Does "Greasing the Groove" Work For Running?

Early results from a summer of daily runs

Many years ago, when I was still in my 30s and looking to increase my strength-training volume, I discovered “greasing the groove,” a concept popularized by fitness coach Pavel Tsatsouline.

At its core, “greasing the groove” means training a specific lift frequently, and spreading out the volume. In simple terms, the theory presumes that by doing an exercise frequently—say every day—but not lifting to failure, you can train your nervous system to lift heavier weight.

Here’s a metaphor that Pavel used to describe the process, as quoted in a Breaking Muscle article by Craig Marker:

How do you improve your tennis serve? Do you hit the court once a week and keep on serving until your balls could not knock out a sick mosquito and you can barely lift your arm? No, you come to the court as often as possible, ideally more than once per day, and slam those little yellow balls until you feel that your serves are about to slow down.

In my case, I decided to apply this theory to barbell squats, as prescribed by Matt Perryman in his book Squat Every Day. This meant daily squat sessions where I’d do lots of single reps with progressively heavier weights. The reason I did this was simple: I didn’t like squatting. I thought that if I trained my nervous system to become used to the neurological load imposed by the challenging exercise, I’d get better at it.

And guess what? I did. But like every workout routine, I eventually moved on.

The Plan: Running Every Day, On Purpose

A few months ago, I decided I’d start a running streak. While I hadn’t processed it at the time, I basically began testing whether or not greasing the groove worked for me with running.

I’ve been primarily training for the 5K and mile distance over the past few years, as I prefer running shorter distances, faster. (An aside: it would be amazing if some of the running companies out there started offering mile races. I’d be all over that!)

I’d grown tired recently of repetitive training plans where I would run three to four times a week, with a track interval run, a tempo run and a long run guaranteed. My 5K paces in races over the past year had ranged from about 7:42/mile to 8:07/mile, and I’d spent a lot of time training to improve my mile time, which meant my 5K wasn’t progressing.

As I contemplated training in Texas over the soon-to-be-hot summer, I wondered, what if I tried something completely different? What if I ran every day, doing many shorter runs, and spreading out the volume?

I devised my plan: I’d do as much of my running as possible at a slower pace (zone 2), but throw in at least one fast effort a week, along with a slightly longer run. This seemed like it could work in the summer, especially since it would encourage me to wake up earlier.

I also thought about how I might use this plan to improve my 5K pace for the fall, despite the slower runs. Rather than doing a bunch of intervals or tempo work, what if I simply ran at my desired pace for a mile, and then added a tenth of a mile to that effort every week?

Two Months In: What Changed

On May 25, at 5:45 a.m., “The Streak” was born. Today I’m on day 59, so I’ve got about two months’ worth of evidence. As I’ve progressed the streak, I’ve been entering the data from my runs into Claude, and it’s been pretty fascinating to observe. I’d originally started this streak with the goal of running for a month straight, but I decided to keep it going as I began to see results. Here are a couple of the standout data points:

• My heart rate on easy runs has dropped significantly, about 20 bpm on average. According to Strava, I’ve been spending more time in “zone 2,” which seems to have had benefits.

• On my fast runs, I’ve been targeting a pace between 6:55/mile and 7:10/mile. I’ve been successful in extending my distance at this pace from one mile to 1.6 miles, with my pace staying on target and average heart rates 2-7 beats per minute lower.

• This approach seems to have generally helped with my heat adaptation, too, as it’s been getting hotter over the course of my runs (even at 5:45 a.m. it’s 80 degrees and humid in Texas).

• This is not a streak that’s focused on tons of miles per week. All in all, I was averaging about 10-11 miles for the first few weeks, and have been doing about 13-14 recently. For me, this has been about finding a way to get out and be active during the hot Texas summer, and testing my own theory.

After nearly two months of “The Streak,” I’ve been pleased with the results. I think what I like most about it is that I didn’t have to use an app or someone else’s workout plan. I came up with it on my own, and it’s working for me.

I’ll be curious to see if I can continue to lengthen out my fast runs and see results. I’ve got lots of other lessons I’ve learned so far—including remembering not to eat tons of fiber the night before a fast run—but I’ll save those for another time.

Have you ever tried a running streak? If so, how long did you keep it up, and what were your results?