[chrisfosterelli]

Thanks, this is what I was trying to articulate with my original comment. I've never heard of a runner who gets a little faster and decides "oh ok, I'll just take it easier now". You don't get fitter by training with respect to yesterday's fitness.

[cthalupa]

One thing that I think is important to note is that a lot of people in this position aren't going to be wanting to become Runners with a capital R - they're going to be looking for the minimal effective dose to be healthy. Some, of course, will catch the bug and enjoy it enough and start to push themselves, but there are a lot of people who just go find some recommended weekly amount from the american cardiovascular society or something they heard on a podcast and set that as their goal and have no desire to move past it.