I’ve been running for about 10 years now. Okay, I will nuance that immediately: with rather varying success.. It all started with a city run in Ghent, with guidance from my school. Afterwards I started to use plans that you find online.

My big problem: dosing my efforts (or curbing my enthousiasm)! I knew pretty quickly that running at a given heart rate was not my thing: it varies so much from day to day that it is actually almost impossible to execute well. As a result I didn’t make any progress and certainly wasn’t ‘feeling it’. Plans based on “effort” then: yes, all well and good, but I’m a huge striver and if that plan said to do 10km “at ease”, then I just didn’t do it “at ease”.
I have had some serious shin splints as a result, all the more so because I am generally injury prone (if you go all-out for 30km a week, it shouldn’t be surprising).

To me running is a way to clear my head after (or during) a busy working day, with a very demanding job. I often joke that running is actually cheaper therapy for me (although that can also be nuanced – hello 5 pairs of trainers!).

I’ve been running for about 10 years now. Okay, I will nuance that immediately: with rather varying success.. It all started with a city run in Ghent, with guidance from my school. Afterwards I started to use plans that you find online.

My big problem: dosing my efforts (or curbing my enthousiasm)! I knew pretty quickly that running at a given heart rate was not my thing: it varies so much from day to day that it is actually almost impossible to execute well. As a result I didn’t make any progress and certainly wasn’t ‘feeling it’. Plans based on “effort” then: yes, all well and good, but I’m a huge striver and if that plan said to do 10km “at ease”, then I just didn’t do it “at ease”.
I have had some serious shin splints as a result, all the more so because I am generally injury prone (if you go all-out for 30km a week, it shouldn’t be surprising).

To me running is a way to clear my head after (or during) a busy working day, with a very demanding job. I often joke that running is actually cheaper therapy for me (although that can also be nuanced – hello 5 pairs of trainers!).

Somewhere in 2020 I wanted to start my preparation for the 20km of Brussels with an effort-based plan, until I suddenly got a lot of advertisements on Instagram from Trenara.
Honestly: I had never heard of it so I often clicked that advertisement away. But, and that proves that the men of Trenara really know something about marketing: after a while I opened it, looked at it, started using it, and now I dare to say that I don’t understand why not more people are using it.

I have advised just about everyone I know who has even the slightest interest in running to use Trenara. It is one of the few apps that I am happy to pay the monthly free for, because the result is so visible and, more importantly, you can feel it as well. Trenara helped me run the 20km smoothly (in a better time than I imagined!), the 10 miles, and is now helping me prepare for a marathon.

I especially like the flexibility and the clarity of the app: I have a very busy job and with Trenara I can perfectly shift training sessions, and I no longer have to think about what I will do for how long and how fast (or slow).
Shifting sessions and being able to adjust the surface and altimeters (people don’t realize it, but Brussels is quite hilly) are a huge plus for me!