Training Tip Tuesday #15- The Run Workout Edition

Last week we talked about running. This week the discussion continues with some of my favorite, and I think, most beneficial running workouts. Each run has a time and place of the year that it is most appropriate but that differs for each athlete and what race they are preparing for.

Overspeed
Purpose: neurological firing, turnover and fiber recruitment
Interval: 30, 40 or 60 seconds.
Pace: Roughly 1 mile race pace or even faster
Recovery: Equal rest to the work interval. So- :30 on/:30 off, :40/:40, etc. Though sometimes I may change up the recovery as an athlete gets more fit.
Reps: 10-20
Summary: These are best done on a treadmill but a track can also be used. If you're using a treadmill then make sure and set it at 1.5% grade to offset for wind resistance. I like to leave the treadmill belt running and just hop off and straddle the side.
DISCLAIMER: Be careful hopping on and off the treadmill. You don't want this to be you-


Long Tempo
Purpose: Both mental and physical strength, aerobic conditioning
Interval: 30-60 minutes
Pace: Roughly 20-45sec slower than your open half marathon pace.
Recovery: There is none
Reps: 1
Summary: This is a long, aerobic tempo run to help you develop stamina and practice maintaining a strong pace for a long time. It's mentally challenging as much as it is physical. I usually warm up 10-20minutes, do a few drills and strides then get down to business. This can also be done as part of a long  as you usually accumulate a good amount of mileage during this workout. Don't try to race this workout. The point isn't to run as fast as you can it's to run an extended time at a hard but sustainable effort.

800's
Purpose: Anaerobic tolerance
Interval: 800 (or a distance that gets you roughly 2:30-4minutes of running)
Pace: Hard. Ok, actually like 5k pace
Recovery: 1-2min between reps
Reps: 4-8
Summary: I associate these workouts with pain. Pure, un-adultured pain. In this case pain leads to faster running though so I'm all for it. This is the kind of workout you do as you are approaching a key sprint or Olympic distance race. It teaches your body to tolerate (or possibly reject) large amounts of lactate which we need to do for running a hard 5k or 10k off the bike.
DISCLAIMER: Not responsible for any vomiting, wrenching, soiling of ones pants or accidental urination.

Hills
Purpose: To make you stronger and create more suffering
Interval: 100m (20sec) all the way up to 1mile or around 5-6minutes.
Pace: Whatever gets you to the top
Recovery: To the bottom
Reps: 4-12
Summary: Short ones, tall ones, steep ones, long ones. Hills are good for you. Most people don't like them but I actually love hill repeats! They are excellent for building strength and a secret way to get speed work in without the same risk of injury as running on the track. Triathlon isn't so much about pure speed when running it's about strength running on tired legs. Depending on the time of year and the races coming up I'll do anywhere from 20sec hill repeats to 4ish minutes. A grade of 6-8% is ideal but you can also use a treadmill. Hill sprints are similar to overspeed and long ones can be similar to mile repeats or 1200's. The difference is that you usually have a full recovery because of the jog to the bottom. This makes longer hill reps a VO2max type workout. Many people run hills on their long runs and think they're getting the benefit but it's not the same as truly running as hard as you can to the top of something tall, turning around and doing it again. Maybe you could do something like this-



These are just a few of the workouts I do throughout the year but all of them have a place in my program and in those of the athletes I coach. Please feel free to ask me if you have any questions about how to execute any of these workouts properly. Run strong!