Progressing Workouts to Run Faster for Longer

With simple things, sometimes we overthink them, making them more complex than it needs to be.

This can happen to runners and their training.

The SAID principle (an acronym which stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand), is one of the most important basic concepts in sport science.

It means that the body will try to get better at exactly what you practice.

Want to get faster? Frequently practice running fast.

Want to run longer? Frequently practice running long.

Want to run faster for longer? Frequently practice running faster for longer.

There doesn’t seem to be much confusion about how to train to run faster or longer, but when it comes to running faster for longer there is a lot of misguided approaches out there.

How to train to run faster for longer is actually very simple.

Here’s how you do it:

First, decide how fast you want to run for a given distance, like 15:00 for 5,000m.

Then take an honest look at how far away your current condition is from that goal. Let’s say last week you ran a 5,000m in 16:00.

That’s about a 6% difference (if the difference is larger than 10% and the goal is most likely unrealistic).

Decide how long you have to work towards your goal fitness, perhaps 3 months.

Make sure your time horizons for your progression are realistic, this is where a qualified and experienced coach can help.

Next, do some simple math.

Running a 5K in 15:00 is about sustaining 4:48/mile pace or 72”/400m for 15 minutes.

Key training sessions should be focused on running 4:48/mile pace or 72”/400m for a total of 15 - 20 minutes.

However, in their current condition, our 16:00 5K runner cannot accomplish this ask without mini-breaks, or recovery intervals sprinkled throughout a training session.

How frequent and long the recovery intervals are in a workout depend on the runner and the length & number of runs at 4:48/mile pace in a session.

For example, if you performed 16 x 400m @ 72” you might only need 60” - 90” recovery after each 400m rep to complete sixteen 400s on pace. If you run 8 x 800m @ 2:24 you might need 3’ - 4’ after each rep to run every step on pace.

More volume isn’t necessarily productive (goal race pace workouts don’t need to be longer than 1/3 of the target race distance) nor is a faster pace than targeted.

What is most important is teaching your body to run goal pace — and doing it with high frequency.

The two best ways to progress goal pace training workouts is to either 1) extend the duration the runner runs at goal pace without interruption or 2) increase the density of goal pace running by shortening the recovery intervals.

A progressive extension of repetition length on a 15:00/5k goal pace workout could look like:

16 x 400m @ 72” on 3’ recovery → 8 x 800m @ 72'“/400m on 3’ recovery → 6 x 1,000m @ 72”/400m on 3’ recovery → 4 x 1 Mile @ 72'“/400m on 3’ recovery → 3 x 2,000m @ 72”/400m on 3’ recovery → 2 x 3000m @ 72”/400m on 3’ recovery, etc.

Progressing the workout density of goal pace running by shortening the recovery intervals could look like:

16 x 400m @ 72” on 90” recovery → 16 x 400m @ 72” on 75” recovery → 16 x 400m @ 72” on 60” recovery → 6 x 400m @ 72” on 45” recovery → 6 x 400m @ 72” on 30” recovery → 6 x 400m @ 72” on 15” recovery.

My suggestion is to aim for running 2 - 3 goal pace workouts per week (that would total about 30 - 60 minutes weekly of practice at goal pace) and progressing a workout on the 3rd or 4th running of it.

In about 12 weeks, provided a runner doesn’t have any interruption and workouts are able to progress either in extension and density — or both, a runner should be well prepared to run stronger and run close or faster than their target time.

Good luck! | jm

It's Got to Be the Shoes : The Scientific Reason "Super Shoes" Make All Runners Faster

Runners of all levels are all running significantly faster race times today than 5 years ago.

The reason: running shoes with a high stack height of highly responsive running foam combined with a full-length plate.

As much as we’d like to think training methods have improved in the past 5 years, the quantum leap in performance all runners are enjoying clearly demonstrates “it’s got to be the shoes.”

What these “super shoes” do is substantiality increase running economy, which in turn allows runners to run faster speeds for longer durations.

Running economy is the oxygen cost of running at a specific speed. Runners with good running economy use less oxygen to run at a specific velocity compared with runners with less optional economy.

Training influences running economy, but so does surface.

Running on springy surfaces tends to improve running economy, but running on hard, stiff surfaces can increase oxygen costs and thus may have a negative impact on the economy. (1)

Runners with a better economy will work at lower percentages of VO2 Max for various speeds than a runner who requires lots of oxygen and therefore has poor economy.

The percentage of VO2 Max associated with a particular pace has a strong effect on how long the speed can be sustained. When fit runners cruise along at a pace that is approx. 82% of VO2 Max they can complete a marathon before slowing or stopping. At 94% of VO2 Max most highly trained runners cannot go further than 5K before slowing (2)

Therefore, being able to run in a quality way at a lower performance of VO2 Max prolongs a runner’s stamina at a specific pace, which shows good running economy is highly advantageous for runners and why the running economy improvement super shoes offer runners is so significant to enhancing performance.

Source:

• Running Science, Anderson, pp. 88-90

References:

• (1) Kerdok, A. et al. Energetics and mechanics of human running on surfaces of different stiffnesses, J Appl Physiol Vol 92, pp. 469–478, 2002.

• (2) C. T. M. Davies & M. W. Thompson, Aerobic performance of female marathon and male ultramarathon athletes, European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology Vol. 41, pp. 233–245,1979.

25 Golden Rules of Long Distance Running

These rules come from this Runner’s World article. It’s clear the target audience is the total novice runner.

This list should be only 8-10 rules, as many of the “rules” are filler and common sense.

I highlighted in bold what I think are the useful “rules” on this list to keep in mind — all the rest are either half truths, silly, or common sense.

1. The most effective training mimics the event for which you’re training.

2. Increase weekly training mileage by no more than 10% per week.

3. Wait for about two hours after a meal before running.

4. Start every run with 10 minutes of walking and slow running, and do the same to cool down.

5. If something hurts for two straight days while running, take two (or more) days off.

6. Don’t eat or drink anything new before or during a race or hard workout.

7. For each mile that you race, allow one day of recovery before returning to hard training or racing.

8. A headwind always slows you down more than a tailwind speeds you up.

9. You should be able to talk in complete sentences while running.

10. Build up to and run at least one 20-miler before a marathon.

11. For a few days before a long race, emphasize carbohydrates in your diet.

12. Runners improve for about seven years.

13. To be safe, run facing traffic.

14. Running uphill slows you down more than running downhill speeds you up.

15. Sleep one extra minute per night for each mile per week that you train.

16. Consume a combination carbohydrate-protein food or beverage within 30 to 60 minutes after any race, speed workout, or long run.

17. Runners who only run are prone to injury.

18. The best way to race to a personal best is to maintain an even pace from start to finish.

19. Replace running shoes once they’ve covered 400 to 500 miles.

20. Take at least one easy day after every hard day of training.

21. Dress for runs as if it’s 10 degrees warmer than the thermometer actually reads.

22. The most effective pace for VO2 max interval training is about 20 seconds faster per mile than your 5K race pace.

23. Lactate-threshold or tempo-run pace is about the pace you can maintain when running all-out for one hour.

24. Do your longest training runs at least three minutes per mile slower than your 5K race pace.

25. The longer the race, the slower your pace.

Top 5 Books on Arthur Lydiard’s Training Methods

I’ve read A LOT of books on famed New Zealand running coach Arthur Lydiard and his training methods.

Here are, in order, my pick for the top 5 books on Lydiard’s Training Methods.

1. Running Your Best: The Committed Runner's Guide to Training and Racing by Ron Daws

   If you only read one book ever on Lydiard’s Training Methods this it is.

   Ron Daws does an amazing job of explaining in clear detail and simple language Lydiard’s methods, its benefits and drawbacks, and how to successfully apply Lydiard’s training principles to a variety of training situations and runners. It was written in 1985, so it is light on scientific evidence, but overall the information given is sound even to this day.

2. The Self-Made Olympian by Ron Daws

   Ron Daws was an average college runner who became one of the top US marathoners in the late 1960s as well as an Olympian in 1968. This book is part autobiography, part training log, and part training guide. It’s short, 140 pages, but it’s an insightful read. Daws is the first athlete I know who was not directly coached by Lydiard but achieved high-level competitive success applying his training methods.

3. Run to the Top by Arthur Lydiard and Garth Gilmore

   Published in 1962, Lydiard’s first book offers a raw, in-depth insight into his famed training methods. It’s hard to find, but worth the hunt. Later books by Lydiard and Gilmore offer more adaptive, less rigorous training meant for a wider audience. This book details how he developed his Olympic Gold Medalists and World Record Holders from seemingly out of nowhere. It reads more like a biography than a training text. Think Once a Runner meets Daniels Runner Formula. It does offer training schedules, but they’re meant to be more illustrations than instructions.

4. Distance Running by Robert M. Lyden

   Published in 2000, Lyden’s book offers a modern perspective on why Lydiard’s training methods work. Lyden is a Lydiard purest. He retains Lydiard’s annual cycles of acquisition (Base Period, Hill Period, Sharpening Period, and Peak Period) while offering modern scientific evidence and understand as to why Lydiard’s training periods and sequence results in successful adaption to the distance runner. At almost 500 pages, this book is packed with useful knowledge. It includes training schedules aimed at high school runners for 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 5K XC as well as schedules for 10K and Marathoning.

5. Healthy Intelligent Training: The Proven Principles of Arthur Lydiard by Keith Livingstone

   Livingstone’s book on Lydiard’s methods is the most accessible to a wide audience on my list. It offers a basic and succinct understanding of Lydiard’s methods written in a fun, very easy to read tone. This book a quick, enjoyable read.

5 Key Physiological Attributes of Successful Marathoners

Running success is a combination of both generic and training factors.

Genetics determines the range within which a runner can improve.

Training determines where a runner’s current abilities fall within their own genetic range.

5 Key Physiological Attributes of Successful Marathoners are:

1. High Lactate Threshold

2. High Glycogen Storage and well-developed Fat Utilization Ability

3. Excellent Running Economy

4. High Maximal Oxygen Uptake Velocity

5. Rapid Recovery from training stimuli

No one physiological factor makes a successful marathoner. It is the combination of all of these, and other, physiological factors along with biomechanical variables and psychological strength that combined determine marathoning success.

Reference: Advanced Marathoning, Pfitzinger & Douglas, p. 4