This weekend I yet again ran a 5k the wrong way. Exploding out of the start like a rocket and hanging with the leaders for the first kilometre is always going to end badly and I was not disappointed. It quickly became an exercise in damage limitation and the final result was acceptable but with a caveat that I could have done better. I blame my training buddy Mark Lee who is probably on a par with me with the fast starts and after the first kilometre we were both set adrift as the ‘proper’ 5k runners (I say ‘proper’ by that I mean young and ‘full of beans’.) accelerated away.
Myself and Mark then maintained a gradual decline before both collapsing over the line, well I collapsed and I’m assuming Mark was probably in the same boat. Position wise a 5th place finish, beaten by runners I would expect to be beaten by at this distance, was not that bad but it was the manner of the race which was disappointing.
Started too fast and although the decline in pace was not significant it was not the way to race a 5k. Ideally you should ease into the race with the first kilometre probably not your fastest, this is saved for the finish. The second kilometre should be similar to the first, maybe a tad quicker and then you should see a progressive pace increase as you accelerate to the finish. Overall the 5k splits should be within 1-5 seconds of each other with the last a tad quicker. Easy to type but in the heat of battle so many runners forget all about pacing and ‘gun it’ from the start. The distance is not significant but when your legs are gone it doesn’t matter how long you have to finish, it’s going hurt. I consider a badly run 5k one of the most painful experiences in running, on the bright side it shouldn’t be that long before the finish comes into sight and you can always find something for that last sprint.
This last minute sprint I feel is related to the mental side of running. It’s amazing how many runners sprint for the finish when just previously they are just about jogging in a world of pain. The mental limiter has been lifted when the finish line is in sight and all of a sudden the mind lets the body go for broke confident that nothing will ‘break’ in the final few metres.
After the race on the journey home is when you start to question what has just transpired. Could I have gone out slower and finished stronger? Why do I always fall for the ‘follow Mark Lee’ race strategy? Why does a 5k hurt so much and at my age why am I still bothering to race them? Is 17:12 a good enough time, am I slowing down or was this a blip? So many questions and answering these will allow you to learn for the next time and believe me there will always be a next time.
So excuse wise I have a few. It was windy which is a two edged sword as I must admit to not being overly bothered about the conditions as I was caressed to a 3:08 min/k first kilometre. Although on the way back I was cursing the wind, and running in general truth be told, got to love the last kilometre of a 5k race when you’ve already shot your bolt. Another reason for the below par performance I am putting down to the start time. This 5k was a 6pm start and thinking back to all the races that I have run starting in the evening I have never performed that well. Spending all day stressing about the race, combined with a Yelo muffin, is normally a bad combination which ends up with me in a the pain box cursing the start time but never the muffin, funny that. I could always give up the pre-race muffin or maybe just give up the late start race, a quandary? (Not really, I’m never going to give up my Yelo muffin.) I have also been concentrating on distance as I work towards the ADU 100k this Friday evening. (There’s that evening start again but this time on steroids, it’s a midnight start! Actually is a midnight start an early start i.e. Saturday morning 0:01am or a really late start, Friday evening 11:59pm; I’m going for early start more for the mental benefit this will give me and for a 100k it’s all about mental strength.) Since the 6 inch in December I have avoided any speed work as I always give myself a few weeks to gently ease back into training. After a marathon you need to be very careful with regards picking up an injury, for me it’s a four week recovery period, avoiding pace. Wow, with all these excuses I actually ran a blinder yesterday and now feel so much better. This blogging lark is great for the confidence.
What did I take from this race? I need to run more 5k’s to better pace the distance correctly which I can do this with Saturday Park Runs. After the 4 week recovery period from the ADU I need to add more pace to my training runs as distance wise I am covered but I can feel my top end pace has suffered. Finally I need to stop chasing Mark Lee but after so many races over the years I feel this will be the hardest thing to implement, remember old dogs and new tricks is never a good combination.
An article below from Pete Magill who holds three American age-group records and is the oldest American to break 15:00 for 5K, which he did at age 47. I need to read this myself…….
The 5K is the race where runners come to meet. It’s the race where real distance runners drop down, taking a break from the usual smorgasbord of 15Ks, marathons, and 24-hour relays to snack on an event that seems nothing more than a sustained sprint. And it’s the place where middle-distance runners go up, figuring to grit their teeth and hang for three miles, then streak past all the slow-moving shufflers like cheetahs picking apart a herd of gazelle.
The 5K is where these two distinct groups of runners face off and where a third group, the 5K specialists, are likely to steal the show. Because the 5K specialist knows what neither the mileage junkie nor the speed racer seems to grasp: The 5K is a unique effort that demands a full range of physiological and psychological preparation.
And blending the correct components of that preparation takes more than marking down miles in a training log or recording splits during an interval session. It takes collecting and then putting together all the pieces of the 5K puzzle.
THE 5K PUZZLE
Zen master Yuan-tong noted, “When the task is done beforehand, then it is easy.”
I’ve coached hundreds of 5K runners over the past 25 years, from college All-Americans to middle-aged mortgage brokers to seniors battling osteoarthritis. And those who met their 5K race goal arrived at the start line properly trained in every aspect of the 5K. They had completed their “task” beforehand.
Surprisingly, most runners don’t practice this simple concept. Volume enthusiasts assume that big numbers in training logs ensure success in a race that is only 3.1 miles long. Interval warriors pound out 5K-pace repetitions, convinced that all they’ll have to do is connect the dots come race day. Both groups arrive at the start line with their task unfinished. Both are missing pieces of the 5K puzzle.
In a puzzle, we start with lots of little pieces, then match those pieces to build small islands (in a landscape puzzle, these islands might be patches of blue sky or a cluster of redwoods), which we then bring together to complete the puzzle.
For our 5K puzzle, we assemble pieces to create these six islands:.
Stride Efficiency
Aerobic Endurance
5K-Specific Endurance
Intermediate Fast-Twitch Endurance
Versatile Race Pace Efficiency
Post-Run Recovery & Injury Prevention
On race day, we join these islands to complete our 5K puzzle. Voila! Our task is done beforehand.
THE PIECES OF OUR PUZZLE
There is an ancient Chinese proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So does our training program… 1) STRIDE EFFICIENCY
It all begins with our stride. Stride efficiency is the single most important element of our future training and racing success. An efficient stride allows us to meet the demands of training without falling prey to injury. And a smoother, longer stride is an essential ingredient of a fast 5K. So how do we improve our stride?
If we wanted to improve as a ballet dancer, we wouldn’t throw on a CD of the Nutcracker, then twirl madly across the floor. Instead, we’d do drills to develop proper posture, correct placement, and alignment. We’d improve strength, flexibility, movement skills, and artistry. And we’d train until we could perform individual movements automatically, without having to think our way through every plié or pirouette.
It’s the same with running. If we want to improve our running stride, we don’t dash madly through the streets, across a park, or around a track. Instead, we begin by developing the parts — the individual actions that make up our stride. And we do this using two methods:
Technique drills involve variations of movements such as skipping, bounding, and marching. These drills are designed to promote muscle fiber recruitment, improve nervous system function, increase strength, and correct muscle and form imbalances. Click here to see some key drills demonstrated.
Short hill repeats are 40-to 60-meter sprints up reasonably steep hills. Our effort level should be slightly less than an “all-out” sprint — but just slightly. Also, remember that this workout is designed to challenge our legs, not our lungs. Our legs should feel momentary fatigue as we recruit their full range of muscle fiber, but we should recover quickly. Don’t make the mistake of turning this stride-efficiency workout into a fitness session. After each repetition, we walk back down the hill, wait until a full two to three minutes have passed, and then sprint up the hill again. Eight to 10 reps will do the trick.
Of the two workouts, technique drills are better for improving stride. But short hill reps will do in a pinch. A half dozen sessions of either during the first 8-12 weeks of your 5K training (no more than one session per week) should provide 100 percent benefit. Naturally, each session should include a proper warm-up and cool-down.
I tell my athletes, “Run first, train later.” When we focus on mechanics at the outset of our program, we set the stage for better overall training in the weeks and months to come. 2) AEROBIC ENDURANCE
This is just a fancy way of saying, “Run long and run often.” But understand that long is about duration, not distance. Our bodies are not odometers. Our legs don’t know a mile from a kilometer. Or a kilometer from a run to the park and back. Runners who focus on “mileage” miss the point of aerobic endurance training. The point is to keep our bodies working at a moderate level of exertion for a sustained period of time — not distance.
Think about it. Let’s say we decide that 50 miles per week is the optimal volume for 5K training. It would take a 30:00 5K runner approximately twice as long to complete that training as a 15:00 5K runner. Do we really believe that slower runners should train for twice as long as faster runners?
Instead, we focus on time. Whatever our ability, we’ll gain similar benefits from 60 minutes of lower-intensity running (65-75 percent VO2 max). Or from 90 minutes. Or from 30.
Long also refers to an accumulation of volume. “Volume” is not a single long run, a single week of high mileage, or even a single season of training. It is a long-term, consistent amassing of lower-intensity, aerobic conditioning.
For our purposes, there are three types of aerobic distance runs:
Short: up to 40 minutes in duration. Short runs aid recovery from hard workouts and add to our overall volume.
Medium: 1 1/2 to 2 times the duration of our short run. Medium runs are “normal” distance runs and provide the bulk of our volume.
Long: up to (approximately) twice the duration of our medium run. Long runs build capillary density, increase mitochondria (our body’s cellular power plants), improve stride efficiency, burn fat, expand glycogen stores, and do all kinds of other wonderful stuff.
For the beginner, there might not be much difference among short, medium, and long runs. Don’t worry about it. Just make sure to increase the duration of aerobic runs gradually, focusing first on the medium and long runs. 3) 5K-SPECIFIC ENDURANCE
The 5K race demands a unique mix of aerobically and anaerobically generated energy. The only way to prepare our bodies for this demand is to train at 5K effort. We do this by running repetitions. This is the place where most of us make our biggest mistake: We base the pace for our repetitions on the fitness we’d like to have rather than on the fitness we already possess.
If our goal is a 20:00 5K, we want to run repetitions at 20:00 5K pace right now. We want to skip ahead to the glorious conclusion of our training program. Only one problem: We aren’t in shape to run goal pace yet.
Remember, we don’t run repetitions to practice running faster. We run repetitions to improve the physiological systems that will allow us to run faster in the future. To accomplish this goal, we train 5K “effort” rather than 5K “pace.” As our fitness improves, our pace will improve. But our perceived effort will remain the same, allowing us to become well-versed in the effort level we’ll use in the race itself.
To avoid the trap of training by pace, we go off-track for our workouts, running on the trails or the road. This eliminates the temptation to check split times during our reps. It also allows us to practice adjusting for race-day variables: weather, terrain, our fatigue level, etc. The ability to adjust for variables is essential to race-day success.
Some runners bristle at leaving the security of the track. Let’s face it, there’s comfort in a perfect 400m oval and the equally perfect splits we can record while running around it. But that’s the problem. Road 5Ks are not perfect ovals. We won’t record perfect splits as we dodge runners, climb hills, and make 180-degree turns. Our goal is to become efficient at the race we’re training to run, and training on trails and the road is the best way to make that happen.
5K-specific workouts should be run once a week. This is a typical progression of sessions. All reps are followed by three minutes of jogging unless otherwise indicated:
5-10 x 1 minute (2-minute recovery)
5 x 2 minutes
5 x 3 minutes
4 x 4 minutes
5 x 4 minutes
4 x 5 minutes
5 x 5 minutes
It makes no difference whether we’re 15:00 5K runners or 45:00 5K runners. Our repetitions last the same amount of time. We’re targeting specific physiological processes, not mimicking race distance.
If you’re unsure whether you’re running 5K effort, try this simple test: As you’re running, ask yourself, “Is this an effort I can maintain for an entire 5K?” Be honest. If the answer is yes, keep up the effort. If it’s no, slow down.
Still unsure about proper repetition effort? Then here’s another guideline guaranteed to keep you within the proper range: Whatever pace you run your repetitions, you should finish your last one feeling as if you could run one or two more. If you’re completely exhausted at the end of your repetition session, you ran too hard. Adjust the next week by decreasing your effort. If you’re barely winded, then increase your effort the following week.
“But how will I know if I’m on track to meet my time goal?” Many athletes set specific time goals and crave reassurance in training that they’re on track to hit that pace in a race.
Two of my athletes, K and M, fell into this camp. Both were 19:00 5K runners. Both wanted to run mid-18:00. Both balked when I explained that we’d be training off-track. They didn’t want to waste months of training only to discover that they hadn’t improved. I explained that workouts are not races, that training “race pace” on the track has little bearing on what they’d run in an actual race. I also told them that they were limiting their potential. Why train for mid-18:00? Why not train the physiological systems involved in 5K racing and see where the chips fell?
K and M finally agreed. Three months later, K ran 16:40 and M ran 17:50.
There is one exception to the off-track rule. As race day approaches, some runners like to add a couple track sessions (also at 5K effort) to “sharpen” their fitness. This isn’t about testing pace. It’s about solidifying our stride efficiency at 5K effort. While adding hills and turns and uneven terrain has prepared us for actual race conditions, doing one or two training sessions on a perfectly flat surface helps to hardwire the relationship between stride efficiency and 5K-specific endurance. Two workouts I recommend for this are
16-20 x 400m (100m jog recovery)
6-8 x 1,000m (400m jog recovery)
4) INTERMEDIATE FAST-TWITCH ENDURANCE
Our best 5K effort results from a combination of stamina and speed. And it just so happens that we have a type of muscle fiber that’s perfectly suited to this task. Fast-twitch type IIa muscle fiber provides much of the “speed” associated with fast-twitch type IIx (sprinter) fiber, but it also has the capacity to function aerobically.
Bingo! This combination allows us to run faster longer — the definition of 5K racing.
The best way to train this intermediate fast-twitch fiber is to run long hill repeats. This has nothing to do with whether we’ll be racing on hills, flats, roads, or the track. Long hill repeats make us faster — period.
The first step is to find a hill that’s not too steep and not too flat. The incline should be challenging, but it shouldn’t chop our stride or require mountain climbing gear. I prefer about a 6 percent grade. This increases the workload for each stride while allowing us to maintain full range of motion.
We use our watches to time the first hill repeat of each week’s session. Let’s say our rep for that week is supposed to last 60 seconds. We stop running as soon as a minute is up. That’s our finish line. We won’t have to time the rest of our repetitions, allowing us to focus on correct effort and form. Recovery between reps is four to five minutes, including our jog back down the hill and some walking at the bottom. Less recovery won’t give us a better workout, but it will increase our risk of injury and burnout. Remember that we’re targeting a specific muscle fiber type that is recruited during a specific range of effort. Too little recovery forces us to recruit the other type of fast-twitch fiber and/or to burn through our muscle glycogen stores.
The correct effort level for each repetition varies depending on its length. As with our 5K-specific workout, the guiding principle is to finish our long hill repeat session with enough energy remaining to run one or two more reps. We want to finish with gas in the tank.
This is typical progression for long hill repeat sessions:
8 x 30 seconds
6 x 60 seconds
8 x 60 seconds
4 x 90 seconds
6 x 90 seconds
Long hill repeats should be run two to three times a month until we’ve accumulated six to eight sessions. My preference is to alternate hill repeats with technique drills on a weekly basis. If you’re already in fairly good shape, you can begin incorporating these reps at the outset of your 5K program. If you’re a beginner, wait three to four weeks. Never do long hill repeats the week of a race. Also, on weeks that don’t include hill reps or a race, it’s beneficial to incorporate a few hills into our long runs. This reinforces the gains we’ve made.
5) VERSATILE RACE PACE EFFICIENCY
A 5K puzzle isn’t complete without pieces obtained from training at efforts above and below our 5K goal pace.
Training faster than goal pace serves two purposes. Physiologically, it makes us efficient at paces that might be required in the race (at the start, during surges, and for our finishing kick). Psychologically, it makes our actual 5K pace feel “slow” — our race pace feels relaxed since it’s less than 100 percent of the effort we’ve trained to run.
Two faster workouts are:
Track: 16 x 200m at 3K effort, with 200m jog recovery
Park or Trail Fartlek: 8-10 x 30-to 90-second surges at >3K effort, with jogging recovery equal in time to each surge
3K effort isn’t meant to imply an exact pace; rather, the point is to run harder than 5K effort but not quite as hard as we’d run during a mile race.
Training slower than goal pace allows us to increase the duration of higher-intensity endurance sessions without overstressing our bodies.
Two examples of this type of workout are:
Tempo Runs
Progression Runs
Tempo runs are one of the great misunderstood workouts of our sport. In his seminal book, Daniels’ Running Formula, ubercoach Jack Daniels writes that “the intensity of effort associated with [tempo] running is comfortably hard. [Y]our effort should be one that you could maintain for about an hour in a race.” This is what tempo is not: a time trial. To be on the safe side, when preparing for the 5K we should tempo train at an effort approximately equal to half marathon race pace.
Because the 5K doesn’t require the sustained endurance effort of longer races, it’s OK to break tempo runs into two sections. This gives us most of the benefit while reducing the chance of overtraining. For example:
2 x 10 minutes, with 2-minute jog recovery
2 x 15 minutes, with 3-minute jog recovery
Progression runs begin at our normal distance pace, then drop 10-15 seconds per mile until we can’t go any faster (or until we reach 5K race pace). This usually occurs at between 6-9 miles. A Garmin is great for this workout, but it’s OK to guesstimate pace while using a watch to trigger each increase in effort.
Varied pace work should be introduced four to six weeks before our 5K race. Faster work can take the place of the weekly drills or hills session. Slower than goal pace work can substitute for the 5K effort repetitions. Always make sure to subtract one hard workout from your weekly schedule before adding one of these. 6) POST-RUN RECOVERY & INJURY PREVENTION
One of the biggest mistakes we runners make is to call it quits on our workout once the running part is finished. We figure we’ve done the work, so what can it hurt to skip the stretching, injury prevention exercises, and icing?
Answer: It can hurt a lot.
Running depletes muscle glycogen, generates minispasms in our muscles, triggers inflammation, and leaves us dehydrated. The most important 15 minutes of our workout is the time we spend post-run counteracting these effects. In order, we need to incorporate:
Glycogen replacement and rehydration
Stretching
Injury-prevention exercises
Icing
Glycogen replacement and rehydration is easy. We simply consume 300-500 calories of carbohydrates, washing them down with lots of water. Bagels, bananas, and sports bars are great sources of carbs. Or choose chocolate milk or a sports drink to get a combination of carbs and fluids.
Static stretching has gotten a bad reputation in recent years. Done before running, it can reduce strength and even cause injury. Post-run is a different story, however, as stretching releases pesky muscle spasms that can lead to pain and inflammation.
Injury-prevention exercises are geared toward preventing and rehabilitating conditions like plantar fasciitis and iliotibial band syndrome. Towel toe curls and foot orbits can reverse many cases of plantar fasciitis, while a revised hurdler’s stretch can sometimes erase iliotibial band pain in the space of a minute. These exercises and stretches should be incorporated into our post-run routine on a daily basis. Click here to watch a video of a good post-run routine.
Icing is the silver bullet that makes our sport possible. We need to ice each and every sore spot that could potentially progress to injury. And we need to begin our icing within 15 minutes after completing our run. This is truly a case of a stitch in time saving nine.
COMPLETING THE PUZZLE
Finally, race day arrives. We step to the start line injury free. The gun goes off, and we immediately fall into a pace that matches the 5K effort we’ve been practicing for weeks. Our stride is effortless as we blend aerobic endurance with speed and strength gained from the hills. We make adjustments in our effort level based upon feedback from our bodies, a method we rehearsed during all those repetitions on the roads and trails. And when finally the finish banner comes into view, we call upon our fartlek-trained fast-twitch muscles to carry us to the finish line, then cross at the exact moment we reach 100 percent effort.
There’s no part of the race for which we’re not prepared. There are no surprises awaiting us. We completed our task before race day. We assembled all the pieces of our puzzle. Our race is no longer a test. It’s show and tell. It’s graduation. It’s a foregone conclusion. It’s a celebration.
Best of all, the race itself now adds to our overall fitness, locking our puzzle pieces into place. We can look forward to improved 5K performances in our next races. And as an added bonus, the same training that’s prepared us for the 5K has also prepared us for races like the 10K — even the marathon! That’s right. Since we’ve focused on improving the essential aspects of training — from stride efficiency to muscle fiber recruitment to aerobic endurance — rather than simply adding miles to our training logs, we’ve emerged as better overall runners: fitter, faster, and more efficient.
Masters 5k. Another run that ended badly. When will I learn…
Being mainly a marathon runner I’m not as confident or sure of the taper period for an ultra. For the 6 inch ultra marathon in December last year I experimented by not tapering nearly as much as I would for a marathon. On the week of the event I actually ran twice a day Monday through Thursday and only had 48 hours rest before the race. Admittedly all runs on race week were slow and easy but I still managed over 80km’s pre-race. On the day I felt great and ran a good race for a 7th place finish but more importantly I was 4th quickest over the second half of the race. I actually ran my first negative split for an ultra. The week before the ultra I had ran 140k so there really wasn’t a taper period to talk off. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com )
Could this work for a marathon ? I don’t think so. The ultra is normally ran at a more subdued pace and although longer I feel not as testing as ‘racing’ a marathon. (Well ultras less than 100k, when you get above 100k I’m sure it becomes a tad more testing that a marathon. Once I run further than 100k I’ll confirm?) In an ultra the race pace normally decreases brings your overall cardio fitness in to play more than resting the legs a few weeks before. If you haven’t got the fitness a two week taper will not help, you’ll still be underdone. With a marathon, as the distance is less, you normally have the fitness required to finish the event, the tapering helps more by letting tired muscles recovery.
Also I feel running a good ultra is more dependant on the nutrition and hydration plan, get this right will benefit you so much more than a taper period. Again get this plan wrong and the taper will not save you. In an ultra any mistakes will be paid for, that is a certainty. In an ultra there is no where to hide.
Researching tapering and ultras on the web and there are stories advocating no tapering and setting PB’s while others advocate a 3 week steep taper and lean more towards relaxing rather than stressing about the event. All have their pro’s and con’s and as with all things running there’s no one shoe fits all. It really depends on the runner and also their experience and fitness. The more experienced runner with a good foundation of distance training under their belt will be more likely to be able to go into an event without tapering. They will not need the confidence boost that comes from a good taper as much as someone with less experience. Remember a good taper will also aid confidence and going into any race this is important, anything that helps put you in a positive mindset is welcome and needs to be embraced,
Of course if you have any niggling injuries an enforced taper may be called for. When this happens there is nothing you can do about it, just sit back and smell the roses concentrating on things you can influence like carboloading. Now carboloading, that is a whole new post and one I shall tackle next. Until then enjoy this article below by Ian Torrence which highlights ‘peaking’ rather than tapering as a benefit, pre-ultra. Ian is part of the Greg McMillan stable of writers so has a wealth of knowledge and experience to call upon. (Please note I do not advocate the Joe Kulak method of peaking described below but as you can see in the photo below my friend Jon is convinced it works… ?)
Jon practicing the Joe Kulak method of peaking !
The final weeks before an event are the toughest to get right. The common notion that all hard work must cease and inactivity must ensue is incorrect. It’s also foolhardy to continue amassing mileage and tough workouts as race day nears in hopes of improving fitness. Depending on your approach to this all-important time period, you may be left feeling lethargic or simply exhausted. A runner with the proper peak will feel rejuvenated and ready to go on race day.
Greg McMillan, my mentor, has devised a set of rules to live by as race day approaches. Greg explains, “By studying peak performance research – both physiological as well as psychological – as opposed to just the tapering research, I’ve been able to dial in how to truly peak on race day. It works for all athletes no matter where you find yourself in the pack come race day.” By placing Greg’s simple and effective system into context, let’s get you prepared for your next ultra.
1. Do not drop running volume drastically
Though there are some that prefer three weeks to peak, two weeks seems to be the most popular choice. During the first week of a peak, drop the length of each run by 10 to 20 minutes. The week before your event, drop volume by 20 to 30 minutes per run. I recommend that ultrarunners limit their last long run(s), done a week before the key event, to 90 easy minutes (regardless of the distance of the event). This is enough to give you that long run feeling, but short enough that muscle recovery and glycogen-storage continue. Light, non-impact cross training can be done in lieu of runs, but only if you are used to those forms of exercise.
2. Keep the routine
Run, eat, sleep, work, and socialize when you do normally. Your body and mind have achieved stasis over the past few months of training. Keep them both happy and the keel even. Now is not the time to experiment with new workouts, forms of exercise, foods, and social events. Use the extra time not spent running for sleeping and sticking to “safe” hobbies.
3. Keep the intensity and build confidence
Before the 2007 JFK 50 Mile, I had an exchange with fellow competitor Andy Mason. Nine days before the race, he completed a round of very quick mile repeats on the track; his last quality workout before the race. I knew he was fit and feeling confident. That year, Andy finished in the top ten.
Though most ultrarunners do not need to perform a tough round of mile repeats before their next race, they might consider doing some sort of confidence-building workout 10 days to two weeks out from their event. This workout, however, should be in tune with recent training. Running a 30-mile training run or time trialing up and down Hope Pass (like the author) a few days before a race is neither smart nor beneficial. A moderate length workout that you’re familiar with, that is aerobically challenging, allows for adequate recovery before race day, and demonstrates your fitness should be the order of the day. If you don’t routinely perform hard hill, stamina-building, fartlek, or fast finish workouts then this is not the time to start. Maintain your current training and follow the guidelines for reduction in mileage as mentioned above.
Now is also the time to reflect on all of the training you’ve done thus far. Remember that you’ve done the work necessary to get you to the finish line.
4. Stick to the original race plan and have fun
No one starts a race without a goal. Whether it be to keep your Grand Slam hopes alive, finish your first ultra, or win the event outright, don’t lose sight of why you’re out there. Be deliberate in your actions and calculate each move you make on the race course. Run your own race and enjoy the time you’re having on the trail or road. Greg McMillan sums this up perfectly, “Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t going for an Olympic gold medal here. We are simply enjoying the challenge of doing our best. There is no real pressure, so quit putting so much on yourself. We run for fun, and you should remember that. Have fun!”
PEAKING FOR MULTIPLE RACES
What if you’re gearing up for several important races that are separated by a few weeks or less? The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, as well as others of that genre, and several race series like the NorCal and SoCal Ultra Grand Prix are perfect examples. In essence, you are recovering and peaking in unison between events. There are two ways to approach situations like this:
1. Reverse taper
This is like returning from injury. Gradually and slowly increase the length of your post-race easy runs and avoid fast and difficult workouts. You won’t reach your normal training level, but you’ll satisfy the need for a few runs before your next event.
2. The Joe Kulak Method
When I asked Joe Kulak what he did between each of his four 2003 Grand Slam record- setting 100-mile races, he quipped, “I sat on the couch and drank beer.” If beer is not your drink of choice, water works just as well. The reality is that you can’t gain fitness in the two or three weeks between long ultras. Recovery will be your best “workout” while preparing for your next event.
Baseline, document and evaluate everything. If it isn’t on www.strava.com it didn’t happen. Once you set a goal you have to be able to know how far you have come to achieving this, small steps but constant feedback. So buy a Garmin and start recording , everything !!! Contentious subject here. I’m a Strava addict and I know it but the purest will be horrified. You need a baseline to see improvement, set new goals and realize your goals. Buy a Garmin and to quote a small clothing company ‘just do it’.
One of my Golden Rules is quoted above. It’s all about recording information and then using this to build future training plans. Of course there are thousands of coaches who will do this for you and probably do a better job but even then if you decide to go this route you still need to record everything. (or ask your coach but you might as well have the information for your own records.)
I first heard about Strava ( http://www.strava.com ) about 4 years ago (from my Dentist actually, a triathlete training for a half-ironman. ) and only really started using it religiously about 2 years ago. There was nothing , for runners, before Strava to record, save and show your training runs to the world. I suppose Strava is the Facebook for runners. As with Facebook there are people who do Facebook and people who don’t. I suppose the same thing is true of Strava users, you either get it or you don’t, all or nothing, I remember when you use to run with a watch and record your distance, normally estimated (and normally estimated up!) in an excel sheet or better still a notebook. (and I don’t meant an electronic notebook, one with paper. For the younger readers of this blog don’t worry, paper is something you will never probably use.) Even now I still have an Excel spreadsheet where I record all my runs, albeit just distance, as a backup to my Strava information. This spreadsheet has all my runs backs to 2008 and I never miss a run, sort of old school but there is something satisfying about typing in the data rather than downloading it from a GPS watch via Garmin Connect straight into Strava. I’ve attached the Excel table detailing my running adventures during the last 8 years updated manually on a daily basis. Must admit to never owning a running notebook though.
Running totals 2009-2016, the old fashioned way.
Before Strava we use to use a website called Coolrunning ( http://www.coolrunning.com.au/runningguide/wiki/index.php/Main_Page ) but Facebook and Stava put an end to its userbase, in WA anyway. I suppose it became the Nokia or Blackberry when Apple turned up. Either way now it’s all about Strava. Is Strava perfect, no. It is still mainly aimed at the cyclist and has more functionality for our free wheeling friends but it does do enough to make it indispensable to some runners, me included.
Is this a bad thing? In my view no as it allows you to document everything automatically and there is enough functionality built in to make the software very useful to spot trends and set targets for training sessions. Also it allows you to encourage your friends with kudos and helpful comments. This can be a double edges sword of course if you have a bad session as everybody knows about it instantly. Runners , though, being a forgiving lot will normally even give you kudos and encouragement on any run, it’s about building a running community I suppose. Of course a bit of banter is also encouraged and I’ve left a few comments asking ‘if they ran the whole way’ to gee people up . (In a nice way.)
If you haven’t got a GPS watch and an app to connect said watch to Strava then I recommend you remedy this as quickly as possible. Strava really is life and the rest is details as I’ve said many times in this blog. I really cannot recommend it enough and my four Garmin watches and iPhone6 make it impossible for me to run unrecorded. Please note I think I ran twice last year, out of the 464+ runs (thanks Strava) , without a watch and both times I hated it, sorry people but that’s just the way it is.
What Strava gives you is a way to record your run with kilometre splits, heart rate, elevation, cadence and even VO2 max figure (with some GPS watches) All of these can then be checked against previous runs of the same distance and terrain and compared. This will hopefully allow you to see improvement and then set new goals, reach these goals and then set even faster, longer ones. Keep reporting this and eventually you will be the best you can be. Without a baseline of information and then continued data logging of running information to compare how can you see improvement. How did we survive without Strava ?
So back to my post title, if it’s not on Strava did it happen ? I think the answer is no, in this world of online running data collection verbal boasting just doesn’t cut it anymore. Pity as this morning I ran the first sub 2hour marathon but forgot to turn on my Garmin, and if it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen!
I’ve mentioned both these topics before but they are important enough to warrant another post as in the last few days I have seen for myself how these two runners traits manifest themselves. First on Sunday after our long run we were all blown away when, at the cafe afterwards over the obligatory pancakes and coffee , Jon’s order turned up and it was a fruit salad. There was a hush around the table before some light hearted banter about Jon’s last minute effort to ditch weight for the upcoming Australia Day Ultra. (http://australiadayultra.com ) I must admit I feel Jon is probably leaving it a bit late but the sacrifice was there and although he made a good effort in disguising his disappointment it was obvious to all.
Jon makes the ultimate sacrifice.
Runners need to make sacrifices almost daily to ‘be the best they can be’. Every meal needs to be planned , organised, researched and digested. This can be a daily battle if we are thrust out with our comfort zone. This happened to me recently when I was on a family holiday and had to visit restaurants and then faced with menus not designed with health and well being in mind. I had to scour the menu and find the meal that, in my view, would do the least about of damage to my body. On both occasions I was saved by Salmon and mash potato with dill sauce and asparagus, which I think is a ‘super food‘, apparently. ? The garlic bread was justifiable as it contained carbs and as runners we love carbs. Sweet was a definite no-no as the portions were far too big and I remember thinking I would have to go long the next day in an attempt to cancel out some of the calories I would be digesting.
You wonder why most runners have no social life. I personally am just about tea total , though will admit to one glass of red wine over the festive period. Note, I did run a record week on Christmas week which is probably sad but made me feel good about myself. I suppose this really is a case of only a runner knows the feeling. ?
What sacrifices do I make. I have a sweet tooth and as you’ll see in most posts my running can sometimes seem like an excuse to eat pancakes at Clancy’s in City Beach or Muffins at Yelo in Trigg. (I highly recommend both by the way.) I can semi-justify both of these are being ‘running friendly’ in the fact that they can aid the recovery process and we normally eat these after a run. (Never tried before a run but after my Christmas Day nightmare when I ran a few hours after a full Sunday Roast I suspect it really would be a bad idea. It seems cyclists are the only true athletes who can stop in the middle of a ride, drink soya light-frappacinos in lycra and then continue as if nothing has happened? Go figure ?) Tea and biscuits are another weakness of mine and only eaten as a treat after a marathon. I have been known to destroy a packet of dark chocolate digestives with a good cuppa’ but insist on running a marathon first. Again sacrifices, a runner can never really let themselves go and enjoy the ‘good things in life’ , these ‘good things‘ are different things to different people but as runners we are all in the same boat when we are usually denied them. Otherwise I suppose it wouldn’t be a sacrifice. ?
Another important runners trait is routine. I bumped into Nic Harman this morning at the traffic lights, I invited Nic along to our Thursday morning Yelo progressive run. (We could probably keep up with Nic for the first 4-5k until he would have got bored with our pace and turned on the afterburners!) Nic turned down my invitation as he had a tempo session Thursday evening and would need to be fresh for that . (Truth be told a 14k progressive with myself and the BK posse would not test young Nic and I’d be surprised if he managed to move to third gear.) Either way the point of this story is the routine is there and it is not to be wavered from, even being tempted by Yelo muffins and my company would now sway Nic. (Maybe he doesn’t like muffin’s, what other reason could it be ?)
So is all this sacrifice and routine worth it ? You lose most of your non-running friends, your wife will start to organise a social life alone and her friends will start to see her as single with no ‘significant other’, you’ll be first to rise for your morning run with the sunrise and also first to bed after reading the 9 year old her bedtime story. Alcohol and restaurants will become no-no’s and weight will be a constant niggling voice in the back of your mind as you move towards the sweet stall or hover in the chocolate isle at your local deli. Routine dictates you wake every morning, no matter how fatigued, and stumble out of bed and up to the top of your street before turning on the GPS function on your watch and heading off on anther 10k to go with the previous hundreds you’ve already completed and knowing there are probably thousands still to do.
Is it all worth it ? Of course it is. When you get one of those runs when it all comes together and you make a time you thought beyond you everything pales into insignificance. Sacrifice and routine are just two pieces of the jigsaw that make up the whole picture and when it all comes together it can be a wondrous thing to behold.
Finally, if nothing else, it allows us runners to eat pancakes and the odd muffin to aid recovery and that in itself is enough for me, the rest is a bonus.
The Australian Day Ultra ( http://australiadayultra.com ) is less then 2 weeks away which means it’s taper time. Of course the taper should start today but I reckon I can fit in one more 30k with the boys tomorrow before I ease of the distance and try and remain sane as I grapple with the usual hunger pains without the exercise. This is then compounded with the 3 days carbo loading, I wonder as I’m running an ultra do I start carbo loading earlier ? Hell, should I beat eating a muffin right now as I type this post ? I would ask my mate Jon who is also running the ADU but I worry that his answer will always be ‘to eat’ , regardless of the question !
On the subject of nutrition I still haven’t totally worked out my plan. I think I’m going with the Comrades ( http://www.comrades.com ) diet of a gu/carbo-shotz every hour. It got me through three Comrade campaigns in a reasonable fashion and at least this time I don’t have to carry them as the ADU is a 12.5 loop so I’ll have an esky of goodies at the side of the track to delve into every 6.25k if needed. Carrying 10 gu’s using a belt sounded like a good idea but in practice it was a disaster as the weight of the gu’s made the belt jump up and down on my back. I only realised this at the start of the race and as you can imagine I wasn’t that excited having 89k ahead of me. On the bright side the more I ate the less of an annoyance the belt became. At around 80k I hardly felt it, albeit at 80 k I could hardly feel anything, truth be told.
Reading articles on ultra marathons there really is a wealth of information on all sorts of different diets and I’ve posted a few lately on this site as I study different approaches. I feel the best way forward is to eat when I hungry and stay hydrated. The race starts at midnight so the sun won’t be an issue initially but after the sunrise this could all change if we run into a Perth scorcher. A hot morning will certainly add to the challenge of the event as I’ll still have around 30-40k to run, and as I mentioned in a previous post when you hit the wall in an ultra you could still have 30k to go.
Hydration wise I’ll be alternating between one small drink bottle of water and then one of electrolytes for the duration of the event per lap. (probably 600ml an hour) Before the race of course I’ll carbo load (muffin time!) and that also includes drinking water and electrolyte drinks a lot, so normally at the start of the race I’m hydrated enough. (For a marathon of course, I’ll need extra for the ultra.) Maybe some flat coke on the last lap or some red bull to give me a final boost. I’m lucky to have an ‘iron stomach’ so have never suffered any issues but then I’m normally done racing in less than 3 hours so maybe the extra food, combined with another 5 hours of running, may become an issue. This is something that will not become apparent till about 60-70k I suppose. ? About the same time as hitting the wall. It seems that around the 60-70k mark things will become clearer and no amount of blogging is going to help my cause now. On the bright side whatever happens there’ll be a post in there somewhere.
Training wise I’m still running twice a day but taking it easy bar the progressive hour run on Thursdays. Probably manage another 160k week this week (100 miles) before dropping down next week by about 40-50% and then just a couple of slow 10k’s the week of the ultra. After that a week or two of blogging and then straight back into half marathon training for my one of my favourite races the Darlington half, before possibly having a tilt at the 50-55 year old age group Australian record for the 50k at Bunbury. (assuming it is AURU registered; if not could be off to Canberra. ) Then the races come thick and fast for the rest of the year, no rest for the wicked, racing is what keeps me quick, the fear of returning to the pack keeps me honest and the fear of slowing motivates me to go faster. There must be a quote in there somewhere…..
Finally I need to share the T-train’s approach to ultra-marathons . To quote Tony ‘eating is cheating’ ,now I can remember saying this as a young man during many nights on the ‘pop’ in sunny Penzance but never in an ultra. The T-train being the T-train has his own ways of doing things and the running community may go one way the T-train normally goes the opposite. That being said he just ran over 125k for a 12 hour race a week after racing a marathon so he is doing something right. I have yet to read anywhere his ‘eating is cheating’ mantra on any running website , no matter the ultra ones, so feel he is in a community of one, just the way he’d like it. I’ll keep an eye on him in the race and let you know if I catch him cheating.
Part of running is establishing a training program that works for you. For a running tragic like myself this normally encompasses running twice a day , every day, minimum. Add in a progressive run with the boys Thursday morning, with the obligatory Yelo muffin as reward, a long run with the boys Sunday with a Clancys pancake as reward and at least one fartlek somewhere in the week and you have a routine. Repeat this for a minimum of ten weeks and you have a ‘foundation stage’ which becomes the springboard for your target goal race distance.
Lydiard called this the base conditioning stage and was all about developing your aerobic capacity. Lydiard believed that although every runner has a limited anaerobic (speed-building) capacity, that limit is largely set by one’s aerobic potential—the body’s ability to use oxygen. Thus, the aerobic capacity that you develop determines the success of your entire training program.
The foundation of Lydiard-style base conditioning is three long runs per week. These are steady runs done at more than recovery effort. To determine your pace, choose a relatively flat course and run out at a strong pace for 15 minutes, then run back. The goal is to return in the same time or slightly faster. If it takes you longer for the return trip, you paced yourself too fast. The objective of these runs is to be “pleasantly tired,” says Lydiard. Running slower will produce positive effects, but the results will take longer. Do not run to the point of lactic-acid buildup.
An ideal training week during this period includes a two-hour run and two one and one half-hour runs. On the other days do short, easy runs; one run with some light picking up of the pace; and one 5K to 10K tempo run (below lactate-threshold pace). Decrease the times and distances if you don’t have the mileage base to start at such high volume, then build gradually.
The foundation stage needs to become routine and runners need to be able to go-through the motions daily, weekly and monthly to get through this stage before tailoring their plan to their goal race. As a runner you need to be able to know daily what is expected of you and reach each daily goal, with the end goal always in sight. Personally I need to have a goal to work towards and as soon as I achieve that goal I’m onto the next one.
My year consists of normally 3-4 marathons, (Perth, City to Surf, Rottnest , Bunbury (sometimes) ) 4-5 half marathons, 4-5 10k’s , a smattering of 5k’s (mainly park runs) and at least two ultra’s ( 6 inch marathon and the Australia Day Ultra). Having so many races in a year has two main benefits. First it helps me maintain my 80-20 Matt Fitzgerald training regime. The 20% running at pace is normally taken care off by adding a bib to my chest and racing. Secondly I always have a goal to work towards and it’s normally on the horizon pretty quickly. This helps keep me motivated, not that I need much encouragement truth be told. Another benefit, or a curse?, is that I’m always training for a specific race which is normally on me pretty quickly. There really is no time for the odd day off or a down week when I just ‘wasn’t feeling it’.
This is when routine comes into play, when I can run though the sessions in a ‘zombie’ like trance and just ‘get them done’ . Ok maybe not quite as bad as zombie like trances but I have the ability to know what is expected, not hit the snooze button on the alarm, and just get out of bed and put on the trainers. Adding group runs to the routine is a big motivator as you don’t want to let your fellow runners down and for me it’s the social side afterwards that make these runs more enjoyable than the solo run. (No one likes to eat muffins and drink coffee alone do they ?)
Another option is to join your local running club. As well as meeting like minded people you will also get to work with coaches who will help you be the best you can be. Here in sunny Perth we are lucky to have the Running Centre overseen by Ray Baugh, an ex-top duathlon champion. ( http://therunningcentre.com.au )Raf has put together a team of coaching superstars who live and breath everything running. Their passion is infectious and this certainly helps entice you from the bed to the track or park.
The last thing you could do of course is to meet runners over the years in changing rooms all around your local city, band together, get the same tops with a professional design and then run together every lunchtime. The St Georges Terrace Running club can normally be found outside the Woodside building most weekdays at midday. After the obligatory pre-run banter, normally involving either weight issues, injuries or the latest stock to lose money on, we scurry off on one of our many loved running routes before skulking back just before 1pm and returning to the pod where we busily upload our lunchtime run to Strava. Now that is a routine I look forward to every weekday….
For the first time ever I ran over 200km in a week (made 206.2k in the end, thanks Strava.) , beating my previous best of 190k. Could have probably got another 10k but was forced out by my Wife for a meal one night and couldn’t fit in my second run for the day. The sacrifices us runners make, didn’t Karen realise I was on for a record week, do you think she cared ? Anyhow mission accomplished and I gained entry to the double century club. Maybe I’ll start a website and sell medals for runners who can prove they’ve ran 200k in a week. ? Funnily enough there are websites similar to this which actually sell bling for cold hard cash. ( https://www.virtualstrides.com/philosophy/ and http://www.fullmedalruns.com) These sites apparently donate proceeds to charities so I suppose they are doing some good but these ‘virtual medals‘ for some reason just don’t sit well with me. Call me old fashioned but to me you have to earn bling by actually entering a race, turning up at the race and then running the race. Maybe I’m just old fashioned.
Right back to the point of running 200k in a week. First of all it was to prove I could do it and really I only decided on day 7 of the week to give it a shot. I was running my go-to ‘old faithful’ 10k when, feeling good, I decided to add another 10k with a view to maybe adding a final 10k in the afternoon and giving me a 192k total. Of course once I started to do the maths I knew it was on and turned my 10k into a 34k which was the most I could have run as I was unprepared for a long run with no breakfast and no hydration. As soon as it started to heat up I was in trouble and managed to ‘borrow’ some water from a couple of houses on the way back which had taps at the front of their properties. Believe me when I say I was running in an area where borrowing water would be considered a risk but desperate times call for desperate measures, luckily I live to tell the tale.
Thus Sunday afternoon I ran the 4k I needed and added another 6k as I was again feeling good and had the wind behind me for the first 5k (thus the return journey had to made into a strong headwind, when will I learn?) A 206k total for the week and the double century box had been ticked. Will I repeat this ? Not sure, I’ve read a lot of material where it looks like 100-160k is about all you really need and anything else has negligible benefits but comes with a high injury risk. Most, if not all , of the 206k’s were slow and easy and I’m finding I’m avoiding the faster runs due to fatigue, although the fatigue is not as bad as when I use to run quicker all the time. As ultra training I can see the benefit of these 160k+ weeks but for the marathon and shorter distances I feel you can get away with 100-160k but add some pace work. I’ll certainly be dropping down the mileage after the ADU ( http://australiadayultra.com ) and am looking forward to some good old fashioned mona fartlek and tempo runs.
First though I have the impending 100k race in less than 3 weeks. Weekly distance I’m very confident I’m doing enough but still not really done the ‘long time on legs runs’ that I know I should be doing but just haven’t the inclination. It really will be a case of finding out at around the 70k mark if my cardio fitness as well as a good nutrition and hydration plan is enough to get me to the finish. That reminds me I still haven’t got a nutrition and hydration plan sorted out. Maybe I better get onto that this week ? How difficult can it be with my mate Google as my co-pilot?
Actually looking at the graphic below, a screen shot from Strava, there seems to be a few photos of me and the boys doing more eating than running. Maybe my Yelo Muffin and City Beach Pancakes is the nutrition plan I need ? I wonder how many muffins and pancakes a runner can digest, while running a 100k, without doing serious damage ? What is the tipping point for the number of muffins a runner can ingest before they become an issue and start to do more harm than good ? Probably around one I reckon, more’s the pity. Maybe I could blend then into small Gu like packets ? No, it’s back to Google and ‘proper’ ultra diets, remember I’m old fashioned.
A record week, the final week in a record year. These seems to be a lot of photos of me and the posse eating muffins and pancakes?
As 2016 draws to a close the one thing I can say for sure is distance is king when it comes to improving your running. Arthur Lydiard got it spot on and his method of training has been mimicked by most of the successful coaches ever since. From the article below “For Lydiard, running to your potential is about having a substantial mileage base and not overdoing your anaerobic training.” Matt Fitzgerald, as you will know my go-to man, also advocates this method of training. ( http://mattfitzgerald.org ) and I recommend you purchase any of his books. This year I have managed to achieve times I though beyond me on a number of occasions and far from slowing down has refocussed my goals for 2017 on faster times and more PB’s.
What changed for me in 2016? Distance, plain and simple. I achieved the extra time on legs by running twice a day as much as possible and since June this year averaging nearly 140k a week and 10-12 runs. Pace wise I slowed down in the week but tried to race at least once a fortnight, sometimes more often. This allowed me to move into the Matt Fitzgerald 80% slow and steady and 20% at pace training split. I’ve attached a typical few weeks blow taken from my Strava account ( you have to be on Strava, http://www.strava.com , and feel free to follow me; search on ‘Big Kev’, Perth.)
It’s all on Strava, always.
The yearly totals for 2016. Please note I intend to run one more time this year. Not sure I’ll make it a 90k I need for 6000k….
Last year was a record year for me as I managed to break 5000km for the year, this year I’ll be over 5900km’s and this extra 1000km, I believe, has been the major difference, coupled with the twice a day running. It seems with running the more you do the better you are, it really is that simple. Of course you can add tempo, thresholds, VO2 , Mona fartlek’s , progressive etc. to make the training more interesting but in the end just put on your trainers and get out there more. Of course there is always the issue with injury waiting in the shadows to pounce when you are at your most vulnerable and by adding all the ‘exciting‘ training methods you leave yourself susceptible to falling victim. Common sense dictates you are more likely to get injured straining your muscles on quicker paced training runs but it really is a two edge sword as the benefits can be worth the risk. Distance running does minimise the risk of injury as you’re putting less strain on the muscles, increased fitness purely by repetition.
Maybe improving isn’t that simple after all ? After reading the last paragraph again I realise that there is no magic bullet for improvement but running distance is probably the best way to stack the odds in your favour. It has many benefits, you get to do what you love most, i.e. run, a lot, it minimises the risk of injury and it is a sure fire way to improve. This is good enough for me. The adding pace bit is a necessary evil I suppose and worth the risk. After all the whole point of this running thing is to improve and run distance faster, isn’t it ? To do this you need to understand what your goal pace is and also be able to better it at shorter distances.
An article below is a good starter on the Lydiard method and I recommend you adjust your training accordingly. If it can help an ageing runner like myself achieve times beyond my wildest dreams it can make a difference to your running. Finally remember, the best part of this training is you get to do what we all love doing in the first place, run a lot.
Forty years ago at the Rome Olympics, athletes guided by legendary New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard made history. Among Lydiard’s protégés were a total of 17 Olympic medalists, including Peter Snell (800 and 1,500 meters), Murray Halberg (5,000 meters) and Barry Magee (marathon). Lydiard, now 82, toured the U.S. last fall, speaking to runners on the Lydiard method of training. He was as passionate as ever about sharing the methods he developed 50 years ago.Lydiard hasn’t changed his training advice over the decades, and why should he? His ideas work. Moreover, if you look carefully at the most popular and successful programs today, most have a Lydiard emphasis. For Lydiard, running to your potential is about having a substantial mileage base and not overdoing your anaerobic training. There are no shortcuts.
A Revolutionary Method
Lydiard discovered running for sport when he struggled to run five miles with a friend. Forced to confront his own unfitness, he self-experimented with training, including running more than 250 miles in one week. He developed a plan that he felt confident in using with other runners. Central to his method was the importance of training in phases and peaking for major events.According to Lydiard, any successful training program must culminate in a goal race or racing period. This means planning several months. The ideal training schedule is at least 28 weeks: 12 weeks for base conditioning, eight weeks for hill training and speed development, six weeks for sharpening and 10 days for tapering/rest.
Phase 1: Base Conditioning/Aerobic Training
This three-month period is the most important in the Lydiard system. If you want to give yourself every opportunity to reach your goal, you must commit to developing your aerobic capacity, says Lydiard. Why? Because although every runner has a limited anaerobic (speed-building) capacity, that limit is largely set by one’s aerobic potential—the body’s ability to use oxygen. Thus, the aerobic capacity that you develop determines the success of your entire training program.
The foundation of Lydiard-style base conditioning is three long runs per week. These are steady runs done at more than recovery effort. To determine your pace, choose a relatively flat course and run out at a strong pace for 15 minutes, then run back. The goal is to return in the same time or slightly faster. If it takes you longer for the return trip, you paced yourself too fast. The objective of these runs is to be “pleasantly tired,” says Lydiard. Running slower will produce positive effects, but the results will take longer. Do not run to the point of lactic-acid buildup.
An ideal training week during this period includes a two-hour run and two one and one half-hour runs. On the other days do short, easy runs; one run with some light picking up of the pace; and one 5K to 10K tempo run (below lactate-threshold pace). Decrease the times and distances if you don’t have the mileage base to start at such high volume, then build gradually.
Phase 2: Hill Training/Speed Development
Lydiard-style hill training, the focus of the first four weeks of this period, involves a circuit that includes bounding uphill, running quickly downhill and sprinting. These workouts develop power, flexibility and good form, all of which produce a more economical running style. Ideally, you should find a hill with three parts: a flat 200- to 400-meter area at the base for sprints, a 200- to 300-meter rise for bounding and a recovery area or moderate downhill segment at the top. Alternatively you can work out on a treadmill with an adjustable incline.
After a warm-up, bound uphill with hips forward and knees high. Lydiard describes the stride as “springing with a bouncing action and slow forward progression.” If you can’t make it all the way up, jog, then continue bounding. At the top jog easily for about three minutes or run down a slight incline with a fast, relaxed stride. Then return to the base of the hill for the next bounding segment. Every 15 minutes (after about every third or fourth hill), intersperse several 50- to 400-meter sprints on flat ground. These sprints mark the end of one complete circuit. Lydiard recommends a total workout time of one hour (plus warm-up and cool-down). Do this hill circuit three days per week.
On three of the four remaining days, focus on developing leg speed. Lydiard suggests 10 repetitions of 120 to 150 meters over a flat or very slight downhill surface. Warm up and cool down thoroughly.) The seventh day is a one and one-half to two-hour steady-state run.
During the second four weeks, shift from hills to traditional track workouts. The objective here, says Lydiard, is to “finish knowing that you could not do much more nor any better.” This sensation of fatigue matters less than how many intervals you do at what speeds, though the workout should total about three miles of fast running. Perform these track sessions three times per week. Use the remaining four days for a long run, leg-speed work and sprint-training drills traditionally done by sprinters to develop strength, form and speed.
Phase 3: Sharpening
How many times have you died in the last half of your race? Or alternatively, finished with too much left? Sharpening allows you to test for your strengths and weaknesses as you prepare for your goal race. Three workouts do not vary. The first is the long run, done at a relaxed pace. The second is an anaerobic training session done at a greater intensity and lower volume. Lydiard suggests five laps of a 400-meter track (about seven to eight minutes of running) alternating 50 meters of sprinting and 50 meters of easy, but strong, running.
The third consistent workout is a weekly time trial at or below the distance for which you are training. A 10K runner would do a 5K to 10K trial; a 1,500 meter runner would do 1,200 to meters. Ideally, do this workout on a track and record every lap to determine your weaknesses, and work on them throughout the rest of that week and the following week. For example, if the second half of your trial is slower than the first half, run a longer tune-up race that week and a longer time trial the next week. If the pace felt difficult but you were able to maintain it pretty evenly, work on your leg speed.
Round out your training week with a sprint-training session, a pace judgment day (4 x 400 meters at goal race pace), a leg-speed workout and a tune-up race. All these workouts should be geared to your goal distance and pace.
Phase 4: Tapering and Rest
Lydiard calls the final 10 days before goal race “freshening up.” This involves lightening your training to build up your physical and mental reserves for the target competition. Train every day but keep the faster running low in volume and the longer runs light in effort.
Unquestionably, Lydiard’s program tests your commitment and desire, and it requires a solid understanding of your individual needs. If you are serious, start counting out those 28 weeks.
Christine Junkermann has a 10K PR of 33:34 and lives in Woodbridge, CT. She recommends Run the Lydiard Way and Running With Lydiard, both by Arthur Lydiard with Garth Gilmour, for more information on the Lydiard method.
This morning I had a 90 minutes easy run planned with a 7am finish at our favourite go to cafe Yelo. ( http://yelocornerstore.com.au ; they still serve the best muffins in the Southern Hemisphere !) There were seven of us who started at 5:30am with Mark L. meeting us at 7am as he was running for an hour and progressively. We were again joined by Mark Lee who you may remember came along on our last 90 minutes easy and fidgeted the whole time. Mark is a ‘speedster’ who loves the sorter distances and finds the running slow and long run alien to his training regime. This is obvious to all as he struggles to maintain the easy pace we all quite happily settle into. This morning it was too much for Mark and after a 5k warm up with us he bounded off to run a Mona Fartlek alone. By the time we got back to Yelo he had ordered his coffee and muffins for the whole family and was on his way back to the family home. As you can see from the photo below, no Mark Lee. !
All the boys minus Mark Lee who was already on his way home…Jeff whose Wife wanted the car and Jon who was still running! (Mike , me, Gareth, Barts and Mark L.)
At the other end of the scale Jon joined us at the start of the run, after already running 10k, and then carried on for a 55k total, again not stopping for the best part of running, the apre-run muffin and coffee. Actually while I type this Jon is probably still running. (..and eating as he was carrying a handful of treats which apparently you’re allowed to do if you run ultras.)
Two different training approaches for two people training for different distances. Jon is training for the ADU ( http://australiadayultra.com ) and has gone down the path of several long runs (50k+) compared to my double up days and no real longer distance runs. Mark is more focused on pace rather than distance as he aims for the 5k and 10k races he excels in.
Me and the posse just do enough to justify the coffee and muffin at Yelo and we actually discussed the calories in (via the coffee and muffin) compared to the calories out gained after the 19k easy run. We all agreed we’d be calorie negative after the 19k run and this certainly made the muffin taste that bit sweeter.
Should you train differently for different distances or can one training method be a good fit for all running distances. ? I believe building distance first , as a foundation, concentrating on time on legs, does benefit all distance running. The change occurs when you fine tune your training for your specific race distance. Myself, being a jack of all trades, I have built a big foundation through years of injury free running. (I hate even typing those words..) This has then allowed me to fine tune to a specific race distance given a few weeks notice. For example if I have a 10k or half marathon coming up I’ll concentrate on more speed work like a mona fartlek or some 5k park runs. These will get me use to the pace I need to maintain during the upcoming race. Also helps the fast twitch muscles fire ( http://running.competitor.com/2014/07/training/the-role-of-muscle-fibers-in-running_82416 A good article on the different muscle fibres) For marathons I concentrate on longer tempo runs at marathon pace getting use to running for longer at the pace I need to maintain for the marathon. I’ll also keep working on the shorter, faster runs as these will still add value, if nothing else if feels good to run fast.
Ultra running is all about time on legs and Jon’s approach is certainly the ‘normal’ way of training. Slow and steady and all about time rather than distance, the most important factor is finishing fresh as you move towards the required distance. Obviously you aren’t going to run a 100k training run for a 100k ultra but you should probably get up in the 50k area , probably ? This is from a runner who doesn’t intend to run past 30k but what can go wrong after 8 hours of running ? (Also there is a parachute clause that you can stop at 50k and claim a 50k ultra medal. Funnily enough my friend Rhys used this to his advantage when he entered the 50k and bailed after 25k. The RD insisted on giving Rhys a 25k race medal so really he’d won that race albeit he started 3 hours before anybody else as they were staggered starts. A technicality according to Rhys.)
So back to Mark Lee and his inability to run slow. Is this causing him a disservice in his training , probably not as he has been at the front of the pack for a number of years and continues to record great running times. Would he benefit from a 3-4 month period of slow, high mileage training; undoubtably. Will he ever be able to achieve this ? Not a chance, far too much time fidgeting , looking at his watch, adjusting his shorts and top, looking at his watch etc etc Some people just don’t get the beauty of slowing down to speed up. Saying that I’ve raced Mark many times of the years and am yet to beat him so maybe I need to fidget more or just run faster ?
As I move towards my first 100k ultra at the end of January ( http://australiadayultra.com ) I’m in a quandary as to the right amount of weekly distance versus the weekend long run distance. The weekly distance I have covered as I’ve been averaging 130k a week since June but the long runs have been very marathon focussed, by this I mean always around the 30k distance and no more. Will this come back to bite me around the 70k mark in the ultra ? This has been playing on my mind lately but I personally don’t enjoy running over 30k unless there’s a bib on my chest and I’m being measured for time. The thought of a time on feet 3-5 hour run has never appealed to me and I much prefer to run twice a day to achieve the required distance. Jon on the other hand revels in the long lonely run, normally at some God forsaken time in the morning. Recently he woke at 3am and ran 70k, by himself ! I know he has a 55k run planned Thursday but have been deliberately avoiding him as I am not that excited about the distance or the starting time knowing Jon. I did say I’d meet him at Yelo at 7am. (Just didn’t mention I’d probably be starting at 6am.)
I suppose because I’m still chasing a marathon PB I haven’t found the need to look further afield to get my PB fix. As well as the marathon PB I feel in 2017 I may have a good tilt at all the shorter distances and would like to think there may be the odd PB still there for the taking if I keep putting in the hard yards. I’m not a total beginner when it comes to ultra marathons as currently I’ve ran 18 of them but none further than 89k ( http://www.comrades.com ) Admittedly I did train very hard for my three Comrade campaigns (2008 /09 /10) and this training included the 50k runs that now days I find so hard to complete. On the plus side I running so much quicker now than when I ran Comrades and consider myself a lot fitter than those years, I’m certainly running further. So the question is does a better prepared runner beat a fitter runner over 100k ? I suppose we’ll find out next January as I have no inclination to run further than my normal 30k marathon long runs but I will be maintaining my 130k weekly average and may even nudge that up a bit over the next two weeks.
Tapering will be a two week exercise for this ultra as I feel the distance demands respect and I really need my legs to be as rested as much possible without losing fitness, the old taper tightrope we all walk pre-marathon or ultra. I believe you start to lose fitness after 2-3 weeks of no training so as long as you keep the legs ticking over, with a few rest days, you’ll be ok for a 2 week taper. When I first started marathons I use to give myself a 3 week taper but now I realise this was probably too long and I felt I lost some fitness which combined with the normal 3 day carbo-loading made the marathon uncomfortable. As it’s a 100k I may even treat myself to a leg massage, my friend Mike has recommended a good masseur but after a discussion over a Yelo muffin on Boxing Day I’m not so sure this is the type of massage I’m after. (There was talk of special garments which raised a few concerns amongst us?) It’s important to make sure the legs are ready for the onslaught of running for at least 8 hours (and probably more!) and the massage and a good taper will certainly help.
Once I get the legs ready next will be the mind. Looking at the quotes below it looks like the mind plays as much a part of a successful ultra run than the legs, a lot more than in the marathon when it becomes an issue at the 32k mark with 10k to go. In an Ultra it looks like the wall may be a tad longer to get to but unfortunately there is more distance the other side to overcome. By this I mean if you hit the wall at 70k in a 100k race you still have 30k to use all your mental strength to get you to the finish line, not the normal 10k in a marathon. I’m not selling this to you am I ? Actually I’m not selling it to me either.!
“If you start to feel good during an ultra, don’t worry, you will get over it.”
-Gene Thibeault, ultrarunner
“We ultrarunners alternate between depression and stupidity.”
-Don Kardong
It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.”
-Ann Trason
“Ultrarunners understand, perhaps better than anyone, that the doors to the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In running such long and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of their being–a call that asks who they are.”
-David Blaikie
Finally once I get the legs ready and the mind prepared the final piece in the jigsaw is the food and hydration that is so important in an ultra. Haven’t really nailed that one either , truth be told. Typing this has not given me the confidence I felt it would but has instead left me with some unanswered questions and the feeling of what is ahead of me will be a challenge. Would I want it any different, no way ! This is why we run to challenge ourselves and be that by distance or time the end result is always worth the effort we put in. I shall of course draw down on this post at the 70k mark of the Australia Day ultra and hopefully it’ll bring a smile to my face as I power on to the finish…..
An article below from Ian Corless form the Run Ultra website describes the Long Run……
Every weekend, runners all over the world lace up their shoes and head out for a long run. But what is a long run and how long should the long run be?
Running long depends on what type of ultra you are training for, what your objectives are, what the date of the event is and so on. If you don’t have answers to these three questions, stop, find the answers and then start planning. Read an article about planning and running a race here.
If you are used to running 5km and 10km events, a long run for you may well be 75-90 minutes. If you are a marathon runner, your long run will typically be 21/22 miles or 3 to 3.5-hours. If you are running an ultra, mmmmm, this is where it gets tricky.
First of all, let’s look at why we run long. This is something discussed in a previous article on ‘Base Training,’ it would be a good idea to read that here. In summary, we put an emphasis on three key points: Efficiency to use fat as a fuel, muscular and physical adaptation and mental strength.
If you never run for more than one hour in training, then three hours on your feet just feels like a really long time so you need to adapt mentally for the challenge ahead and you need to be strong to get the job done.
You have had sore legs from running, yes? We have all been there, it comes from running fast and hard and building up lactic acid or it comes from running long. Muscle soreness will come for everyone, however, we can train to reduce the impact or delay the process. Progressively running longer with recovery periods allows our muscles to adapt to the stress and become stronger. The term DOMS refers to the ‘Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness’. You may well feel muscle pain during a training event or race but it’s usually in the 24/48/72-hour period after that the soreness really kicks in. By running long in training we adapt to delay or reduce the DOMS.
You need fuel to do anything, even a shopping trip. Our bodies can only store so much carbohydrate and once those stores are used up we have only two options left: top them up or slow down and maybe even stop if they have got very low. As an endurance athlete we need to tap into our almost unlimited fat stores. We do this by teaching our body to use fat as a fuel in the long run. The more efficient you become at this, the longer you can run and the longer you can maintain a pace. Ultimately it means the whole race/training experience will be better and more enjoyable. Check out our diet advice for training here.
The Long Run
Let’s be clear here, running longer requires running slower, especially if we are going to switch fat burning on, mentally make you strong and allow you to last the distance. Running hard has its place for sure but be specific and think of your objectives and what you are trying to achieve.
Think of long runs in terms of time and not distance. Distance adds some confusion and also as runners we get stressed and worried by mileage. Time on feet does very much depend on the terrain we are running on, for example in three hours on the road you may well cover 20-miles, but on the trails or in the mountains you may only cover 12-miles.
This brings in another very important and key point, make long runs specific and in line with your objectives. No point doing three hours on the road if you are doing a 50 mile mountain race with 4000m of vertical gain.
Slow down! Many runners run the long run too hard which impacts on the following days’ training and it also impacts on the long run session. Maybe use a heart rate monitor or GPS to keep on top of this and don’t worry about walking. Walking is a key element in completing ultra distance events. You can read an article on this here.
The big question, how long should the long run be?
Short distance runners often run over distance in training. Think about it, a 10km runner may run a long slow half marathon to build endurance. A half marathon runner may run a long and slow steady 16 miles in preparation for a fast race.
This all falls apart when we go to the marathon and beyond. How often have you heard in marathon training that the long run should be 21/22 miles or 3 hours and 30 minutes in preparation for a race.
Long runs and adapting for an endurance run such as an ultra comes from not one run but a combination of all runs. It’s about your accumulative run history. They all add up to make you an endurance machine.
First and foremost, consistency is key and long runs should be progressive and based on ability and experience. A long run should test you but not break you.
What do I mean by progressive?
Let’s use a 12-week scenario based on a runner who can currently run two hours in a long run. I am not looking at base training here, but the specifics of a long run and how to make the long run longer. I’m a big fan of building over three weeks and recovering for one week, I call this 3/1.
The above scenario provides a structured example on how to build up from running two hours comfortably to four hours. But remember the above scenario is 12 weeks of running with over 37 hours of running, just in the long runs! That is huge and a great place to start for any endurance challenge.
But my race is 50 miles, can I run the distance?
As mentioned above, it’s not wise or sensible to run too long in anyone session. But the 12-week plan above on a 3/1 scenario shows you how it’s possible to build time and confidence. As you gain more experience you can look at doing back-to-back sessions and plan long training weekends all as part of a long term plan. Ultimately though, running too long in terms of distance or time is something that should be very carefully planned. You will always here about runners who can do 200 mile weeks or 50-mile training runs; they are exceptions and not the norm. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and don’t feel inadequate, we are all individuals and this is maybe the most important aspect. Running long is a voyage of discovery. Check out our 50km training plan to start you towards your 50 miler here.
Training should be about preparing you to tackle the challenge, but it will never FULLY prepare you. There’s always going to be a bit of extra and a bit of unknown on the day of the event, but surely that’s why you’ve entered?
