Matt Fitzgerald wrote an article entitled “Training Right for Your Run Type” in which he states there are two types of runners…those who bring more speed than endurance to a particular race distance. And those who, at any given race distance, is the type that brings more endurance than speed to the event.
That isn’t necessarily a ground-breaking
fact. But he does lay out a training strategy that caters to each type
which might be helpful for some. And I’m curious… of the triathletes
here, which run type are you? I’m definitely more speed than endurance;
my legs don’t seem built to last very long, more fast-twitch muscle.
Interesting read…as the OP mentioned, it’s not necessarily groundbreaking news but it’s interesting to see how it can apply to one’s training. I think I’ll see if I can work it into my program. Thanks for the info!
That’s a lot of interval training to be doing for a long time. For most triathletes that I see, their limiter is not speed, but endurance so they would be better off doing more volume. What good is it to run that fast in training when you can’t hold even a fraction of that pace in a race because you don’t ride your bike enough?
i know i’m built to be a sprinter…probably the easiest method to tell which you are would be one simple question:
“do you find you tend to go out too fast?”
i smoked at 200m dash in elementary school, but couldn’t even hold up a competitive pace for 400m…it’s taken a hell of a lot of work to get me running 10k, and learning a LOT about my own personal pacing.
cheers!
-mistress “from twitch to twwwiiiiitttttcccchhh” k
I thought the article was not very informative. First, what does the author mean by definition of speed? Sprint speed, Vo2max speed are two different animals.
I ran a 14:45 in the 5k in college, but could not run a 100 meters faster than 12 seconds. Am I speed limited? No, I can stlll run a 100 meters in that same time, but am in about 16min shape right now. No matter what event you contest beyond 400, oxygen use and muscular endurance play a huge role. In addition, No athlete attempting to run a 10k should train using exclusively vo2max workouts, especially shorter ones like 6x400s. That is a good way to get burnt out without making much improvement. The 10k runner with the highest lactate threshold will almost always win unless it comes down to a kick. In triathlon, the run leg is essentially run at lactate threshold, so triathletes, especially age groupers should train exclusively using mileage and tempo runs to build their lactate threshold. My college teammates and I would be able to run 53minutes in a local 10 miler before the season started off of just base training which consisted of 100 miles per week of steady running, a tempo run, and some light strides. No fancy interval workouts, fartleks, hard sprinting. I think most triathletes don’t really know how to properly train for running, even ones who are good swimmers/bikers, because they think intervals=fast. Well, running is a different sport because even an “easy” run is not really that easy on your body. Triathletes should train by running as much high end aerobic mileage as their body can handle until they are able to run sub 6 minute miles in an olympic distance triathlon. Only then should speed workouts be considered.