2 Mar / Thurs / V02 Max / Alternate 3x [1200m/600m]at 5km-10km pace (180 sec slower recovery) or 2 x[600/1200/600] (total 4800m) or 600/1200/600/1200/600 (total 4200m) run thru estate recoveries
Focus on performing these faster efforts at the required pace / King James Car Park -6.45
Check pace charts for the required racepace
5Mar / Sun / Long Run / recovery / upto 90mins+ easier off road endurance run
7Mar / Tues / 2nd LR / LT intervals / ‘Odds & Evens’ 60mins to include intervals of 5min w/u plus 1,3,5,7,9,7,5,3,1min run efforts [2mins slower running btwn efforts]
** N>B 15-25secs faster than Mar Pace = LT tempo pace / Discipline the pace at target½ Mar pace
9Mar / Thurs / V02 Max / Short Hills – short tempo run (3km max) plus 2-4 sets X [4x250m] shorter hills; run hard on hills with easy jog recoveries (sets of 4) / At King James Way – 6.45
12 Mar / Sun / Long Run / 60-90minhilly off road (steady:steady:steady) steady pace on each 30mins of run
14Mar / Tues / 2nd Long Run / V02 max / 60-70 mins:-As easy as 1,2,3
1 x 12min / 2 x 6min / 3x 3min [2min easy bwtn] total of 33mins harder work with rolling easier runs between plus 10mins easy w/u & c/d / Ensure these faster runs at appropriate 5km-10km speed and recoveries are an rolling easier run
16Mar / Thurs / V02 Max / 4-5*1200m**at 10km pace progressing to quicker 5km pace on latter reps (120-180 sec recovery) ~ focus on negative splits.
Focus on performing these faster efforts at the required pace / King James Car Park -6.45
progressively faster from10km-5km pace
19Mar / Sun / Long Run / recovery / upto 90mins+ easier off road endurance run
21Mar / Tues / Lactate-threshold workout LT interval / 45-60mins group recovery run if raced Sunday or 60mins steady incl. 4x1.5Mile reps@target 10mile pace~ 4mins slow run between reps ~ steady 6mins warm up & 6mins c/d / can be run as a an equivalent time interval
23Mar / Thurs / V02 Max / Short tempo run plus ‘Up the Clock’short runs; 100m thru to 400m or 500m to incl. 50m sprints (total 3500m or 5400m) as 50m incremental steps from 100m (e.g. 50m stride+50m sprint, 150 100m+50m sprint etc) easy jog back recovery / King James Car Park -6.45
26Mar / Sun / Long Run / tempo / 1hr 10min off road (steady pace with last 20mins at a progressive quickening pace)
28 Mar / Tues / LT intervals / 60mins to include 6x6min Tempo efforts with [2min jog]
** N>B 15-25secs faster than Mar Pace = LT tempo pace / Discipline the pace at target½ Mar pace
30Mar / Thurs / Tempo run / V02 Max / Short tempo run plus 3x[5x400m]at 3km pace with diminishing 15sec recovery time from 60sec>45sec>30sec>15sec (2min btwn sets) ~ focus the mind throughout on this tough session.
Focus on performing these faster efforts at the required pace / King James Car Park -6.45
*Supplement these sessions with easy/steady 35-45 min RECOVERY runs, cross or circuit training, faster leg speed drills and lots of stretching*
In the (highly unlikely!) event of any snow over the next few weeks and likely snowy / icy slippy road / footpath conditions Thursday’s SPEEDWORK session will still go ahead but reverting to the seasonal favourite of 'ODDS & EVENS' at Greenway school on the SNOW!!!
more details t/f on the Nite as necessary. Still meet at 6.45pm at king James Car Park.
What to do on a Saturday?? Why not try a parkrun or a weekly/fortnightly of the following:-
Leg Speed: incorporate a XC session of fast strides,i.e. 10x100m,7x150m,5x200m,4x300mon & off hills
High tempo Cross Country time trials10-25min runs should be sensibly built into at least a monthly programme (race fitness tests). Balance the inclusion of ALL these above sessions within the priorities of the monthly schedule and into your personal programme that suits yourself, consider your own level of fitness, experience and weekly time commitments in planning these sessions but if sensibly placed across the month YOU will reap the rewards!!
Circuit Training
When: Monday evenings at 6.15pm - 7.15pm
For those interested I will be running a Bleep Test or Odds & Evens Shuttles at 5.50pmeach week prior to the circuits
Where: Meridian School, Garden Walk How much? £3
All are welcome, members, non-members, friends and family!!!
Circuit training is an efficient and challenging form of conditioning. It works well for developing strength, endurance (both aerobic and anaerobic), flexibility and coordination.
It’s one of the best types of training for improving strength endurance be it for any running related sport such as x-country,road running, speed sessions or a classic endurance event like the marathon or triathlon.
MIDWEEK ROAD RACE SERIES 2017 DATES:-
Thursday 11th May - Royston
Thursday 25th May - St. Albans
Thursday 15th June - Trent Park (Barnet & District)
Thursday 6th July - Orion
Thursday 13th July - The Mob Match GCR & Herts Phoenix
How Can I Run Faster?
I’ve been asked this question a number of times, usually by relatively inexperienced runners. James is a typical case. He said he always ran at 8 minutes per mile, and no matter what he did, he never seemed to be able to run faster. I really doubt that. I expect if James were to enter a one-mile race, he would be able to run it at something like 6 or 6:30 pace. If so, he doesn’t lack the basic ability to run faster; his problem really is how to run faster for longer distances: he needs to work on his speed-endurance. And to do this, he needs to run outside his current comfort zone.
A simple approach to running faster, suitable for novices
The simplest way of building speed-endurance is simply to run faster. If you find that you are doing most of your runs at a 'comfortable' pace, then simply build into your runs some sustained segments of a few minutes each which are distinctly 'uncomfortable'! But how do you know what is a comfortable pace for you? Well, if you can talk in full sentences as you are running, you must be feeling pretty comfortable. On the other hand, if you struggle to get out more than a word or two, then you know that you are running at an uncomfortable pace. Over a measured course you should be able to work out these paces in terms of minutes per mile – say 9 minutes per mile = comfortable, and 7 minutes = uncomfortable.
Another good way to do get out of your comfort zone would be to tag along with the 3 parks runners on a Wednesday night who are aiming at a pace about 30 seconds faster than your current speed. Even if you can only keep up with them for 15 minutes to begin with, you are teaching your mind and body to cope with running at higher speeds and with more discomfort. Each week, add another 5 minutes to the time you spend hanging on with the faster group. Your body will adapt and get stronger as you spend more time running out of your comfort zone.
A more structured approach: theory
If you want a more scientific approach, you will need to work on the factors that the current state of knowledge suggest limit your speed-endurance. There are three:
- VO2 max: is the maximum volume of oxygen you can use per kilo of body-weight. It is mainly genetically-determined, though it can be improved a bit through losing excess body fat and through VO2 max training at close to your maximum speed or heart rate. I will give more advice on this in my next article.
- Lactate threshold: Lactic acid (or lactate) is a by-product of the process of burning energy to fuel movement. When combined with oxygen (through breathing in), lactic acid produces energy and carbon dioxide (which you breathe out). You are producing lactate all the time, even when just ambling down to the shops for your Sunday newspaper. But at slow paces, the rate of lactic production is low enough that the body can clear it as it's produced. As you increase the speed, you begin to overwhelm the body's ability to use or clear it. So, the faster you run, the greater the rate of lactate accumulation. At some point as you increase your speed, the lactate concentration in your muscles and blood stream will become so high that your muscles can't operate, and you start feeling pain – especially in the quadriceps (thigh muscles). If you're racing an 800m, you feel as if the track has turned into treacle in the last 200 and no matter how hard you try, you can't increase your speed. What has happened is that you have gone beyond the point at which the rate of increase in lactate production rises exponentially, overwhelming the body's clearing mechanisms [2]. What lactate threshold training does is to shift that point where the steep rise begins to the right (see Figure 1).
Most untrained people have a lactate threshold of 40-55% of their VO2 max, but the trained athlete can operate at 90% and more, which means they can run faster before the lactate concentration gets the better of them.
- Running efficiency: more efficient runners can run faster at any given level of effort, so it's always worth trying to improve your efficiency through working on your form. Again, this will be the subject of a future article.
Where is my lactate threshold? (LT)
Assuming you don't have access to a lab, there are two methods of determining your LT:
- The Heart Rate rule: If you're into training with an HRM, one guide is that your LT pace is the pace which gives you 85-92% (opinions vary) of your maximal heart rate. I personally think the 85% guide is a bit low, and some authorities offer 90% as the appropriate threshold. For me, 85% gives me a pulse of 145 bpm, but I find my long runs – which I run at a comfortable, conversational pace - average 145 bpm. The 92% limit to me feels closer to what I think my LT threshold feels like (comfortably hard) and is about at 10-15 bpm faster than my long run pace.
- Use Race Performance: Alternatively, you can use your race performance as a guide to your LT threshold. Your LT pace (and heart rate) will be about the same as your race pace, for races that take you about one hour. For most Serpies, this will be a bit slower than 10k pace, and a bit faster than 10-mile pace. This is the most accurate method.
How can I raise mine?
You need to get mind and body used to coping with running on the edge of lactatfe build-up and beyond, and by so doing, nudge it up a bit. In other words, you need to get used to running at a higher level of perceived effort.
A number of writers argue that it is vital to do LT training at exactly LT pace, and no faster, else you're training in "no man's land". I disagree. I think any running done beyond your comfort zone will improve your speed. If you run at close to LT pace, you will be primarily nudging up that threshold. If you run faster than that, you will be both dragging up that threshold and doing something towards working on your VO2 max and probably your running efficiency too. Either way, you'll get faster.
There are also a few authorities that recommend limiting your LT training to no more than 10% of your weekly mileage. I can find no scientific basis for that rule, and I don't think the Kenyans stick to it. In fact, the evidence is that the more you run beyond your comfort zone, the greater and faster will be the improvement in your speed. The only limits should be imposed by your own propensity to get injured or ill and your other training priorities (e.g. long runs to build endurance). I wouldn't recommend doing your long runs at your LT pace, simply because you'll probably find it too difficult. But there are probably some Africans or even Paula herself who do this at least once in a while, or for at least part of their long run.
Although I am advocating simply increasing the pace on some of your standard runs as a way of increasing your speed-endurance, there are times when you might prefer a more structured LT-raising session. Here's two for you to try:
- Threshold (or Tempo) runs. Pick a route that takes you 40-60 minutes at a steady pace. Run easily to warm up for 10 minutes. Then run 20-40 minutes at your LT threshold pace. Finish off with 10 minutes of easy running (followed by stretching, of course). This requires concentration and a fair amount of motivation to do on your own, but does toughen you up mentally.
- "Sandwich session": Pick a reasonably level route that takes at least 45 minutes to run. Run easy for 10 minutes to loosen up; increase your effort to your LT pace for 10 minutes; run easy for 5 minutes; then run for another 10 at LT pace, before running home. As you get fitter, increase the sandwiches to 2x 15 minutes at LT pace, so you are doing a total of 30 minutes of LT running, with a 5 minute easy running recovery. Then you can introduce variety by doing shorter efforts but more of them, and with shorter recoveries: e.g. 3x 10 minutes (3:00 recovery); 4x8 minutes (2:30 recovery); 5x7 minutes (2:00 recovery).
Test out whether the training is working by racing. And if you set a pb, you'll need to revise your LT pace estimate upwards. Let me know how you get on.