate adaptation but not so heavy they crack the foundation.

The cement problem

But here's where most runners really go wrong. They treat their easy runs like they're laying more bricks when they should be applying cement. Running your recovery days too fast is like using cement that's too runny. It looks like you're being productive, but you're actually weakening the structure.

Your easy runs aren't just filler between the important sessions. They're what allows your body to absorb and integrate the training stimulus from your workouts. They improve capillarisation, enhance fat burning, and crucially, allow your nervous system to recover so you can handle the next quality session properly.

When you run these days too fast - even just 20-30 seconds per mile above what's truly easy - you're compromising this recovery. You might feel like you're being productive, but you're actually sabotaging your next workout.

This approach isn't sexy. While you're running controlled intervals and genuinely easy recovery runs, you'll see others flying around the track at 3K pace, posting impressive workout splits on Strava, and generally looking more hardcore than you ever will following this method.

But here's the question you should ask yourself: are their race results actually improving?

I'd wager that in most cases, they're not. You'll often find these same runners stuck in the same performance range year after year, despite all the impressive training posts. They're stuck in a cycle of big workouts followed by forced rest days, never quite building the consistent foundation that leads to breakthrough performances.

Meanwhile, the runner following a more patient approach might have less dramatic workout splits, but they're showing up consistently, week after week, month after month. They're building that wall methodically, and when race day comes, they have a structure that can support peak performance.

When things go wrong

You're going to have days where you overcook a workout or run an easy day faster than you should have. The key isn't avoiding these mistakes entirely, it's what you do next.

If you realise you've pushed too hard in a session, don't compound the error by trying to stick rigidly to your schedule. Make your next easy run extra easy, or better yet, take an additional recovery day before your next quality session. Move your training around to accommodate what your body actually needs rather than what your plan says you should do.

This is being smart, not weak. Elite athletes and their coaches make these adjustments constantly based on how training is being absorbed. The plan is a guide, not a prison sentence.

Trust the process

Building substantial fitness takes time. Not weeks or even months, but years of consistent, patient work. The runners who understand this and embrace the long-term view are the ones who are still improving in their 30s, 40s, and beyond, while others plateau or burn out.

Your wall might not look impressive in the early stages compared to others who are throwing around bigger bricks. But if you focus on laying each brick properly and using good cement, you'll end up with something that lasts.