We recommend that you read Training Basics if you haven't already. It introduces many ideas like hard / easy training patterns, what makes your performance improve, tempo runs, and other basic training methods. This article builds on those concepts to develop a complete training program.
This article is intended for runners at an intermediate level, who are experienced runners trying to become more competitive in their age group or overall in local races.
While this article provides basic concepts that are applicable to
anyone who has been running a while, it is important to understand that a
beginning runner should not jump into this program or the training schedules
provided. These schedules are very
stressful and will leave you injured if you are not prepared with at least
months of running base. If you have not
been running for at least a few months, please do yourself a favor and keep
doing easy running and maybe a few races, until your body is ready for 30 or 40
mile weeks.
Please don't start one of the programs without this base behind you.
Running is very simple, right?
You just put one foot in front of the other and move forward. Right?
Well, yes and no.
Running is simple. Many people
will develop a good running style with a little practice. Others need some help in this area. If you have a chance to have yourself
videotaped and have someone analyze your style, don't miss that
opportunity. It can help you a great
deal in the long run. However, this article
is going to deal primarily with training methods and not on form.
What can you do to run faster?
We can help you with how to run faster.
There are specific training methods proven to help distance runners be
more efficient and to develop a stronger cardiovascular system in order to
maintain a fast running pace in a distance race.
First let's look at what it takes to make a good distance runner. The answer is:
-
Basic
aerobic conditioning
-
Endurance
(ability to run long)
-
Maximum
aerobic capacity (body's ability to deliver lots of oxygen to the muscles)
-
Ability
to run at a high percentage of capacity without going into oxygen debt
-
Basic
leg speed
-
Efficiency
of running stride (no wasted movement, use less oxygen at the same pace)
There are basic training techniques to develop each of these
attributes. They have been proven
through scientific research to be effective, and in fact more effective than
other methods. The following topics
address each of these.
Basic Aerobic Conditioning
(Easy Running) - Running
at an easy pace for long periods develops many systems in the body for aerobic
activity. These include developing the
heart and lungs. However, the body's
adaptations go well beyond that. In
response to training the body expands blood vessels and grows capillaries in
the muscles in order to deliver oxygen to the muscles more efficiently. Some of these adaptations take years, so
never believe that you are as good as you will ever be after a few months of
training. The progression continues.
Another purpose of easy running pace is to allow you to run farther
without overstressing the body. You
can't run long and fast, or at least not often.
Long and fast is racing and is very stressful. However, long and slow (or relatively slow)
is very effective at developing endurance (more on that in next section).
A third purpose of easy running besides basic fitness and long runs, is
recovery. If you do some of the other
types of training described in this article they will be very stressful. You will need to allow your body to
recover. One way of doing this while
still gaining an additional benefit is an easy run, where the distance is not
too great and the pace is easy. The
purpose of this run is recovery, so don't be tempted to push it. An "easy day" can be more
beneficial to the muscles than a massage.
This type of running helps with basic aerobic conditioning, as do most
of the other types of running, though each has a special focus.
So, how fast is this pace? About
1 minute 20 seconds to 2 minutes slower than your 5K race pace or even
slower. This should be very easy, a pace
where you can carry on a conversation with someone running with you.
Endurance (Long Runs) - If 3 miles is as far as you ever run, you
will have a hard time running a fast 5K.
The reason is that it is pushing your endurance limits if that is as far
as you ever go. The same is true for
10Ks or 15Ks, if they equal your long run.
Once a week you should be doing a run that is longer than your other
runs. It should probably be in the 10 to
15 mile range to race well at 5K to 15K.
If 5K is as far as you go, you may be able to get away with 6 or 8
miles, but you will race better if you extend it to at least 10 miles.
Running longer has several effects.
One is that 5K suddenly feels like a very short, easy distance, one that
you can run fast. (That would be nice,
wouldn't it?) Another benefit is that
the adaptations mentioned under easy runs are accelerated on longer runs.
Long runs are at least started at an easy pace. If you feel good at half or two-thirds of the
distance, you can slowly increase your pace for the last few miles up to what
is sometimes referred to as "steady" or "marathon pace",
about 30 seconds to a minute faster than "easy" and 30 seconds per
mile slower than tempo. Author Lydiard,
one of the founders of the current running revolution and a brilliant coach,
always had his runners speed up on the last third of their long run. At that point you are already taxed and this
can be a pretty tough run, but a very beneficial workout.
Just be careful not to race the distance or start speeding up too
early. You also may not want to try
speeding up the first time at a distance.
Our experience has been that long runs are only easy up to the point
that you have done them before recently. If you have run 10 miles before recently and
are trying 11 today, the last mile is usually hard, even without speeding up.
Developing the Ability to Run
at a High Percentage of Capacity Without Going into Oxygen Debt (Tempo Runs) - We all know what it is like to go into
oxygen debt. That is the feeling in a 5K
or mile race when you are gasping for air and your body is screaming
"Stop!" (It is about the same
feeling you get holding your breath under water). Each runner has some percentage of maximum
they can run at without going into oxygen debt.
For well trained runners, this is about 85% of maximum oxygen usage (max
VO2 which is maximum oxygen uptake / usage).
For less trained athletes this can be closer to 75% of maximum oxygen
usage. Tempo runs provide the mechanism
to push this value toward the higher range.
This threshold where you just barely remain aerobic (with oxygen) is
known as your aerobic threshold. This is
approximately the pace that a well conditioned runner can maintain for one
hour. This is not only critical in how
well you can run for an hour, but also defines how fast you can run in shorter
races without going too far into oxygen debt.
It also affects how close to this threshold you can run in longer
races. This threshold will affect every
distance from the mile to the marathon and beyond, though it is more critical
the longer the race is.
If you are a marathoner, this is a primary focus. If you are a 5K runner, it is important, but
certainly not your only focus
Scientific studies have shown that the most effective way to push this
threshold to a higher percentage and therefore a faster pace, is to run right
at the edge of this limit without going past it. In other words run at this pace or just a
little slower, not a little faster!
When you go faster you go into an anaerobic state (oxygen debt) and lose
the benefit of pushing the edge of this limit.
As noted before, tempo runs are done at about the pace you can run for
an hour in a race effort, assuming you are very well conditioned. This pace is about 20 to 30 seconds slower
than your current 5K race pace. These
runs are done in training for less than an hour, in order to make the effort
recoverable within a day or two, not at race effort. They are usually introduced into a running
program by starting with a mile or two at a time, maybe more than once in a
training run. They usually build to
about 30 minutes of continuous running at this pace. One alternate approach that has been utilized
is called "cruise intervals", which are shorter distances at this
pace, perhaps 1200 meters, repeated several times with a short jogging
recovery. All of these methods appear
effective, though once you build to it, a constant effort of about 30 minutes
appears to be the most effective, and remember this is a controlled effort at a
specific pace. It is not a 30 minute
race!
An approach that may work for you to do tempo runs without going too
fast is to start a little slow and build to the target pace. For example, if your target pace is 7:00
minutes per mile, you might start at 7:15 the first mile and work down to 7:00
by the 4th mile (about 30 minutes total).
This works very well with most runners.
(Note that easy for this runner is 8:00 to 8:30 per mile, so 7:15 is
still quite fast, though not at 5K race pace, which is about 6:30 to 6:40 per
mile for this runner).
Developing Maximum Aerobic
Capacity (Intervals) -
Intervals are running at a fast pace for a limited amount of time, recovering,
and then repeating the effort. This
allows running at a fast pace without creating the level of stress that a race
does.
Scientific research has shown that the ideal pace is the Max VO2 pace,
which is about the effort you can hold for 2 miles at best effort. This is about 10 seconds per mile faster than
your current 5K race pace.
The reason this pace is beneficial is that this pace forces your system
to a maximum expenditure at the least possible stress. If you go any faster, you will not get any
additional benefit, but will not be able to spend as much total time at this
effort. Therefore, this training also is
at a very specific pace.
The optimum approach to interval training is to run at this hard pace
for 3 to 5 minutes, recover for about 2 to 3 minutes, and then repeat the
effort. Any longer than about 5 minutes
is too stressful (remember, this is your best effort 2 mile pace). Any shorter than about 3 minutes simply
reduces the total time at max heart rate.
Consider that while you are doing the repeated effort it takes about 1
minute or a little longer to maximize your heart rate. Therefore, a 3 minute interval accomplishes
about 1:30 to 2:00 at a maximal effort.
Eight of these repetitions would provide 12 to 16 minutes at maximum
effort. The key is how far beyond the
first minute you go without making the workout too stressful. Hence the 5 minute limit.
Note that some programs (even ones suggested by this author) may go
beyond 5 minutes for intervals for marathon training - mile repeats. In these cases, you may have to slow down,
perhaps by 15 seconds per mile or so.
The result is still a maximal workout, but with a slightly longer time
to get to maximal effort and an emphasis on sustaining pace for a longer
distance. While this may provide a
needed benefit for marathon runners, it is suggested that those training for
shorter distances stick with the 3 to 5 minute rule.
Basic Leg Speed (Strides
and Drills) - In the article Training Basics we introduced strides, which are basically
short sprints, comprised of slowly building up to a fast speed (90% of top
sprinting speed), holding this for 30 to 50 yards, and then gradually slowing
to a stop. This is repeated about 4 to 6
times either after an easy run or to get ready for fast running like intervals
or a race. The intent is a bit of fast
running, not an aerobic workout, so take walk breaks between strides.
That article also mentioned drills.
Many books provide drills that distance runners can use. These include at least the following:
High Knees - Jog
forward with an exaggerated knee lift.
The point is not fast forward motion.
The point is an exaggerated knee lift to at least straight out from the
hip or higher. This helps with both
flexibility and developing the muscles associated with knee lift.
Butt Kicks - This
also is an exaggerated stride. Jog
forward slowly while kicking the legs very high in the back of the stride,
hence the name "butt kicks".
Bounding - Jog
forward while exaggerating the height of each stride. Bounce very high in the air with each
step. This strengthens the calf
especially.
Hopping on One Foot
- Hop forward on one foot for about 20 strides, then on the other. Like bounding, this helps strengthen the calf
muscle and increase power at lift off.
Any of these drills can be performed out and back about 30 to 50 yards
/ meters after a run. They should be
done on grass or another soft surface, since they potentially involve a
significant impact. Do not try them on
cold, tight muscles before a run.
They are not listed in the schedule, but can be substituted for strides
wherever strides are listed, assuming you still do strides occasionally.
Efficiency of Running Stride
(Race Pace and Repeats) -
It is important to spend time running at race speed. This is a concept many authors refer to as
specificity, or training like you will race.
The true scientific principal at work is that by running at your race
pace or slightly faster you become efficient at running that speed. Your leg movements become smooth and
effortless and your body adapts to that pace.
If you are a marathon runner, this means spending some time running at
a pace between tempo and easy, the pace you hope to race at. For racers at shorter distances, it means
running fast for short periods to improve leg turn over and efficiency.
A concept we are adding here for shorter distance races (5K to 15K) is
"repeats". A repeat workout
consists of several 200 to 400 meter efforts at a fast pace with a full
recovery (5 to 6 minutes). The pace is
very fast (mile race pace), but the recovery is long enough that the effort is
less taxing than most interval sessions.
The objective is leg speed and efficiency at a pace faster than race
pace. These are typically run at mile
race pace. They make your 5K pace feel
slower and easier.
Some authors, including the famous Dr. Jack Daniels (who we hold in the
highest regard), argue for doing these efforts early in the season only because
they can leave the legs sore and stiff if you are not accustomed to them. This could hurt race performance. However, it can also be argued that you
should build up to this kind of training speed, in order to avoid injury. Our approach is to mix these in during the
middle part of the training cycle, in order to avoid both the issue of injury
and the issue of soreness due to introducing them late in the training cycle.
Summary - The paces are described and explained
above as to what each is trying to achieve and how it does this. The following is a summary, in order to help
organize you in trying to follow the schedules provided later:
Easy - Runs at
1:20 to 2:00 minutes slower than current 5K race pace
Steady - Runs a 50
seconds to 1 minute slower than current 5K race pace
Tempo - Runs up to
30 minutes at 20 to 30 seconds per mile
slower than current 5K race pace
Intervals or "Fast" - Runs of 3 to 5 minutes at about 10 seconds per mile faster than
current 5K race pace, repeated several times with a 2 to 3 minute recovery
Repeats - Runs of 200
to 400 meters at mile race pace (about 30 to 45 seconds per mile faster than 5K
race pace), repeated several times with full recovery of 5 to 6 minutes
Strides - Short
runs of not more than 100 meters, where you slowly build to 90% of max speed,
hold it for about 30 to 50 meters, and then gradually slow down.
However, for precise paces, based on your
current 5K race pace, see our Training Pace
Tables.
We have broken the season down into 4 phases. This is not unique. Most coaches do something similar. However, we may be a little unique in the exact approach. While some coaches do only one type of running in a given phase, we don't. That is a concept whose time has probably passed. We have an emphasis in each phase, but we also recognize that if you completely ignore other aspects of your training, you will go backward in some areas, even while progressing in other areas. We believe you need to continue at least a little maintenance in the areas you are not currently focusing on. However, we definitely propose focusing on specific aspects of your training during different phases of the season. Our recommended phases are as follows:
Phase 1 - Building a Base: Establish a running base and start into quality training.
Phase 2 - Building Efficiency: Do the training that makes you more efficient and pushes your aerobic threshold closer to your max.
Phase 3 - Building Aerobic Capacity: Build your maximum capabilities to make you faster at any distance.
Phase 4 - Building to a Peak: Take all of that training and turn it into race performance!
The purpose of this pattern is run the best you have ever run at the end of the season, which is the end of this cycle. If you are a college or high school runner, that would be a championship race, like going to state or the conference championship. If you are an adult age-group runner, maybe it is just the end of the club season or a race you really want a PR at. This schedule will help you toward either goal. However, realize that you can't run the best race of your life every weekend (or at least not for very long). You need to follow the plan and build towards a break-through race at the end of the plan.
Plan the time out so that this schedule ends at a race you really care about.
Another consideration in building a schedule is how long you build up to a peak. A training cycle for most people is anywhere from 4 months to 8 months. A high school or collegiate runner might run two cycles per year, one building toward cross country season, the other building toward track season. For adult runners, you will have to determine your own seasons. You might work towards a fall season and a spring season, or other variations depending on where you live. Here in Florida, the season is really late fall to early spring. Summer is survival mode just trying to keep the running going or build a base toward a fall marathon, perhaps in a cooler climate.
The focus in this phase is going to be on building a base that will allow you to do the harder training that follows without getting injured. We will focus on ramping the miles up while introducing tempo, speed, and strides gently. This phase will establish a basis for the harder training coming later. It won't be easy, but all training is progressive. You need to walk before you run. You need to run before you race.
During this phase you will do tempo runs. However, the runs will be introduced as something like cruise intervals, where you run at tempo pace for a time and then recover for a few minutes before running at tempo pace again.
We will also introduce intervals by adding runs that include very short, repeated runs at a fast pace. These will be incorporated into runs that are mostly just a steady pace. However, the inclusion of fast running may make the runs a little harder.
Strides will be used to help with leg speed. These are very short bursts at near top speed. They not only develop leg speed; they stretch muscles and ligaments that are needed for speed work that will follow.
The primary focus in the second phase is building efficiency. There are two aspects to this. The first is doing tempo runs which push the aerobic threshold downward, allowing you to run at a faster pace without experiencing oxygen debt. This is accomplished by running right at the threshold, or maximum aerobic pace without going below (faster than) this pace.
The second aspect focusing on efficiency is repeats. These are 200 to 400 meter repeats at a pace slightly faster than race pace, with long recoveries, in order to develop stride efficiency at race pace. This also has the effect of making race pace feel easier than it did before.
During this phase we will also include the short intervals to continue to develop your max VO2 and maintain what we started in the base phase. This also builds into where we are going next.
The focus now is to develop your max VO2. You will be pushing your limits in speed work and training very hard. The result will be that your maximum capability will move to a faster and faster pace. Because you have already developed efficiency and pushed your aerobic threshold to a higher percentage of your max, your capability to run fast aerobically will also see major improvement. During this phase you set the groundwork for peaking late in the season during the next phase of your training.
You will also maintain what you have already developed with tempo runs, repeats, and strides.
The focus here will be speed. You are getting ready to run your fastest races ever. However, part of what is needed to run really fast is to be rested. Your mileage will drop towards the end, in order to allow you to get to your most important race(s) ready to run a PR. If you have never tapered into a peak, you have never reached your full potential. The purpose of the last few months has been to build up to a very high level of training. However, you don't want to go into racing tired. You have to back off at the end to run your best. Your whole focus has been to race well at the end of the season.
The following schedule utilizes the plan outlined above into a schedule that will lead you to a PR, maybe a breakthrough, at the end of the plan. This is very hard training, so please do not start this plan unless you are doing something close to 30 miles per week and have some experience doing speed work. Otherwise, you may end up injured and that does no one any good.
In implementing this plan you may have to make a few adjustments of your own. For example, Friday is usually a day off. This is useful leading into races, but perhaps another day of the week is difficult for you to run. You can swap days, if you maintain the basic hard / easy pattern.
Also note that the Tuesday run is usually the focus or key run for the week. You need to get in this run. The next most important runs are the Thursday maintenance or introduction run and the long run. If you have to skip a run and only run 5 days a week, try to make the missed run one of the easy days. However, the easy days are important. They clean the junk out of your muscles and get you ready for the hard day. Just take the easy days easy! They are recovery days to allow you to "kill" the hard days, where you are getting most of your quality training.
If you are doing the speed work on a track, you may want to convert time to distance. For example, if your interval / fast pace is 6:40 per mile, this is 5:00 for 1200 meters or 3:20 for 800 meters. You could convert 5 minutes to 1200 meters and 3 minutes to 800 meters in your own schedule (or 700 meters).
Also, if 20 weeks is not the right duration for you, repeat or skip a couple of weeks in the schedule to get to the right duration for you. In fact, for 2 seasons a year, we would probably recommend a week or two off or very easy running after the end of the season, followed by working into the plan below, requiring a 24 or 25 week schedule, including perhaps repeating the first 2 weeks of this schedule and 2 other weeks somewhere in the middle.
|
Week |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Total Miles |
Phase |
|
1 |
4 Mile Easy |
6 miles with 2 miles steady |
3 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
8 Miles |
30 |
Base |
|
2 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
8 Miles |
32 |
Base |
|
3 |
4 Mile Easy |
6 miles with 2 miles steady |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
10 Miles |
34 |
Base |
|
4 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
11 Miles |
37 |
Base |
|
5 |
4 Mile Easy |
8 miles with 2 miles steady |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
12 Miles |
38 |
Base |
|
6 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
12 Miles |
39 |
Efficiency |
|
7 |
4 Mile Easy |
20 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
13 Miles |
39 |
Efficiency |
|
8 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
14 Miles |
40 |
Efficiency |
|
9 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
14 Miles |
40 |
Efficiency |
|
10 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
14 Miles |
40 |
Efficiency |
|
11 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
12 Miles |
38 |
Aerobic Capacity |
|
12 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
1 mile very easy |
Tune up 5K or 10K |
10 Miles |
38 |
Aerobic Capacity |
|
13 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
12 Miles |
38 |
Aerobic Capacity |
|
14 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
1 mile very easy |
Tune up 5K or 10K |
10 Miles |
38 |
Aerobic Capacity |
|
15 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
12 Miles |
38 |
Aerobic Capacity |
|
16 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
Day Off |
1 mile very easy |
Tune up 15K or Half Marathon |
8 Miles |
37 |
Peaking |
|
17 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
12 Miles |
36 |
Peaking |
|
18 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
Day Off |
1 mile very easy |
Tune up 5K or 10K |
8 Miles |
30 |
Peaking |
|
19 |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
4 Mile Easy |
15 min Warm-up |
Day Off |
Day Off |
4 Mile Easy |
23 |
Peaking |
|
20 |
4 Mile Easy |
10 min Warm-up |
3 Mile Easy |
Day Off |
1 mile very easy |
Target Race |
3 Mile Easy |
13 + Race |
Peaking |
Note also that when you get to your peak, you can probably maintain
this peak for another week or two at least.
Just keep doing easy weeks and racing.
If the last 3 weeks were Districts, Regionals, and State, you might want
to follow this, but taper a little more in the next to the last week for
Regionals.
Also, depending on your age, you may want to modify this a little. If you are older, you may want to back off a
little on the quality work by making the Thursday workout a little easier. If you are younger, you may even want to step
it up a little on the mileage or quality workout durations. Anyone can step the mileage up or down a
little to fit where they are. Just
adjust the duration up or down a little.
However, try to maintain the duration of each tempo, interval (fast), or
repeat segment. The duration is what
makes it the quality session that it is.
For example, if 4 x 5 minutes hard is too much, do 3 x 5 minutes hard,
maintaining the interval length.
Sleep is important going into race day, especially 2 nights before the
race (Thursday night for a Saturday race).
Remember, the concept of peaking is to go into the last race as rested as
possible.
If you haven't already, you need to develop a race day routine. Perhaps you get up 3 hours before the race,
eat a very light breakfast and take a shower.
You might then drink a cup of coffee if you usually drink coffee and do
some light stretching. Depending on the
distance to the race, you may have to spend 30 minutes or an hour driving to
it. Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before
the race. Pick up your packet if you haven't already and go to the
bathroom. About 30 minutes before the
race warm up very gently for about 10 to 15 minutes, including 1 or 2
strides. A trick we like to use is to
start at the finish line, run the course backwards for 6 or 7 minutes and then
run the last part forward, ending with a stride through the finish line. This helps familiarize you with the last part
of the course, to give you hope when the going gets really tough. Running through the finish also helps you
visualize a strong finish.
After you complete this, stretch a little more and relax. When it gets close to race time, make your
way to the start and then do something to raise your heart rate a little. Did you ever notice the fast people doing
strides before the start? They do this
because if your heart rate is at 80 beats per minute when the gun goes off, you
are going to be in serious oxygen debt very quickly. You need to raise your heart rate. You can even bounce in place if you have to
in order to get your heart rate up. You
need your heart rate at 120 or more when the gun goes off so your cardiovascular
system gets a "running start".
Try it both ways and you will see a big difference with how you feel
about a quarter mile into the race.
Experiment a
little in your warm-up races to find out exactly what works for you.
Good luck at the
races!
Copyright 2009 by Florida East Coast Runners and
Frank Norris. Reproduction or reprinting
without written permission is illegal.
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