I’m new to triathlon and have completed (2) 1/2 IM’s, both at Keauhou, and several Oly’s. I swam in the top 30 at Keauhou and come out in the front of the pack in the swims, I’m a mediocre biker (2:59 for the 1/2’s, 1:15 for the Oly’s), but always falter on the run. If I could improve my run splits, I think I could place in my AG or at least come close. I know I have to improve my bike, but it seems like the payoff is greater on the run. My run workouts include a hilly, technical trail run on one weekend day anywhere from 9-12 miles lasting 2 hours, and run on the road 10-15 miles/week. Not much speed work. I brick once a week, with the run anywhere from 20-40 mins. I also believe in aerobic training with a HRM. So far my run splits have been 48-52 mins/10K. I don’t mind sacrificing my swim workouts to improve my running and will be focusing on Olympic distance for now. How can I be a faster runner?
Here’s a couple of links:
Shaping up to the 10K challenge
http://www.serpentine.org.uk/advice/coach/fh09.php
Hal Higdon - lots of running training plans
http://www.halhigdon.com/
Also, Runner’s World site might be useful:
http://www.runnersworld.com/
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In order to become a faster runner I would recommend going to the track and doing a lot of interval training. There is no substitute for hard intervals if you want to build speed. The only caution with respect to this approach relates to how injury prone you are. I have been doing track work since I was 11 years old and started running competitively (I’m 37 now so it’s been a long time) so my body is pretty used to it. That said, I strained a calf just over a week ago when I jumped into a workout with some high school kids that I coach without a proper warmup (must be getting old since this never used to happen to me). If you can find a group to give you some pointers about how to start then this would help.
How long have you been running? Coming from a swim background you might not have a lot of time on those legs, although your cardiovascular system is likely top notch. Sometimes it can take years of just plain Miles of Trials/the Trial of Miles to get the volume in to a point where you can improve.
I would caution against interval workouts unless you find your running improvement static. If you get to the run portion overly fatigued from the bike, then you need to work on the bike to improve your top-end aerobic speed.
the run in a tri takes most people 45min. if your not running that 3-5times per week your not going to get faster. also you really need to be running at least 30-35miles per week every week for a fair bit to really develop your running. it’s the one sport in triathlon there is no hiding from. run the miles and run well or don’t and don’t.
Pile on the miles…you are just not running enough. I run at least 45 mpw and I’m only training for Oly distance and under (OK, I like to run more than bike or swim…in fact I rarely bike or swim at all).
Think about working on increasing your mileage. Try to run at least 5 days a week. Get in the one long run, 12 miles is good. Run easy a couple other days 8 miles. Twice a week, do 6-8 striders to work on form and turnover. Find a football field or grassy park and accelerate up to a fast pace, hold it through the 100m.
Do hill work 1-2 times a week. Find one short steep hill and run it 10-12 times hard (1 minute and under), recover fully by walking down and letting your heart rate drop. Find one longer steady hill and run it 4-6 times (3:00-3:30), jog slowly back down before the next repeat. Do a good warmup and cooldown with these workouts so that you get in a total of 5-7 miles over the entire workout.
How tall are you and how much do you weigh? You will gain significant improvment by losing weight, if you are larger. Excess weight will make you slower and injury prone.
since youre new to running you need to give your body time to adapt to the strain. there is no point in running 12 milers if theyre really slow. id highly recommend spending two to three months running 5 to 6 times per week but keep the voume low (3 to 4 miles per run, make youre longest run 5-7 miles). more miles does not equal faster run splits.
the three basic components to training are frequency, intensity and duration. you cant do all three at once. if you focus on frequency, youll adapt more easily without getting injured (assuming you keep the miles down) and because these runs will be shorter, youll progressively start to run them faster on a daily basis. track workouts wont help a newbie runner, you dont have the base to subject your body to that. best of luck.
Sounds like you need to add some variety to your weekly running. You’ve gotten some good suggestions so far - especially the hill work. One brick per week is plenty, so you’re good to go there. To get faster, you need to teach your body to run faster - track intervals are a great way to do that, and hill work is equally as good, if not better. If you can, find a local track program or running club and ask around - I bet you’ll find some folks to share your pain on the track - I find it’s much easier to get to the track and work hard with a group. Another suggestion is the fartlek run - since you’ve got access to a nice stretch of trail, I’d say that’s where to do it. Basically, you warm up for a couple miles and then start throwing in some high-intensity pick-ups in the middle, followed by a recovery period. The other day a friend and I did this: 3 mile warm-up, then 3 x mile HARD with a mile recovery (EZ jog) between each, and a 2 mile cool-down. I wouldn’t recommend 2 track sessions per week, but a track/hill session + a fartlek run should produce results for you.
More miles. I was in the same boat and the approach I took was to run a marathon. The training that led up to it conditioned my body to high mileage workouts. After the marathon, I dropped back a little in the mileage and started to incorporate speedwork. Mentally, it’s done a world of good. Do be careful about injuries, though, and make sure you take the long view and build your base slowly.
thanks for the tips , lots of info to incorporate, ALOHA!
When you add miles, do it slowly - like 10% per week or less - or you will get injured. No question.
Stretch. About 1/2 hour to 45 minutes per night. Ease into it. I can tell by my running when I haven’t been concentrating on streching enough.
Bike more. During the school year, I don’t get on the bike as much as I want. During the Summer months, I get lots more saddle time and my running improves as a result. I/you can do a lot more high HR work on the bike without beating yourself up like running.
HTH
Brett
Allan (or others) - what’s your take on the idea that you should only do intervals for about 6 weeks, otherwise you’re prone to burning out?
Personally, I don’t buy it. I guess everybody has a different tolerance for burn-out so it’s likely to be variable from person to person. I do a track program that started 2 weeks ago and we’ll run through the end of October. It really only ends then because 1) racing season is essentially over for most people around here after the Chicago Marathon and 2) the weather sucks then, and it’s too dark to be out on the track. Given a nearby indoor facility or decent weather year-round, I’d more than likely do some sort of speedwork 1X/week all year. I think an important variable is to keep it interesting - in the program I’m currently doing, workouts are broken up into 3 phases: base/strength; aerobic and threshold/anaerobic. Every week is something different and that keeps it interesting. I find it also helpful to run with a group, or at least a couple of friends - somebody’s always feeling good enough to make everybody work, and if you know you’ve got people counting on you to be there, it makes it easier to get out the door.
You don’t by any chance use the track downtown on Chicago Ave. do you?
Nah…I’m up in Gurnee. Our program meets at the local H.S. If you’re downtown, there’s a program called Run Chicago - it’s run by Greg Domantay, and I believe there are several programs that meet down there at various times. I’m not sure exactly which track they use, but it may be the one you’re talking about. If you’re further north, he also has a program that meets at Lake Forest H.S. on Tuesdays (6 p.m.). I’ve done that program, and it’s a good bunch. Don’t know if they have a website, but you might find more info through CARA (cararuns.org). Unfortunately, I don’t happen to have their flyer handy, but I might have one at home. I’ll see if I can dig one up if you want more info.
Greg Domantay
I’ve heard that name, I’m pretty sure his group uses the track down here early mornings. Actually just found their website - might have to check it out… thanks.