“In an ordinary training day, I remind myself that I am preparing for the extraordinary.” – Shalane Flanagan

Today’s drills are designed to get your feet moving quickly, but not in the traditional running sense. Instead of just plain old “left foot, right foot straight ahead”, we’re introducing drills that might challenge your balance and coordination but help you build more muscle control over how fast you move your feet and more control over where you place them. These change of pace drills will force your brain to build new neuromuscular pathways, which in the end will give you more options controlling how you move through space.

To a certain extent, it’s also a safety skill. If you’re running and you come across a pothole or pile of poo that you need to quickly sidestep or an unexpected rock field that you need to navigate while maintaining your trail pace, having more control over lifting and controlling where you place your feet is a good skill to have – especially when you’re tired.

You don’t have to be Fred Astaire to learn how to do these fast feet movements. But if you want to practice these moves in a tuxedo with a glass of champagne, go ahead – it’ll add some class to this joint.