What's The Best Way To Train?

Ever wish you could capture the full picture of exactly what your body is going through on a run? Well, you can! Whether it’s wind, heat, humidity, or something else, Stryd captures all the factors that can slow you down and quantifies them to show you the true effort behind every second of your run.

One Size Does Not Fit All

You’ve probably heard it before: comparison is the thief of joy. And when it comes to training, it’s often the thief of progress.

At a macro level, distance running looks pretty much the same for everyone: easy miles, threshold work, intervals, long runs, and hills. But the exact execution depends entirely on the individual. We all have different physiological profiles, with unique strengths and weaknesses.

While many runners search for the "perfect" training formula, 4x NCAA Champion and 2x Olympian Morgan McDonald believes that approach misses the point. After years of competing and training at the highest level, he's learned that even athletes with nearly identical performances can require completely different training to reach their potential.

"You could put 10 sub-13-minute 5K guys in a room, and all of them will have different physiological reasons for how they got to that level. There are going to be different limiting factors for all of them."

Morgan has always stayed committed to the fact that there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ training method. So when his training at the On Athletic Club (OAC) no longer aligned that belief, he made the difficult decision to leave one of the world's top distance training groups and build a system tailored specifically to who he is as an athlete.

For the full conversation, subscribe to @haxtraining on YouTube or follow The HAX Show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Room To Grow

Despite being a 13-flat 5K runner and even having an NCAA XC title to his name, Morgan says he considers himself "aerobically underdeveloped."

"One thing that was always a red flag for me was... if I put my PB into a training calculator and tried to train at those zones, I'd be like, 'What the hell is going on? This is not possible at all.'"

To better target his aerobic system, Morgan began using blood lactate testing. He discovered his true aerobic threshold was much slower than what training groups or online calculators suggested.

"Pretty much the way that you figure out that you're not aerobically developed is that you hit that lactate number at a slower pace than everybody else or at a slower pace than maybe you once thought that you should be running."

For the past 10 months, he hasn't focused on pace. Instead, he's prioritized consistency, gradually increasing threshold volume through double sessions and trusting what the lactate data tells him—not what anyone else is doing.

"A lot of the work is pretty dialed in and more about just consistency... the actual pace you're running is not nearly as important as what's going on inside your body."

Your Personalized Path

If you take anything from Morgan’s journey, remember: there’s never just one way forward. Your body is unique, and merely following generic training plans or chasing someone else's paces won't maximize your potential. The best runners aren’t stressing over their splits or what their competitors are doing; they’re looking to better understand your own physiology and training accordingly.

And don’t forget; this is an ongoing process! Morgan has been a pro for a while now and is still figuring things out and trying new things. The most important thing is staying committed to continual growth as an athlete.

Tune In to the Full Conversation

Hear more from Morgan on what it’s been like experimenting with new training methods, building the Coffee Club community, and what he’s working toward for the rest of his career. Check it out on the latest episode of The HAX Show.

▶️ Watch the Full Episode on YouTube or🎙️ Listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts

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