I’ve just received my May copy of Runner’s World. Amongst the running coaching articles is one entitled ‘Secrets to a Stronger Finish’ One of the suggestions it contains is to use plyometrics - jumping and bounding exercises. This is an excellent way to improve speed and running performance but, what the article fails to mention, is that it carries a very high risk of injury if the athlete is not fit enough. So, while there are benefits to be had, plyometrics represents very much the icing on the cake.

So, what alternatives are there to boost performance at the end of a race?

In my track days, I mainly raced 400m hurdles. To gain strength, I often trained with a group of 800m runners on the Oxford University track – the track where Roger Bannister ran the first four minute mile. The group was coached by Mac – a retired fire fighter – who devised one of my favourite sessions.

We would run 200m at a fast float (running fast but not flat out sprinting – around race pace) then walk 50m and then sprint 150m. A session consisted of 4 repetitions with 3 minute recoveries.

When I began coaching road runners, I looked to adapt the session so that it followed the same principles but at paces and distances that were more appropriate to road runners.
We ran 550m @ 5k pace, walk 50m, 150m fast finish.
3 minute recovery.
4 reps.

The session is excellent for a runner sharpening before a race. The 5k pace is at 100% VO2 max and boosts that; the fast finish replicates finishing a race fast and will also generate some lactic acid. By the time the third and fourth reps come around, the body will be struggling to clear the lactic acid in the 3 minutes and so the runner is forced to run fast while there is a lactic acid accumulation in the legs – just like the end of a 5k or 10k race. This is a great fun session to do in a group on a good grass surface.

Dr Timothy Noakes is Professor in the Discovery Health Chair of Exercise and Sports Science Department of Human Biology at the University of Cape Town and is the author or co-author of more than 350 scientific publications and is on the Editorial Boards of 13 international scientific publications. He is also a veteran of over 70 marathon and ultramarathon events – so he doesn’t just study running in isolation, his studies are lived out in his own training.

His book Lore of Running is widely praised as the most complete such book yet written - the “Bible” of running. Currently in its fourth edition, it runs to over 900 pages and covers every aspect of running. If you don’t fancy reading it, you could just use it for weight training!!

In discussing running training, Noakes refers to the 15 Laws of Training. Prior to the development of sports science in the 1970s, very little scientific investigation had been carried out into how the body adapts to training. Most knowledge was gained through trial and error and information passed down through generations. One of the first people to write extensively about running training was an Englishman called Arthur Newton. Newton ran competitively between 1922 and 1935 and wrote extensively about his training. From these writings and his knowledge of sports science, Noakes has compiled the 15 Laws of Training. Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at each in detail and see how whether they are still valid today and, if so, how to incorporate them into an overall training strategy

Train SMART!

Of all the sessions I’ve written about this one is probably my favourite.
Olga Bondarenko was a Russian athlete competing over 10,000m on the track in the infancy of the event for women. However, she lacked finishing speed so, working with her coach, she created this session.

Run 400m @ 5k pace
Recovery 400m@ marathon pace
Run 300m @ 1500m pace
Recovery 300m @ marathon pace
Run 200m @ 800m pace Recovery 200m @ marathon pace
Run 100 sprint
Recovery 100m @ marathon pace.
That is one set consisting of 2k of quality running – even the recovery periods are at marathon pace. Prior to winning the Olympic gold medal in 1988, Bondarenko completed 3 sets back to back, 3 mins recovery, 2 sets back to back, 3 minutes recovery, 1 set.
This session will have a tremendous impact upon 5k and 10k performances. As well as improving finishing speed, it has tremendous psychological benefit as it forces you to run faster as you are getting more tired. If you do not know your 800m or 1500m pace, you can work it out from your current 5k or 10k pace. You would use the 4 second rule for men and the 5 second rule for women.

So, a male runner with a best over 10k of 37.18 (6 min miling)would run 400m in 90 seconds at 10k pace.
For 5k pace, subtract 4 seconds per lap ie 86 seconds.
3k pace would be 82seconds, 1500m pace would be 78 seconds and 800m pace would be 74 seconds.

So, for our 10k runner who runs at 6 min miling –
Run 400m in 86 seconds
Recovery 400m in 100 seconds
Run 300m in 58.5 seconds
Recovery 300m in 75 seconds
Run 200m in 37 seconds
Recovery 200m in 50 seconds
Run 100m sprint
Recovery 100m in 25 seconds

I would suggest that the first time you try this session (unless you are very fit) you just try one set. Gradually build it up with 3 minutes recovery between sets until you can do three sets. At this point, you could consider doing back to back sets. However, this is a tough session and for every set, you are doing 1k at faster than 10k race pace and so unless you are already running a high level of mileage, I’d go no further than 3 sets.

If you try it, leave me a comment to let me know how you got on.

Train SMART!

Well, not entirely!
For example, a famous Swedish study where runners added a 20 minute continuous run at 10 mile race pace to their weekly training resulted in a 4% increase in Lactate threshold and improvements of 1 minute in 10k times all in just 14 weeks.
However, it’s just half the story!

Training at lactate threshold pace enables the body to become more efficient at running at that pace as the body ‘learns’ to produce less lactate at a given pace. The second half of the story though is that the body can be trained to improve the way it clears and uses the lactate already produced – if you can use it and burn it up more efficiently, you’ll be able to run at a faster pace for longer before you crash and burn right?

Research carried out by a scientist called Arend Bonen in Canada showed that there is a protein called MCT1 which enables this to happen.

Bonen’s research could be summarised as
• It is impossible to increase the amount of lactate the body is able to use without increasing MCT1
• You can train to obtain big increases in MCT1 in both the heart and the muscles
• You can see fairly dramatic results in a fairly short space of time.

So, if MCT1 is the Holy grail in terms of lactate usage, what type of training is the best to boost it?

Research carried out at Iowa State University in the USA suggested that high intensity efforts of 45-120 seconds with 2-4 minutes recoveries were ideal for maximising lactate tolerance.

To transfer that information to a training programme:

All distance runners need to be able to run long, so one session a week would be a long run.

The body needs to prepare for the challenge you are going to give it – both through building sufficient endurance but also by enhancing the neural pathways to become efficient at running at race pace. This is also known as the rule of specificity. So one session a week needs to be based around race pace.

From what we have seen about threshold pace, there are great benefits to work towards maximising it. So, one week could be a traditional tempo or cruise reps session and the next week, a session designed to boost MCT1. This could be something 8 x 1 minute fast efforts with 2 minute recoveries or 6 x 2 minutes fast with 4 minute recoveries.

Have fun and Train SMART!

Runners come into the sport through many different routes. Some were runners at school, trained with a running club and kept up running through their adult lives. Others played other sports and took up running in later life. Others started to run to lose weight, get fit or support a charity.
All runners have a different physiological makeup. They have different balances of slow twitch and fast twitch fibres.

Many running books and training plans have a generic, one size fits all package that takes no account of the individual differences of each runner. So, how can we address the differences?

running coaching

I have two athletes who are both training to run a 40 min 10k. In order to prepare for the race, I will include race pace sessions peaking at a session of 5 x 2k, each 2 k run in 8 minutes with 60-90 seconds between runs.

Runner A has been a track runner all his life, is used to running speed sessions on a track and has progressed to road running from middle distance running. He is a predominantly speed based runner.
Runner B started running for charity and caught the running bug. He has only just started serious training but is used to running long distances at a steady pace. He is a predominantly endurance based runner.

For runner A, running at race pace will be easy but maintaining it over time will be more difficult. Therefore, the progression I would use with him would be 5 x 400m at race pace. When that can be completed easily, extend the distance to 5×600m, then 5×800 and so on.

For runner B, covering the distance will be easy but the speed presents a problem. Therefore the progression I would use with him would be to start at 5 x 1k but at a slower pace – probably 4:30 miling. When he could complete 5x 2k at this pace, I would then gradually increase the pace of the runs until he was comfortable with 5×2k pace.

This is just a simple example but there are lots of factors that effort each individual runner and need to be taken into account in planning training.

Train Smart.