I started training with Coach Miranda six weeks ago, and I must say I have a totally different outlook on training than I did prior to our sessions. I’ve gained a whole new perspective about what it means to train for a run.

Never would I have thought to vary running paces and modify workouts the way I have over the last few weeks. The new twists on old workouts are the kinds of things that I’m sure are developing my body in ways I didn’t know about.

Like some runners, I’ve grown accustomed to maintaining a fast running pace. Since I mostly run on a treadmill, it is really easy to stay in that frame of mind. Training with a coach has gotten my body out of its comfort zone and outside more often. I’ve put new stresses on my body, which has helped me strengthen different kinds of muscles I didn’t even know were there.

During this past week of training in particular, I mostly ran at what I would consider an “easy” pace. I joked with my coach that I caught up on some TV shows on Netflix while running. Despite all of this, I still feel like I’ve achieved solid training and I’ve trained at a fitness-improving threshold on many occasions.

Sometimes, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, in a good way. I would have never thought that incorporating easy runs could achieve such results.

Of course it’s not the easy runs that get the job done. I’ve had plenty of medium & hard runs as well as strength training sessions in the same weeks, but the scheduled slower runs has allowed for the reassurance that my body needs.

Running at an easy pace has also made running fun again. It helps to renew my reasons for running and gives me flexibility in my training and in the rest of my life’s activities.

I’m all for training smarter, not harder, and my coach has helped craft some plans that have been both strenuous and rewarding, while being time-saving and intentional runs.

Ethan Fleck and his wife, Kristin, blog about health and wellness at Hello, Flecks. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with his training updates and more!