For those of you who have read along, I guess you could consider this part 4 in a series of threads I've started that merely draw attention to myself by paraphrasing what you could get out of a book.
; ^ ) Actually, I hope it does a little more than that......much like a math teacher does little more than paraphrase what is written in the text book (did I tell you I used to teach math?)
Anyway, my first thread was a discussion on the importance of LSD training (early season):
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...t_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
Followed by one on (V02max) interval training (late season):
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...t_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
And then one on Tempo Training (lactate threshold) (most of the year):
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...t_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
So, if you followed the training philosophy, you understood to 1) build your mileage in the easiest way possible, 2) add in tempo runs once you are fit, 3) and top everything off with the coup de grace, 4 to 8 weeks (or up to 12) of interval training.
NOTE: I am assuming you are training for 5K - 20K, sprint tri, Oly tri, OR are a faster HIM or faster marathon athlete. The slower you are and the longer the event, the more and more important LSD training becomes and the less and less important this faster stuff is (in a nutshell).
However, it's not black in white. You aren't doing 30-40 miles a week at X:XX per mile and then hammering 6K of track work and racing the next. There is a nice transition that should occur. Remember, when you train, you are actually damaging the body. You are breaking it down (please don't crucify me if this is technically not correct). This stress you place on the body stimulates it to build itself stronger. However, too much stress can cause it to break down.
V02max interval training are high stress activities. LSD and tempo running don't really prepare it to optimally handle this stress. There needs to be a transition.
THREE THEORIES FOR TRANSITION PHASE:
I have encountered essentially three different ways to transition your body into interval training and racing. All have their place and have been reasonably successful.
1) Repetition training (Jack Daniels) - Daniels recommends this type of workout. Essentially you will be running at speeds beyond which you will race coupled with long recoveries to help reduce the stress of the workouts. For those of you that have your JDF books on you, feel free to show examples of the workouts, but I will give you some examples that have worked well with myself and others I have coached. 6 to 12 X 200 meters with 200 meters jogging breaks, 4-8 x 400 meters with 400 meter jogging breaks, etc. The repetitions should be done at a pace that you could race for ~5 minutes. It will be fast, but not sprinting. This is not an all out workout. You should feel pretty darn good at the end of the entire session. Most people should be able to go right into a jog at the end of each rep.
These workouts serve a couple of basic purposes. Not only do they prepare you for the more intense interval training, but they also stimulate your neuro-muscular system to make faster running more efficient. It's kind of like a boxer who works out on a punching bag versus one who only lifts weights. You need to train your feet to hit the ground, spring back, hit the ground, spring back, over and over.
NOTE: Some people overestimate the importance of this workout. They think that THIS is what will give them that speed that those faster guys have. It IS part of the equation, but a very very small part. Volume, consistency, and lactate threshold training will still make a much larger difference in your speed than will weeks of 400 training.
2) Hill Training (Arthur Lydiard) - Before Daniels, Lydiard was successfully accomplishing this with hill training. The theory is that the hills will help "strengthen" your legs for the harder work yet to come. When doing hill training, don't simply run on a rolling course. Put together a workout. Run up a 30 second hill hard, focusing on good form, pumping the arms, and driving the knees. Alternate sets of hard running with some bounding type exercises. One hill can consist of over exaggerated high knee running (20 steps fast, 20 steps rest, repeat up hill), one hill can be long strides....as long as possible, one hill can be bounding for height on each step (again, 20 on, 20 off). You can make this workout pretty tough if you want as there won't be nearly as much pounding on your body.
3) Low Volume V02max Interval Training - Some people feel that it's more important to get in some specificity training. If their goal is to run a 5K in X:XX time at the end of the year, some early season confidence builders may help. Examples of thess workouts are 3x800 @5K pace (400 rest), 2x1200 (400 rest), 1x1600, or my favorite 400@5K race pace / 400 20 seconds slower, repeat until you're sick of the workout (anywhere from 1.5 to 3 miles....though we had a guy do a 10K of this once in college....he had a VERY good season that year).
WHICH ONE, HOW OFTEN, WHAT TIME OF YEAR?
These questions are hard to answer. I firmly believe that all of these should be done at some point during the year, but especially with tri training, it's very difficult to fit everything into one season. A lot of college teams solve the problem with a cross country season (hills) and a track season (rep training). You may want to do the same. You may want to do hills in preparation for a spring HIM and then do some rep training in preparation for a late fall 5K road race.
In general, this phase should be at least half as long as your final "interval phase." Some people complain that they go nuts running slow all the time. Feel free to do these workouts during your base building LSD phase.....just remember that volume is your priority that time of year and that these faster workouts should not be taxing. Early in the season they should serve as nothing more than "teasers" of what is to come later.
SOME people will, instead, mix in rep training in at the end of the season to try to add a little extra "oomph" into their races. That's ok as well.
The main gist of this post is to understand that you should think about some sort of transiton into your interval phase. Don't simply go from an intensity level of 2 to a level of 10 in less than a week. Your body will appreciate gradual changes. Also keep in mind, as I have said many many times, that you must beware of the tradeoffs. The harder you make these workouts, the more you are going to compromise the rest of your training.
Runtraining16
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
; ^ ) Actually, I hope it does a little more than that......much like a math teacher does little more than paraphrase what is written in the text book (did I tell you I used to teach math?)
Anyway, my first thread was a discussion on the importance of LSD training (early season):
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...t_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
Followed by one on (V02max) interval training (late season):
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...t_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
And then one on Tempo Training (lactate threshold) (most of the year):
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...t_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
So, if you followed the training philosophy, you understood to 1) build your mileage in the easiest way possible, 2) add in tempo runs once you are fit, 3) and top everything off with the coup de grace, 4 to 8 weeks (or up to 12) of interval training.
NOTE: I am assuming you are training for 5K - 20K, sprint tri, Oly tri, OR are a faster HIM or faster marathon athlete. The slower you are and the longer the event, the more and more important LSD training becomes and the less and less important this faster stuff is (in a nutshell).
However, it's not black in white. You aren't doing 30-40 miles a week at X:XX per mile and then hammering 6K of track work and racing the next. There is a nice transition that should occur. Remember, when you train, you are actually damaging the body. You are breaking it down (please don't crucify me if this is technically not correct). This stress you place on the body stimulates it to build itself stronger. However, too much stress can cause it to break down.
V02max interval training are high stress activities. LSD and tempo running don't really prepare it to optimally handle this stress. There needs to be a transition.
THREE THEORIES FOR TRANSITION PHASE:
I have encountered essentially three different ways to transition your body into interval training and racing. All have their place and have been reasonably successful.
1) Repetition training (Jack Daniels) - Daniels recommends this type of workout. Essentially you will be running at speeds beyond which you will race coupled with long recoveries to help reduce the stress of the workouts. For those of you that have your JDF books on you, feel free to show examples of the workouts, but I will give you some examples that have worked well with myself and others I have coached. 6 to 12 X 200 meters with 200 meters jogging breaks, 4-8 x 400 meters with 400 meter jogging breaks, etc. The repetitions should be done at a pace that you could race for ~5 minutes. It will be fast, but not sprinting. This is not an all out workout. You should feel pretty darn good at the end of the entire session. Most people should be able to go right into a jog at the end of each rep.
These workouts serve a couple of basic purposes. Not only do they prepare you for the more intense interval training, but they also stimulate your neuro-muscular system to make faster running more efficient. It's kind of like a boxer who works out on a punching bag versus one who only lifts weights. You need to train your feet to hit the ground, spring back, hit the ground, spring back, over and over.
NOTE: Some people overestimate the importance of this workout. They think that THIS is what will give them that speed that those faster guys have. It IS part of the equation, but a very very small part. Volume, consistency, and lactate threshold training will still make a much larger difference in your speed than will weeks of 400 training.
2) Hill Training (Arthur Lydiard) - Before Daniels, Lydiard was successfully accomplishing this with hill training. The theory is that the hills will help "strengthen" your legs for the harder work yet to come. When doing hill training, don't simply run on a rolling course. Put together a workout. Run up a 30 second hill hard, focusing on good form, pumping the arms, and driving the knees. Alternate sets of hard running with some bounding type exercises. One hill can consist of over exaggerated high knee running (20 steps fast, 20 steps rest, repeat up hill), one hill can be long strides....as long as possible, one hill can be bounding for height on each step (again, 20 on, 20 off). You can make this workout pretty tough if you want as there won't be nearly as much pounding on your body.
3) Low Volume V02max Interval Training - Some people feel that it's more important to get in some specificity training. If their goal is to run a 5K in X:XX time at the end of the year, some early season confidence builders may help. Examples of thess workouts are 3x800 @5K pace (400 rest), 2x1200 (400 rest), 1x1600, or my favorite 400@5K race pace / 400 20 seconds slower, repeat until you're sick of the workout (anywhere from 1.5 to 3 miles....though we had a guy do a 10K of this once in college....he had a VERY good season that year).
WHICH ONE, HOW OFTEN, WHAT TIME OF YEAR?
These questions are hard to answer. I firmly believe that all of these should be done at some point during the year, but especially with tri training, it's very difficult to fit everything into one season. A lot of college teams solve the problem with a cross country season (hills) and a track season (rep training). You may want to do the same. You may want to do hills in preparation for a spring HIM and then do some rep training in preparation for a late fall 5K road race.
In general, this phase should be at least half as long as your final "interval phase." Some people complain that they go nuts running slow all the time. Feel free to do these workouts during your base building LSD phase.....just remember that volume is your priority that time of year and that these faster workouts should not be taxing. Early in the season they should serve as nothing more than "teasers" of what is to come later.
SOME people will, instead, mix in rep training in at the end of the season to try to add a little extra "oomph" into their races. That's ok as well.
The main gist of this post is to understand that you should think about some sort of transiton into your interval phase. Don't simply go from an intensity level of 2 to a level of 10 in less than a week. Your body will appreciate gradual changes. Also keep in mind, as I have said many many times, that you must beware of the tradeoffs. The harder you make these workouts, the more you are going to compromise the rest of your training.
Runtraining16
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485