Let It Be Simple

When you truly understand something, you can explain it simply.

The year after I graduated from the University of Virginia, I returned to see other friends graduate. The commencement speech was among the longest I’ve ever heard. It went on and on . . . and on. After the speech, the next act was a university singing group. They sang Let It Be by the Beatles. And there it was, the entire message of a record-breaking commencement speech wrapped up in a few words of a simple, repetitive song.

As we finish 2020, most of the world is hopeful for a different 2021. Runners everywhere are looking forward to a new year of running, and will surely think about their training goals and plans. Be careful to temper the excitement of the new year.

Just as that commencement speaker packed his speech with anecdotes, tangential stories, awkward jokes, and a lot of words I probably missed while daydreaming, it is so easy to overcomplicated your running year and your training program before it’s even begun.

Let it be. The most effective training plans are simple, and even repetitive.