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Aerobic Workouts: Fartlek

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Fartlek workouts are one of the simplest aerobic workouts and can be used at the start of a block of training, with both young athletes and older athletes.

Fartlek is a Swedish term that means “speed-play.” You simply oscillate between two or more paces in your run. The simplest fartleks should be done in 5-minute blocks. So you can do 2 minutes “on” – a pace that is challenging, but one you could do for 15-20 minutes. Then do 3 minutes “steady” – a pace that is slower than the “on” pace, but faster than your easy run pace. That is a solid 5 minutes of running. Do 4 sets and you have 20 minutes of running; do 8 sets and you have 40 minutes of running. So you can complete a 10-minute warm-up and a 10-minute cool-down, then do 4-8 sets in the middle, giving you 40-60 minutes of running. Simple.

The common mistake with fartlek workouts is to go too fast during the on and too slow on the steady. So, run VERY easy during the first on segment, but keep the steady at an honest pace. Again, the on portions should be at a pace you can do for 15-20 minutes, so running just 2 minutes at this pace is not that challenging.

This workout is the antithesis of 10 x 400m with 60 seconds of walk/jog. In that workout you go super hard, then walk/jog; in this workout you run a challenging, but not hard pace during the on portion, then make the steady portion fast enough that the 5-minute block is challenging, but highly doable. [Read more…]

Aerobic Workouts: Introduction

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Developing the aerobic metabolism is the number one goal of any distance runner. Why? Take a look at the percent energy contributions from the following three metabolisms, keeping in mind that aerobic means “with oxygen.”

Distance Aerobic % Anaerobic % Phosphogen %
 800m  60%  35%  5%
 1,600m  82%*  18%  0-2%
 3,200m  90%  10%  0-2%
5,000m  95%  5% 0-2%

*There is a debate as to the exact percentage for the 1,600m, ranging from 80% to 85%.

The second key with the aerobic metabolism is that you can improve it year after year. This is why the best marathoners in the world tend to be older than the best sprinters in the world…and it’s why many masters runners, who come to running later in life, continue to run faster year after year.

The way I like to think about the aerobic metabolism is that you’re building your engine when you train aerobically. Now, you need a strong chassis to handle this engine (so LMLS and SAM work daily – videos here), but the key to your long term success as a runner, and the way you’ll run PRs at a variety of distances, is to continue to improve your aerobic system.

What follows are four fundamental aerobic workouts. They are presented in roughly the same progression that you would do the workouts, one per week for the busy adult and perhaps two per week for serious high school and collegiate athletes. The long run is the key aerobic workout of the week and I’m assuming that you’ll be doing a long run virtually every week that you’re training. [Read more…]

Are your feet moving fast enough to race well?

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Simple question: How fast do your feet need to be moving in training for you to race well?

For instance, if you’ve never done any training at mile pace can you expect to run a local road road mile well? Sure, you may have done 10 x 400m with 30-60 seconds recovery, but in that workout you’re probably running closer to 5,000m pace rather than mile pace.

The point I’m trying to make is simple: if you want to race to your potential, then you have to do some running that is as fast, or even faster than, the given race distance.

In Simple Marathon Training the assignments for strides are never faster than 5k pace. On Monday and Friday athletes are assigned five 20, 25 or 30 second strides with roughly 60-90 seconds of easy jogging between them. Makes sense, right? If you are going to run a marathon then you need to be able to run 5k pace, yet you don’t need to be able to run mile pace.

While the above no doubt makes sense to you, my guess is that there is a very good chance that you are not doing 30 second strides at 5k pace in your training. If this is the case, then remind yourself about the neuromuscular system and how it impacts training.

Neuromuscular means exactly what it sounds like it means. It’s the intersection between the nervous system and the musculature of the human body. A sprinter has a fantastic neuromuscular system because they not only have to react to the starter’s pistol, but they have to exert a huge amount of force into the ground.

A high school 1,600m runner needs to be able to run 100m strides at 800m pace, perhaps even 600m pace. This ability to run paces faster than the 1,600m will allow the athlete to both feel more comfortable running 1,600m, but also give them a chance to “kick” at the end of the race.

In my coaching, all athletes do strides, strides that are at a pace much shorter than their primary race distance. So the adult marathoner does strides at 5k pace. The collegiate 5k runner does strides at 1,600m or 800m pace.

John O’Malley, boys cross country and track coach at Sandburg High School simply says, “Our feet are moving fast every day.” He is one of the few coaches who has boys teams competing at both the national level in cross country, as well as in relays like the 4xMile 4x800m. His athletes have their feet moving fast every day; they are one of the best boys distance programs in the country because of this focus.

If you aren’t doing strides, you need to do them. If you aren’t doing fast enough strides, consider your primary race distance and do strides a bit faster than you want to run for that race. That’s it! Do strides and do them a bit faster than your primary race distance.

Need To Do’s

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The concept that there are “need to do’s” vs. “nice to do’s” in training is one that I learned by reading Vern Gambetta’s work. Vern is phenomenal coach and educator and his blog is a gem.

It’s a simple question, but one that many runners – especially well read runners who have a great deal of knowledge about training – don’t answer very well.

Let’s look at strength training.

For collegiate athletes, Strength and Mobility should come first, then, once they have a good foundation of general strength, they can move to things like kettlebells. After that, time to do some squats, weighted step simple leg step ups, dumbbell work, etc. They need to follow a simple progression of general strength to light external load (the kettlebells) to greater external load.

Those are “need to do’s” in my mind, assuming the athlete is motivated and there aren’t any odd injury patterns going into this type of training.

I think Olympic lifting is a “nice to do” for these athletes. If they a) have a coach who can teach them the proper technique and b) have the time in their day to get it in, then do it. But may college athletes lack one or both of these must haves, so Olympic lifting becomes a “nice to do.”

For the adult runner, an example of this choice is a speed development workout, which I wrote an article on for Running Times a few years back – article and video.

I currently only have two clients – both in their 20’s – for whom this workout would be appropriate. It’s a “nice to do” for them, and they’re young.

Could runners in their 30s, 40s or 50s do the speed development workout and get some benefit out of it? Sure, but for most busy adults with hectic lives, the speed development workout doesn’t fit due to time constraints. Also, this workout is only appropriate if the athlete has good levels of general strength before they tackle a workout with a lot of fast running.

Finally, for the adult running 5k, 10k, half marathons and marathons, race-pace work done at the end of the training cycle is a “need to do.”

5k race pace workouts are difficult and some people don’t want to do them, but you must if you want to race to your potential over 5,000m. Thus, race pace work is a need to do.

So the important question is, what will your “need to do” list be this year and what elements of training will you put in the “nice to do” category?

6 Ways to Copy the Offseason Breaks of Elite Runners

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Taking a break from structured running is a fundamental aspect of sound annual training cycles for runners. A great article in the Wall Street Journal following the 2012 London Olympics shared how three of the best American male distance runners took complete time off after their last races. While this may sound unreasonable to those who are accustomed to working out every day, the following tips provide insight into how to take an offseason break, why it’s beneficial to your next training cycle, and why failing to take a break can lead to fatigue and potential injury if you immediately resume training after completing a goal race.

Run, Don’t Rest, The Day(s) After the Big Race
In the immediate days following your goal race, you should jog easy for at least one or two days. Why? When you run, you pump oxygen-rich blood to muscle tissue that has been damaged on the cellular level.

Running easy in the days after a big race can be hard to do, especially if your last race was a marathon, but it’s what is best for your body. Plus, you’ll get some information about what next steps you should take during the offseason. For instance, if your plantar fascia is sore during these easy runs, then you should visit a soft-tissue therapist (physical therapist, chiropractor, massage therapist or Active Release Therapy [ART] professional) as soon as possible so that when it’s the right time to resume serious training, you’ll be ready.

Then, Take Several Days of Complete Rest
When you tell recreational runners they should do nothing for a few days at the beginning of their offseason after one or two days of post-race jogging, some may respond: “There is no way I could do that. I have to work out.”

But if you pose the same question to an elite runner, he or she may simply ask, “How many days should I take off. A couple or a whole week?”

Rest and recovery are fundamental to sound training, yet so many runners think that if they take a day off they’ll lose fitness, or they’ll have a guilty conscience about not working out. Your body needs rest. It doesn’t need months of rest, but a few days of complete rest are extremely helpful when you transition from that racing season to the offseason. Again, the best runners in the world take complete rest between the end of their racing season and the start of their next build-up, so you should be willing to do the same.

If You Can, Invest Some Money in Yourself During the Offseason
The offseason is a great time to see a soft-tissue specialist—a physical therapist, chiropractor, massage therapist or ART specialist—who can not only give you an assessment of how strong or weak your body is, but can also work on any problem areas.

It’s rare that runners feel 100-percent healthy all of the time. Yet when you’re in the middle of training mode, it’s hard to rationalize taking a few days off to see someone and let the body heal itself. That’s why the offseason is such a great time to take care of aches, pains or imbalances.

If you don’t have someone to see, visit your local running shoe store, and someone there should have a couple of good recommendations for you. Finally, go out of your way to find an ART therapist. I’ve found that a good ART professional is worth his or her weight in gold.

Everyone’s Offseason Break Differs
There is nothing set in stone about what activities you should complete during your offseason break once you’ve taken a few days of complete rest. While this work could be considered cross-training, I prefer to call it aerobic work—workouts that are completely fueled by the aerobic metabolism.

I live in Colorado, and at every point in the year, hiking is an option (although you might need snow shoes in certain places in the winter); I encourage runners to take advantage of the trails. Walking up and down trails strengthens the muscles and tendons in the ankle, knee and hip joints, and can help improve “joint integrity,” which is beneficial for all runners.

If you live in the flatlands, try a brisk walk, swim laps, or try aqua jogging. The key here is to do it gently—the goal is to get a small aerobic stimulus that doesn’t put much stress on the ankles, knees and hips.

Options abound. Nordic skiing is easy on the joints and a great way to build aerobic fitness. Bikes and elliptical machines are available at most gyms, and are good options as well. Remember, when you first get back into the aerobic work, keep things gentle. You aren’t trying to gain fitness for your run training, but rather getting in a few weeks of aerobic stimuli before you resume running.

Make General Strength and Mobility Gains
There’s no better time to make gains in General Strength and Mobility (GSM) than during the offseason break. I prioritize this work over aerobic cross-training during the offseason. I would rather see a runner complete 30 to 40 minutes of GSM—this could include some Active Isolated Flexibility work, also known as “rope stretching”—for a few weeks, then start running, than see someone in the pool every day, do no GSM, and then jump into their run training.

The bottom line is that all runners—from the most elite athletes in the world to people just off the couch and training for a 5K—can get stronger and use GSM to prevent injuries. I’m a big believer in runners doing non-running work because it allows them to run more miles more intense workouts. GSM work greatly decreases the frequency of injuries for those runners who do it daily.

Can you run injury-free and not do GSM? Sure, but why risk it? Said another way, think of GSM work as an insurance policy against injury.

The problem with GSM work: Most people find it less enjoyable than running. You’re not moving from point A to point B, but rather doing work at the gym or at home before and after your run. I get that; I really do. But trust me on this—if you do GSM religiously for two or three weeks, you’re going to feel different in your hips, and your posture will improve. You’ll feel stronger and more powerful when you walk. Then, when you resume your run training, you’ll be ready to handle all of the running that you want to do safely.

Make Sure You’re Bored Before You Resume Running
There’s an interesting phenomenon that occurs among the best runners in the world. They don’t exactly know when they’re ready to come back from their offseason break, so they simply wait until they’re bored. Their breaks could be as short as 10 days, or as long as a month. For most elite athletes, the offseason break consists of one week of nothing, one to two weeks of cross-training and some light GSM (since they will usually complete a great deal of ancillary work once their training resumes), and then it’s time to get back to running.

My experience reveals that recreational athletes wait until they’re bored for an hour, and then decide to go for an hour-long run. Better to be bored for several days, then start with an easy 30-minute jog. Even then you might say, “I still want some more time off.” Remember, the body needs to rest and recover. If you don’t give your body a break now, you run the risk of becoming overly fatigued during your serious training, or getting injured because your bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles haven’t recovered from the last race—especially if that last race was a marathon.

So be smart about your offseason break. Make sure to start a daily GSM routine, and then wait until you’re really bored before you resume serious training.

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