TRAINING PACES IDENTIFIED AND
EXPLAINED
Article by Steve Baker.
I am certain that many of the things that I talk and write about,
and we practice in the ‘Farther and Faster’ clinics are not new to you. Your
enthusiasm, hard work and encouragement is contagious and helps everyone,
not least of all yourself. Now, to practice what you know and believe, and
to control that excitement on training days, run a race to a predetermined
pace, or miss the occasional race for positive reasons, ‘there’s the rub’!
The bread and butter runs, that is essentially 80% - 90% of your training,
should be run slowly, with even possibly creative walking breaks. Scary!
The theme from the earlier clinics, and training sessions was ... ‘slow down
to run faster.’ This still applies to these easy runs. Sound familiar?
Always remember ‘... from maximum endurance grows maximum strength.’ Too
many races, run at maximum performance levels, and too many similar intensity
workouts, may not only make those ‘personal bests’ more illusive, but increases
the chances of injury, and dampen your spirit. Kill the joy of running . Your challenge: to meet with your training
buddies, possibly several times a week, enjoy their enthusiasm and encouragement,
and to train at your pace, and follow your own program. No
mean easy task. Training has to be customized to the individual’s physique,
life style, aims and goals. The common denominator for all athletes is rest.
That you may do together if you wish!
Too many believe: ‘To race fast you must train fast’. This view, however,
is all too often taken too literally. It is not necessary or desirable to
train ‘fast’ all of the time. The best strategy to maximise the opportunity
for success, is to train more intelligently.
Every workout has a distinct physiological
purpose, and the time and intensity of the training sessions are directly
linked to this purpose. Each training session should be assigned
an intensity level at which that component must be completed. Changing the intensity specified for a given workout
will alter the purpose of the session and, more profoundly, will affect the
overall pattern of the training plan. Many athletes tend to
train at medium to high intensity for a large percentage of the training
volume. This is due to a poor understanding of the specific purposes of training
components and their appropriate intensities. Each
training session should have a purpose and train the system that has been
identified. This article plus the clinics’ training schedules
are to help you find, and use to maximum benefit, the appropriate training
intensity zones.
Let us consider and examine more closely the types of workouts that
you are, and will be doing in race readiness.....
So, what are these ‘magic illusive training paces’, as I call them, how can
they be identified, and when and how should they be used? That is the
challenge.
Simplified, I believe, there are Four training paces (
Five Intensity Levels ), and Five basic types of workouts.
Each session has essentially just two critical factors: time
allotment, ‘on’/ ‘off’ ie.‘reps’ / ‘interval’, and intensity,
pace/speed. Intelligent training combines these components to stimulate the
physiological adaptation needed to reach your racing potential.
Intensity 1: Easy Pace: ‘Guilt-producing’
... ‘Walk in the Park’
Conversational Pace.
Used for Active Recovery / Rest Days and Warm-ups /
Cool-downs. ( Aerobic Conditioning )
Slow easy runs of 30 - 45mins..
HR 60% - 70%MHR [ The Maffetone ‘180 Formula’ :
180 - age, +/- 5 to 10, bpm depending on health and
fitness level, has been our guide line this last few
weeks. ]
Intensity 2: same pace as above, but when used for longer
runs
raises intensity.
‘Easy/Long’ ‘Steady State’ Distance: Major part of any
smart training program. Pure Endurance Training. Pace
60secs +/- per K slower than 10K race pace. Long
Steady Distance ( LSD ).
Include short ‘Pick-Ups’ of 10 - 20secs for interest, ‘keep
fast twitch muscle honest’, reinforce good form and
cadence, 45 per 30 secs a leg.
Duration 50 - 120mins plus, depending on event.
HR 70% - 75% MHR ...
Intensity 3: AT Pace: ‘Anaerobic Threshold’. Raising
lactate
threshold: delays lactic acid build-up.
Tempo pace runs 10 - 30mins. or Reps. 2 - 10mins.
Total distance ‘On’ 3K - 8K. ( Anaerobic Conditioning )
Pace 15K/21K race pace. ie. ‘Comfortably-Hard’.
HR 75% - 80% MHR ...
Intensity 4: Race Pace: depending on distance raced and
fitness
level, but essentially 10K - 5K race pace. Key: knowing
the difference between racing at maximum effort and
pacing at current fitness level. Improves VO2max.
( Aerobic Capacity )
Long repetitions from 2 - 8mins. ‘Cruise Interval
Training’. Time Trials or Races.
Note: Race/Pace workouts performed at maximal effort
during early stages of training will merely offer a quick
fix of instant gratification, but will detract from reaching
a planned peak. Be warned!
HR 80% - 90% MHR ...
Intensity 5: VO2 max Pace: ‘VO2’max. improved. Short,
fast,
Speedwork. ( Anaerobic Capacity ) Short Reps from
30secs. - 3mins. ‘Fast
Interval Training’. Run at Mile - 3K race pace.
HR 90% +/- MHR ...
Intensity 1 & 2. ‘Easy ... Easy/Long’:
Intensity 1 pace workouts are used primarily to regenerate from a tough workout
or hard race. These sessions may take the form of cross training, but should
not exceed the intensity level. Light training hastens recovery time
by providing the muscles with blood and nutrients. This is the intensity
level we use for warm ups and cool downs, as well as the brief recovery,
called intervals, used between the reps. / speedwork. As little strain is
placed on the body and yet a manageable increase in fitness is evident, this
level of work is ideally suited to beginners. In just a few months, resting
HR drops, endurance improves, and greater speed is evident with little or
no increase in energy output. For many this level of fitness, attainable
with few injury risks, is just the ticket.
Distance racing is all about endurance. Endurance plus speed equals stamina.
Having speed without the endurance to cover the distance counts for naught.
‘The longer the race , the more important endurance becomes. You improve
your ability to run long by testing the limits of that ability. Gradually
increasing the distance of your longest run provides the greatest stimulus
to improve this capacity.’ The long runs should be done at the ‘EASY’ pace.
Running your long runs at this pace will ‘stimulate physiological adaptations,
such as increased glycogen storage and fat utilization, without exhausting
you to the point that you take many days to recover.’ The correct intensity
for this workout, and the active rest/recovery, is in the range of
60% - 75%+ MHR. That equates to about 30 - 50secs slower than marathon pace
per K, 36 - 72secs slower than 15K/21K or about 60secs per K slower than
10K race pace. Start your long runs in the low range. It is important
to finish these runs at a strong pace and not to fade, that way...
‘providing the greatest stimulus to increase your glycogen supply.’
Note: Intensity 2 runs are done at the same pace as the Intensity 1 runs.
However, the extra time spent running, 45 minutes plus, elevates the
intensity level. The easy pace disguises the moderate work level. Increase
these ‘long runs’ with caution, and in small increments: ‘the 10% Rule’.
Intensity 3: ‘Anaerobic Threshold’:
Training at this intensity level takes a little more concentration. You have
crossed the boundary between ‘easy’ and ‘comfortably hard’. The dividends
are well worth the effort. Training wisely at this intensity level promises
excellent gains in performance and fitness levels with minimal risk.
At rest, walking or running slowly the amount of lactic acid in your blood
remains low and generally constant because the amount of lactate entering
the blood is equal to the rate at which it is being used by other organs.
‘When you exercise above a certain intensity, however, the rate of lactate
formation is greater than the rate of clearance, so the lactate concentration
rises in your muscles and blood.’ This is above your lactate threshold
(lactate threshold is essentially the same as your anaerobic threshold),
the exercise intensity above which lactate clearance can no longer keep up
with it’s production, resulting in muscle fatigue and reduction in performance
level. The best way to improve your anaerobic
threshold is to train at, or slightly below, your current threshold pace.
Some regard AT training as a form of speedwork, but it would
be more accurate to regard it ... ‘as a determinant of endurance, the ability
to maintain pace for a prolonged distance.’ AT/LT pace generally occurs at
about 85%+/- MHR. If you are in relatively slower per K than 10K race pace. The relationship between AT/LT and heart rate differs
depending on fitness level and genetics, for that reason your race paces
are a more accurate judge of training pace than your heart rate. With a little
practice you will find what pace coincides with what HR. Whatever
type of workout is used, ‘AT intervals’, ‘AT hillwork’, or ‘Tempo runs’
the object is to train just hard enough that lactate is just starting to
accumulate in your blood. Too slow, there will not be enough stimulus to
increase AT pace. Too fast, and you will not train, or allow, the muscles
to adapt to progressively increasing amounts of lactate being pumped into
the system. If the pace is too fast you will most likely be sore and stiff
the next day. ‘Train, don’t strain.’ Training builds the system up: ‘Deposits
in the bank’, while racing, and training too hard breaks the system down:
‘Withdrawal from the bank’, ‘In the red!’.
Traditionally I believe that too much so called AT pace work is done at 10K
race pace, and faster, missing the benefits of this very important element
of training, preventing the accumulation of lactate, a by-product of carbohydrate
metabolism. The LT/AT is the one most important factor in determining
running performances in races longer than 10K. ‘For the 10K, VO2max and LT/AT
are about equally important. For the 5K, a high VO2max is more important,
put a high LT/AT still matters.’
An experiment for you: Go for an AT pace run to determine that pace. Calculate
what the pace is per K. Find it on the chart ( see enclosed ), and then estimate
your 10K race pace. Research has shown that this pace is very accurate in
predicting performance.
‘A more economical runner consumes less oxygen to maintain a specific pace.
If you can run faster than another runner while using the same amount of
oxygen, then you are the more economical runner.’ You win!
Intensity 4: 10K Race Pace:
The body can respond positively to only a limited amount of VO2max. training
before it becomes detrimental, and breaks down. Most rapid improvement will
occur by running 3K - 8K of total reps. per session. Less, still works, but
not as quickly. However, initially it is safer this way. If you try
to run too much too soon, or more than 8K at this intensity, beware! You
will not be able to maintain the pace, or you will not recover in time
for the next workout, missing the benefits of training at this pace. One
session per week, when you are ready, is all that is needed. Each ‘Cruise
Interval’ is most effective if kept in the range of 2 - 6 mins.
The most effective pace is 5K race pace. A delicate balance:
too slow and you are in lactate-training territory
... too fast and you will be training your anaerobic system, and it will
not be possible to complete the workout. The ‘intervals’ between reps. must
be sufficient to allow heart rate to drop to 65% MHR, which should workout
to between 50% - 90% of the time it takes to run the rep.
Intensity 5: ‘VO2’max: ( Speedwork )
Speedwork trains the neuromuscular systems to coordinate rapid muscle firing
at rates above race pace speed. Primary goal is to improve coordination and
flexibility. An increase in max speed raises the level of sub-maximal speed.
Speed is determined by stride frequency times stride length. Increase either
and you run faster. To do this, work continually on turnover, flexibility,
form, technicals, running up/down hills, and weight work. ‘Pick-Ups’ / ‘Strideouts’,
should be practiced regularly. The key is to accelerate gradually up to speed,
hold for 10 - 30secs., then ease back just as smoothly. Run at ‘90%’. Do
not tighten up. The key is to run fast while
relaxing.
‘Speed training provides three benefits: First, it activates your fast twitch
muscle fibres and increases their glycolitic enzyme activity. This means
you improve your ability to produce energy anaerobically, boosting your sprint
speed, and thus your kick. Second, by doing speed works and concentrating
on maintaining good form you’ll improve your form at all speeds, and may
improve your running economy. Third, doing intense speed workouts increases
your muscles ability to buffer lactic acid, so you’ll be able to run anaerobically
longer before having to slow down. You’ll therefore be able to start your
finishing kick earlier.’ A close finish ... you got it!
Remember that you can not improve on all aspects of your physiology at the
same time, neither can you ignore any part if you want to run and race to
your potential.
Your goal : Work on qualified subjective pace
judgment.
Maintain leg turn-over of close to 180+/- strides per minute.
Try not to forget that Rest and Taper are just as much part of the equation
for success as Toughness and Work.
‘Those who excel are not those more gifted than
you. They have simply cleared their minds of former fears, analyzed their
strengths, and practiced them to the exclusion of disrupting influences.’
Practice does not make perfect ... Practice makes permanent ... Only perfect
practice makes perfect.