Training Tips from GTC-ELITE
Training Tips are provided by Coach Mike Caldwell, who is the Director/Coach of Greenville Track Club-ELITE, a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program established in 2012. During his coaching career he has developed multiple Olympic Trials Qualifiers, World Championship and USA national championship participants. and a Paris 2024 Olympian. A Furman University graduate, he furthered his educational status at the Univerisity of Florida and Florida State University for post-grad degrees. His non-coaching career included many years in executive leadership positions at ASICS and NIKE.
Initially published in the GTC AUGUST 2023 Newsletter
THE FOUR PILLARS FOR EFFECTIVE TRAINING
There are multiple philosophies regarding training for runners. Almost every coach has their “system,” which they believe is correct. And there are so many coaches, so so many. A wise veteran coach once said, “everyone who has run a 5K road race, thinks they can coach.” While probably not 100% accurate, it does present a stereotype. However, any coaching system worth its salt should incorporate the following four pillars: Frequency; Duration; Intensity; Recovery.
Let’s do a deeper dive into each.
FREQUENCY
This is a fairly simple term to understand as it refers to how many times did training occur during the training microcycle. We usually use a 7-day microcycle due to our athletes planning their real-life work responsibilities. If you are able to run once every day of the week, the training frequency would be seven. We adhere to running twice on most of our harder days to enhance the recovery process (increase blood flow & hormonal stimulus), so our frequency is usually 9- 10 sessions per microcycle (week).
Since most recreational athletes have to work their training around busy life schedules, many do not run seven days per week. However, experience has shown that the minimal frequency to ensure progress is most likely 3-4 running sessions per week. There have been highly successful athletes who train 6 days per week, so there is not a mandate regarding frequency.
DURATION
Duration is literally the amount of time spent running. It is usually measured for each individual training session. We usually record the daily duration and add the total for the microcycle (week or whatever number of days that determine your microcycle). Most coaches use the number of miles or kilometers covered during the cycle to monitor the volume. We run most of our training by time so we total the number of minutes run during the cycle: 9 hours 30 minutes for the 7-day cycle is a good example.
Duration is an excellent tool for monitoring the consistency and progression of training. Most runners know how many miles or kilometers they ran each week. An old-wives-tale recommended that you should not increase your weekly volume by more than 10% week to week. While that is probably good advice, there is no valid research that supports the guideline. And there is definitely a point of diminishing returns on increasing duration—both in single sessions and in weekly (or microcycle) totals.
INTENSITY
This is where it becomes very interesting. How hard or fast do you run?
Most recreational runners seem to train too hard day to day. One of our GTC-ELITE Maxims is “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Every run should have a purpose, and intensity helps determine the outcome.
Intensity is basically the pace or effort of the training bout. We usually measure intensity by pace per 400 meters, kilometer or mile. Most of our sessions on the track use 400 meter pace, while kilometer or mile “splits” are common when training off the track.
A good example of using pace to monitor training effort is Dr. Jack Daniels’ methodology pertaining to a “tempo” workout. While the majority of runners think “tempo” is just a hard effort, Dr. Daniels recommends that a “tempo” effort is 5-6 seconds per 400 meters slower than your current 5K race pace. An example would be if your current 5K pace is 6:00 per mile, which is just slightly over 90 seconds per 400 meters, then your “tempo” pace would be 95-96 seconds per 400 meter lap (on the track) or about 6:20 to 6:24 per mile.
Many coaches use Rate of Perceived Effort to monitor intensity. At its simplest, RPE is a scale of 1 to 10, measuring the intensity of your effort – 1 being extremely light activity like a slow stroll, 10 being an all-out sprint which you can only maintain for a short period of time. Using RPE is a great way to keep tabs on the intensity of your workouts and stay in tune with your body without relying on technology (GPS) or tracking your metrics too closely.
Perhaps the most compelling argument for adopting RPE is recognizing that no two runs are identical: a myriad of factors affect the amount of effort required for a workout, both external and internal – both physical and physiological factors affect RPE.
Intensity and duration also go hand-in-hand as most workout sessions are broken down into more achievable segments. Depending on the length and pace of the more intense effort, these are called “intervals” or “repetitions.” A much misunderstood concept is that the “interval” is actually the duration of the rest or recovery between the higher intensity segments of the session. An example might be a workout of 6-8 x 1,000 meters with 90 seconds recovery between each. The intensity segments are the 1,000 meter runs and the intervals are the 90- second recovery periods.
Most elite coaches consider the total volume of the intense segments as the “volume” of the workout session. In the example above, (6-8 x 1K) the workout volume would be 6-8K of work. Obviously, this does not include the warmup or cooldown portions of the total session. For data recording purposes, we use the combined total of all the running for our duration: 20 mins warmup + 8K of volume (24 minutes) + 20 mins cooldown = 64 mins of duration for that session.
In general we target a specific percentage of the weekly duration for the intensity sessions. An example would be that intensity work is 12-15% of the weekly duration total. This differs from coach to coach, but more often than not, too much intensity work may result in overtraining or injury.
RECOVERY
Stress + Rest + Growth
Canadian physician Hans Seyle is credited with proposing the theory of the General Adaptation Syndrome in 1936 to describe the process for how an organism adapts to various stress. GAS, as it is now commonly referred, consists of three stages: 1. Alarm Reaction, 2. Resistance Development and 3. Exhaustion. For the purpose of this article, we will surmise that the training response involves these stages in various forms.
A training stimulus will produce an initial reaction to the stressor, which if applied correctly, will progress to the resistance development stage which is also referred to as “adaptation.” By applying a progressive overload (consistent and progressive training) during a time-based cycle the athlete should continue to improve their fitness and subsequent performances.
The major takeaway from GAS for runners is to avoid the exhaustion stage by allowing the body to adapt to the stressor through recovery, which may include rest.
We have adhered to the Hard/Easy training philosophy of famous Oregon coach Bill Bowerman. Each of our high duration or intensity sessions are followed by a “recovery” period to allow the adaptation to occur. We usually take a recovery day after each harder session. Our recovery is somewhat different than most programs in that we limit our running to approximately 45 minutes on our recovery days— which is less than 50% of the duration of the previous day’s workout session.
We have seen many other programs consider an “easy or recovery” day as just running at a slower pace, but still with a higher duration. An example, “I just ran 12 miles easy on my recovery day.” Without going into much detail, we question that reasoning as the physiological parameters may not support that it was “easy” and definitely did not allow the proper recovery period for the quickest adaptation, including hormonal stimulus and muscular regeneration. With that being stated, RECOVERY is a vital requirement in conjunction with FREQUENCY, DURATION and INTENSITY in the training philosophy and approach. However, as each individual responds differently to each of those components, a good training plan must be specific to the athlete.
In summary: there are four components to a training program and each is vital and cannot be undervalued.
THE FOUR PILLARS FOR EFFECTIVE TRAINING
There are multiple philosophies regarding training for runners. Almost every coach has their “system,” which they believe is correct. And there are so many coaches, so so many. A wise veteran coach once said, “everyone who has run a 5K road race, thinks they can coach.” While probably not 100% accurate, it does present a stereotype. However, any coaching system worth its salt should incorporate the following four pillars: Frequency; Duration; Intensity; Recovery.
Let’s do a deeper dive into each.
FREQUENCY
This is a fairly simple term to understand as it refers to how many times did training occur during the training microcycle. We usually use a 7-day microcycle due to our athletes planning their real-life work responsibilities. If you are able to run once every day of the week, the training frequency would be seven. We adhere to running twice on most of our harder days to enhance the recovery process (increase blood flow & hormonal stimulus), so our frequency is usually 9- 10 sessions per microcycle (week).
Since most recreational athletes have to work their training around busy life schedules, many do not run seven days per week. However, experience has shown that the minimal frequency to ensure progress is most likely 3-4 running sessions per week. There have been highly successful athletes who train 6 days per week, so there is not a mandate regarding frequency.
DURATION
Duration is literally the amount of time spent running. It is usually measured for each individual training session. We usually record the daily duration and add the total for the microcycle (week or whatever number of days that determine your microcycle). Most coaches use the number of miles or kilometers covered during the cycle to monitor the volume. We run most of our training by time so we total the number of minutes run during the cycle: 9 hours 30 minutes for the 7-day cycle is a good example.
Duration is an excellent tool for monitoring the consistency and progression of training. Most runners know how many miles or kilometers they ran each week. An old-wives-tale recommended that you should not increase your weekly volume by more than 10% week to week. While that is probably good advice, there is no valid research that supports the guideline. And there is definitely a point of diminishing returns on increasing duration—both in single sessions and in weekly (or microcycle) totals.
INTENSITY
This is where it becomes very interesting. How hard or fast do you run?
Most recreational runners seem to train too hard day to day. One of our GTC-ELITE Maxims is “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Every run should have a purpose, and intensity helps determine the outcome.
Intensity is basically the pace or effort of the training bout. We usually measure intensity by pace per 400 meters, kilometer or mile. Most of our sessions on the track use 400 meter pace, while kilometer or mile “splits” are common when training off the track.
A good example of using pace to monitor training effort is Dr. Jack Daniels’ methodology pertaining to a “tempo” workout. While the majority of runners think “tempo” is just a hard effort, Dr. Daniels recommends that a “tempo” effort is 5-6 seconds per 400 meters slower than your current 5K race pace. An example would be if your current 5K pace is 6:00 per mile, which is just slightly over 90 seconds per 400 meters, then your “tempo” pace would be 95-96 seconds per 400 meter lap (on the track) or about 6:20 to 6:24 per mile.
Many coaches use Rate of Perceived Effort to monitor intensity. At its simplest, RPE is a scale of 1 to 10, measuring the intensity of your effort – 1 being extremely light activity like a slow stroll, 10 being an all-out sprint which you can only maintain for a short period of time. Using RPE is a great way to keep tabs on the intensity of your workouts and stay in tune with your body without relying on technology (GPS) or tracking your metrics too closely.
Perhaps the most compelling argument for adopting RPE is recognizing that no two runs are identical: a myriad of factors affect the amount of effort required for a workout, both external and internal – both physical and physiological factors affect RPE.
Intensity and duration also go hand-in-hand as most workout sessions are broken down into more achievable segments. Depending on the length and pace of the more intense effort, these are called “intervals” or “repetitions.” A much misunderstood concept is that the “interval” is actually the duration of the rest or recovery between the higher intensity segments of the session. An example might be a workout of 6-8 x 1,000 meters with 90 seconds recovery between each. The intensity segments are the 1,000 meter runs and the intervals are the 90- second recovery periods.
Most elite coaches consider the total volume of the intense segments as the “volume” of the workout session. In the example above, (6-8 x 1K) the workout volume would be 6-8K of work. Obviously, this does not include the warmup or cooldown portions of the total session. For data recording purposes, we use the combined total of all the running for our duration: 20 mins warmup + 8K of volume (24 minutes) + 20 mins cooldown = 64 mins of duration for that session.
In general we target a specific percentage of the weekly duration for the intensity sessions. An example would be that intensity work is 12-15% of the weekly duration total. This differs from coach to coach, but more often than not, too much intensity work may result in overtraining or injury.
RECOVERY
Stress + Rest + Growth
Canadian physician Hans Seyle is credited with proposing the theory of the General Adaptation Syndrome in 1936 to describe the process for how an organism adapts to various stress. GAS, as it is now commonly referred, consists of three stages: 1. Alarm Reaction, 2. Resistance Development and 3. Exhaustion. For the purpose of this article, we will surmise that the training response involves these stages in various forms.
A training stimulus will produce an initial reaction to the stressor, which if applied correctly, will progress to the resistance development stage which is also referred to as “adaptation.” By applying a progressive overload (consistent and progressive training) during a time-based cycle the athlete should continue to improve their fitness and subsequent performances.
The major takeaway from GAS for runners is to avoid the exhaustion stage by allowing the body to adapt to the stressor through recovery, which may include rest.
We have adhered to the Hard/Easy training philosophy of famous Oregon coach Bill Bowerman. Each of our high duration or intensity sessions are followed by a “recovery” period to allow the adaptation to occur. We usually take a recovery day after each harder session. Our recovery is somewhat different than most programs in that we limit our running to approximately 45 minutes on our recovery days— which is less than 50% of the duration of the previous day’s workout session.
We have seen many other programs consider an “easy or recovery” day as just running at a slower pace, but still with a higher duration. An example, “I just ran 12 miles easy on my recovery day.” Without going into much detail, we question that reasoning as the physiological parameters may not support that it was “easy” and definitely did not allow the proper recovery period for the quickest adaptation, including hormonal stimulus and muscular regeneration. With that being stated, RECOVERY is a vital requirement in conjunction with FREQUENCY, DURATION and INTENSITY in the training philosophy and approach. However, as each individual responds differently to each of those components, a good training plan must be specific to the athlete.
In summary: there are four components to a training program and each is vital and cannot be undervalued.
NOVEMBER 2023
Almost every training microcycle should include a Long Run, an Interval and/orFartlek workout and a Tempo session. Most
highly successful coaches incorporatethese components in their training plans.However, the term “Tempo Run” is manytimes misunderstood. It is not uncommon to hear an athlete remark, “I did a 15-mile tempo run.” We will attempt to explain why that is probably incorrect.
“A true tempo run – a threshold run – is at a pace that’s about 25-30 seconds per mile slower than your current 5K race pace, explains world-reknown running coach Jack Daniels, who popularized the tempo run in his book Daniels’ Running Formula. Such apace is approximately your Threshold Pace, which is the hardest effort at which your body is able to clear as much lactate as it is producing, while working comfortably hard. Lactate is a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, but is also a source of energy. However, at paces faster than Threshold, lactate cannot be shuttled from the blood to other tissues or buffered to remain non-
acidic. The increased number of hydrogen ions associated with the production of lactate are actually the true culprit.
The key difference between a race effort and a tempo run is that lactate can be cleared in the latter. In an all-out session, your body
passes this limit – i.e. your body produces more lactate and hydrogen ions than you can process – and so fatigue develops
rapidly. A Threshold pace is usually defined as a pace that you can maintain for an hour when racing. Think 20K for many
elite runners or 15K for those not quite as talented.
Threshold or Tempo efforts should be conducted at a “steady” pace throughout the elapsed time or duration of the run.
Dr. Daniels initially espoused Tempo workouts of about 20 minutes at Threshold pace, but also stated that in well-trained athletes the effort could be longer. It has been postulated that “Threshold” pace is that which can be maintained for a one hour (60 mins) race Depending on the runner, that race could be a distance ranging from 8K (12:00 mins per mile) to Half Marathon (4:34 mins per mile). So theoretically, given that time limit, if an athlete can run at that “Threshold race pace” for only an hour, it would seem unlikely to expect that the athlete running at “Threshold” (or “tempo”) pace could continue well past one hour to run 15 miles maintaining that pace. Therefore, running 15 miles at “Threshold” pace would not be possible.
An example of approximately Threshold pace (and thus a “tempo” effort) for a 20 minute 5K (6:26 per mile) runner, would be
running the “tempo” session at 6:51 to 6:56 per mile. With our GTC-ELITE athletes we usually calculate our “tempo” pace from our current 5K race pace and use 400-meter (1 lap on a standard running track) splits about 5-6 seconds slower. For example, if our
athlete’s current 5K time is 14:00, which is 67 seconds per 400 meters, then we set our “tempo” pace at 72-73 seconds per lap.
Tempo training not only improves your physical fitness but also boosts your mental strength. ‘I believe in tempo running
because it helps the athlete feel that sense of toughness they experience when they compete,’ says veteran coach Bob Williams.
‘It’s a process of adaptation, psychological as well as physiological.’
In summary, Tempo workouts should be a vital component of every runner’s training program, if they are planning to improve their performances. It is not just a “hard run,” but a pre-calculated (planned) pace to be achieved. And, one that meets the criteria of
“Tempo”, which is approximately 20 or more minutes in duration and approximately 25- 30 seconds per mile slower that the current
5K pace.
Almost every training microcycle should include a Long Run, an Interval and/orFartlek workout and a Tempo session. Most
highly successful coaches incorporatethese components in their training plans.However, the term “Tempo Run” is manytimes misunderstood. It is not uncommon to hear an athlete remark, “I did a 15-mile tempo run.” We will attempt to explain why that is probably incorrect.
“A true tempo run – a threshold run – is at a pace that’s about 25-30 seconds per mile slower than your current 5K race pace, explains world-reknown running coach Jack Daniels, who popularized the tempo run in his book Daniels’ Running Formula. Such apace is approximately your Threshold Pace, which is the hardest effort at which your body is able to clear as much lactate as it is producing, while working comfortably hard. Lactate is a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, but is also a source of energy. However, at paces faster than Threshold, lactate cannot be shuttled from the blood to other tissues or buffered to remain non-
acidic. The increased number of hydrogen ions associated with the production of lactate are actually the true culprit.
The key difference between a race effort and a tempo run is that lactate can be cleared in the latter. In an all-out session, your body
passes this limit – i.e. your body produces more lactate and hydrogen ions than you can process – and so fatigue develops
rapidly. A Threshold pace is usually defined as a pace that you can maintain for an hour when racing. Think 20K for many
elite runners or 15K for those not quite as talented.
Threshold or Tempo efforts should be conducted at a “steady” pace throughout the elapsed time or duration of the run.
Dr. Daniels initially espoused Tempo workouts of about 20 minutes at Threshold pace, but also stated that in well-trained athletes the effort could be longer. It has been postulated that “Threshold” pace is that which can be maintained for a one hour (60 mins) race Depending on the runner, that race could be a distance ranging from 8K (12:00 mins per mile) to Half Marathon (4:34 mins per mile). So theoretically, given that time limit, if an athlete can run at that “Threshold race pace” for only an hour, it would seem unlikely to expect that the athlete running at “Threshold” (or “tempo”) pace could continue well past one hour to run 15 miles maintaining that pace. Therefore, running 15 miles at “Threshold” pace would not be possible.
An example of approximately Threshold pace (and thus a “tempo” effort) for a 20 minute 5K (6:26 per mile) runner, would be
running the “tempo” session at 6:51 to 6:56 per mile. With our GTC-ELITE athletes we usually calculate our “tempo” pace from our current 5K race pace and use 400-meter (1 lap on a standard running track) splits about 5-6 seconds slower. For example, if our
athlete’s current 5K time is 14:00, which is 67 seconds per 400 meters, then we set our “tempo” pace at 72-73 seconds per lap.
Tempo training not only improves your physical fitness but also boosts your mental strength. ‘I believe in tempo running
because it helps the athlete feel that sense of toughness they experience when they compete,’ says veteran coach Bob Williams.
‘It’s a process of adaptation, psychological as well as physiological.’
In summary, Tempo workouts should be a vital component of every runner’s training program, if they are planning to improve their performances. It is not just a “hard run,” but a pre-calculated (planned) pace to be achieved. And, one that meets the criteria of
“Tempo”, which is approximately 20 or more minutes in duration and approximately 25- 30 seconds per mile slower that the current
5K pace.
FEBRUARY 2024
As we stated in the November issue, “almost every training microcycle should include a Long Run, an interval and/or Fartlek workout and a Tempo session. Most highly successful coaches incorporate these components in their training plans. In this issue, we’ll explore the Long Run.
Coach Billy Squires of the historic Greater Boston Track Club famously stated, “It’s the long run that puts the tiger in the cat.”
Many training programs include a weekly long run. But what specifically is a “long run”?
We believe the long run is different than your regular training runs in that it fits into a percentage range of your weekly volume (mileage/duration). For example, if your weekly volume is 40 miles then your long run might equate to 25% of your weekly volume or 10 miles. And, it is usuallly at least 50% longer than your regular run.
The percentage is not mandate, but more of a rule of thumb. In our experience, the long run should be between 18% and 25% of the weekly volume, but not more than 30%. If it is greater than 25% the probability of incurring an injury is increased. This is due to the increased stress on the musculature and skeletal systems that have not endured significant stress on a frequent basis to experience proper adaptation. However, it should be noted that this is not an absolute, as some runners can do a high percentage of their weekly volume during their long run, but it is definitely not the norm nor recommended.
It is our point-of-view that the most important portion of the long run is the final 10 mins. Why?Because that is when the cumulative stress should be the greatest and therefore elicits greater adaptation following adequate recovery. However, this adaptation may not continue if you only maintain the same duration of your long run each week. It would then become more of a maintenance proposition than a developing adaptation process.
At Greenville Track Club-ELITE, we use a variety of long runs. Our staple is a “comfortable continuous” effort totaling 120 minutes or 2 hours in duration. During a rebuild from a post-cycle break, this type of effort is used to develop all of the physical and metal systems. After a few micro-cycles (usually 2-3 weeks) the redevelopment adapts into a maintenance mode. At that juncture, we usually gradually increase the duration (usually in 5 to 10 minute increments) or increase the overall pace of the run.
We also use “Progressive & Fueling Long Runs” when training for the marathon. In these types of long runs, we gradually increase the pace over the duration of the run and also provide fueling in the form of energy drinks and gels. This is somewhat different that what we do during our weekly “comfortable continuous” long runs, in that we usually do not partake of energy drinks or gels, so that we optimize our fat utilization processes.
Many experienced runners like to insert faster segments into their long runs. But this is usually for those who have a fairly high weekly duration volume.
One of the main tenets of our philosophy regarding long runs, is that we usually follow them with very easy “recovery” days so that the adaptation occurs. For example, if our athletes complete a 120 minute run on Sunday, then Monday might be just an easy 30 minute run. We usually also take another recovery day (Tuesday) following a “Progressive & Fueling Long Run”, since those efforts are very taxing.
To summarize:
As we stated in the November issue, “almost every training microcycle should include a Long Run, an interval and/or Fartlek workout and a Tempo session. Most highly successful coaches incorporate these components in their training plans. In this issue, we’ll explore the Long Run.
Coach Billy Squires of the historic Greater Boston Track Club famously stated, “It’s the long run that puts the tiger in the cat.”
Many training programs include a weekly long run. But what specifically is a “long run”?
We believe the long run is different than your regular training runs in that it fits into a percentage range of your weekly volume (mileage/duration). For example, if your weekly volume is 40 miles then your long run might equate to 25% of your weekly volume or 10 miles. And, it is usuallly at least 50% longer than your regular run.
The percentage is not mandate, but more of a rule of thumb. In our experience, the long run should be between 18% and 25% of the weekly volume, but not more than 30%. If it is greater than 25% the probability of incurring an injury is increased. This is due to the increased stress on the musculature and skeletal systems that have not endured significant stress on a frequent basis to experience proper adaptation. However, it should be noted that this is not an absolute, as some runners can do a high percentage of their weekly volume during their long run, but it is definitely not the norm nor recommended.
It is our point-of-view that the most important portion of the long run is the final 10 mins. Why?Because that is when the cumulative stress should be the greatest and therefore elicits greater adaptation following adequate recovery. However, this adaptation may not continue if you only maintain the same duration of your long run each week. It would then become more of a maintenance proposition than a developing adaptation process.
At Greenville Track Club-ELITE, we use a variety of long runs. Our staple is a “comfortable continuous” effort totaling 120 minutes or 2 hours in duration. During a rebuild from a post-cycle break, this type of effort is used to develop all of the physical and metal systems. After a few micro-cycles (usually 2-3 weeks) the redevelopment adapts into a maintenance mode. At that juncture, we usually gradually increase the duration (usually in 5 to 10 minute increments) or increase the overall pace of the run.
We also use “Progressive & Fueling Long Runs” when training for the marathon. In these types of long runs, we gradually increase the pace over the duration of the run and also provide fueling in the form of energy drinks and gels. This is somewhat different that what we do during our weekly “comfortable continuous” long runs, in that we usually do not partake of energy drinks or gels, so that we optimize our fat utilization processes.
Many experienced runners like to insert faster segments into their long runs. But this is usually for those who have a fairly high weekly duration volume.
One of the main tenets of our philosophy regarding long runs, is that we usually follow them with very easy “recovery” days so that the adaptation occurs. For example, if our athletes complete a 120 minute run on Sunday, then Monday might be just an easy 30 minute run. We usually also take another recovery day (Tuesday) following a “Progressive & Fueling Long Run”, since those efforts are very taxing.
To summarize:
- include a longer run in your weekly training cycle
- the longer run should equal between 18 and 25% of the weekly volume
- follow with one or two recovery days.
MAY 2024
We have heard many runners express statements similar to “Why should I run a 5K when my goal is the Half Marathon?” Or, “I don’t like 5Ks because they hurt.”
Many of those runners will never reach their potential in their goal race, because they are not optimizing their racing capacity by not racing at shorter distances. One of our philosophies within Greenville Track Club-ELITE is to train and race at shorter distances to improve at our goal distances.
Our marathoners train and race at the 5K, 10K, 15K and Half Marathon distances to improve their marathon times. Does that mean we don’t do marathon-specific training? Of course not. But developing the capacity to run fast at the shorter distances only enhances their ability to run faster marathons.
For the non-elite runner the same philosophy should hold true. If your goal is a Half Marathon, then you should include some 5K and 10Ks in your training/competitive plan. Why does the shorter distance race seem to “hurt” more? In reality it shouldn’t since the duration of time spent running is much shorter. It could be that you need to push yourself to run at a faster pace. Frankly, you shouldn’t be “sprinting” at those distances (until the final portion of the race, anyway). So it seems that attempting to run at a faster pace is the issue.
That begs the question, “Are you including interval-type sessions and/or tempo runs into your training program? Both types of training are essential to optimize your training.
Interval actually refers to the rest or recovery period between faster/intense efforts during a workout. Hence, the rest interval. However, “intervals” are now a commonly referred to training protocol. Usually an interval workout consists of faster running for two to five minutes with a specific time for recovery. For example: 5 x 800 meters with 2 minutes rest between each 800.
Sometimes such a workout is labeled “repeats”. We usually refer to “repeats” or “repetitions” to shorter periods of duration or distance covered such as 200, 300 or 400 meters. Due to the more intense effort and the utilization of the glycolytic energy system, the rest/recovery period may be equal to or longer than the actual distance segment run.
By including “repetitions” and/or “interval” training in your program you prepare yourself to be able to run faster. It is fairly common to include training speeds much faster than your current race pace. When that is done properly, the actual race pace seems more achievable.
We discussed “tempo” runs in the February issue and these types of runs are an excellent method for your body to use lactate as a fuel source and therefore not slow done in the later portions of your race.
These types of workouts will also allow you to race at the 5K and 10K distances without so much perceived “hurt.”
We would recommend including a few 5Ks and at least one 10K in your buildup to a Half Marathon. You may be surprised that your average pace in the HM is easier and probably faster.
We have heard many runners express statements similar to “Why should I run a 5K when my goal is the Half Marathon?” Or, “I don’t like 5Ks because they hurt.”
Many of those runners will never reach their potential in their goal race, because they are not optimizing their racing capacity by not racing at shorter distances. One of our philosophies within Greenville Track Club-ELITE is to train and race at shorter distances to improve at our goal distances.
Our marathoners train and race at the 5K, 10K, 15K and Half Marathon distances to improve their marathon times. Does that mean we don’t do marathon-specific training? Of course not. But developing the capacity to run fast at the shorter distances only enhances their ability to run faster marathons.
For the non-elite runner the same philosophy should hold true. If your goal is a Half Marathon, then you should include some 5K and 10Ks in your training/competitive plan. Why does the shorter distance race seem to “hurt” more? In reality it shouldn’t since the duration of time spent running is much shorter. It could be that you need to push yourself to run at a faster pace. Frankly, you shouldn’t be “sprinting” at those distances (until the final portion of the race, anyway). So it seems that attempting to run at a faster pace is the issue.
That begs the question, “Are you including interval-type sessions and/or tempo runs into your training program? Both types of training are essential to optimize your training.
Interval actually refers to the rest or recovery period between faster/intense efforts during a workout. Hence, the rest interval. However, “intervals” are now a commonly referred to training protocol. Usually an interval workout consists of faster running for two to five minutes with a specific time for recovery. For example: 5 x 800 meters with 2 minutes rest between each 800.
Sometimes such a workout is labeled “repeats”. We usually refer to “repeats” or “repetitions” to shorter periods of duration or distance covered such as 200, 300 or 400 meters. Due to the more intense effort and the utilization of the glycolytic energy system, the rest/recovery period may be equal to or longer than the actual distance segment run.
By including “repetitions” and/or “interval” training in your program you prepare yourself to be able to run faster. It is fairly common to include training speeds much faster than your current race pace. When that is done properly, the actual race pace seems more achievable.
We discussed “tempo” runs in the February issue and these types of runs are an excellent method for your body to use lactate as a fuel source and therefore not slow done in the later portions of your race.
These types of workouts will also allow you to race at the 5K and 10K distances without so much perceived “hurt.”
We would recommend including a few 5Ks and at least one 10K in your buildup to a Half Marathon. You may be surprised that your average pace in the HM is easier and probably faster.
AUGUST 2024
Once you add a race to your schedule, do you check the course profile? We know a lot of runners do so and we strongly recommend that you have knowledge of what the course entails. Is is a loop, or out-and-back? And is it hilly or flat?
When the course of the 2024 Olympic Marathon in Paris was announced, we noticed that it was unusually hilly for an Olympic marathon. Athens and Barcelona both had significant hills, and Paris has only two major ones, but they are difficult. The first big one starts just before the 15K point and climbs past the 20K mark. Our math indicates that is a little over 5 kilometers of climbing. Now that’s a hill.
The runners will get some respite after reaching the top as they run downhill for the next 7 kilometers. Their quadriceps will love it. Then the second major climb is a slightly less than 2K, buts includes a 13% grade. WOW!. Once passing the crest, it is a screaming downhill section of 3+ kilometers, before a rather flat final 10K.
Once you add a race to your schedule, do you check the course profile? We know a lot of runners do so and we strongly recommend that you have knowledge of what the course entails. Is is a loop, or out-and-back? And is it hilly or flat?
When the course of the 2024 Olympic Marathon in Paris was announced, we noticed that it was unusually hilly for an Olympic marathon. Athens and Barcelona both had significant hills, and Paris has only two major ones, but they are difficult. The first big one starts just before the 15K point and climbs past the 20K mark. Our math indicates that is a little over 5 kilometers of climbing. Now that’s a hill.
The runners will get some respite after reaching the top as they run downhill for the next 7 kilometers. Their quadriceps will love it. Then the second major climb is a slightly less than 2K, buts includes a 13% grade. WOW!. Once passing the crest, it is a screaming downhill section of 3+ kilometers, before a rather flat final 10K.
Our GTC-ELITE athlete Eduardo Garcia will be representing the US Virgin Islands in the Paris Olympic Marathon on August 10. In our preparation for that event, we have increased our use of hilly terrain over the past few months. For Eddie’s final hard session before departing for France, we ran 5.7 kilometers from State Park Road to the top of Paris Mountain at a high Perceived Effort (9/10), rested three minutes then ran back down at a pace faster than marathon pace. Hopefully, this session simulates the long uphill and downhill segments in Paris.
So most of our readers are probably not going to experience a similar marathon course. However, you should definitely research your upcoming races routes and prepare for those up and down hills.
So most of our readers are probably not going to experience a similar marathon course. However, you should definitely research your upcoming races routes and prepare for those up and down hills.
NOVEMBER 2024
consistency noun (BEING THE SAME) -- the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way
Most successful coaches would agree that “consistency” is one of the keys to achieving high performance. Athlete’s who train with a high rate of consistency are usually the ones who perform the best over time.
With that being stated, one of our training philosophies at Greenville Track Club-ELITE is for our athlete’s training to be consistently non-consistent. What does that mean? We just said that consistency is one of the keys to high performance. And it is.
However, to obtain the appropriate amount of adaptation and progression due to the implementation of actual “recovery” days in our training, we desire our monthly volume chart to illustrate a very up and down graphic. So over a specific time period (month, megacycle or macrocycle) the daily volume should be “consistently non-consistent. In other terms every day should NOT be similar.
consistency noun (BEING THE SAME) -- the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way
Most successful coaches would agree that “consistency” is one of the keys to achieving high performance. Athlete’s who train with a high rate of consistency are usually the ones who perform the best over time.
With that being stated, one of our training philosophies at Greenville Track Club-ELITE is for our athlete’s training to be consistently non-consistent. What does that mean? We just said that consistency is one of the keys to high performance. And it is.
However, to obtain the appropriate amount of adaptation and progression due to the implementation of actual “recovery” days in our training, we desire our monthly volume chart to illustrate a very up and down graphic. So over a specific time period (month, megacycle or macrocycle) the daily volume should be “consistently non-consistent. In other terms every day should NOT be similar.
We operate on a hard/easy training methodology with Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays targeted for “harder” efforts and Monday, Wednesday and Fridays reserved for “recovery” days.
Diving deeper, the recovery days are very consistent: three per week and approximately 30-45 minutes of running. However, when inserting the harder days into the plan the weekly or monthly daily volume graph/chart is inconsistent.
Diving deeper, the recovery days are very consistent: three per week and approximately 30-45 minutes of running. However, when inserting the harder days into the plan the weekly or monthly daily volume graph/chart is inconsistent.
