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.

1. I believe that running fast is a skill that everyone can learn

2. I believe that life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.

3. I believe that my family are the most important thing in my life.

4. I believe that hard work and dedication are qualities that are seriously undervalued in today’s world.

5. I believe it is better to educate and encourage than it is to bully and belittle.

6. I believe that there is real magic in enthusiasm. It spells out the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.

7. I believe that there are few greater pleasures than the sensation of running fast with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair.

8. I believe that smiling is contagious.

9. I believe that everyone would be healthier if supermarkets did not exist

10. I believe that Paula Radcliffe will win gold in the 2012 London Olympic marathon

This law is not one of Newton’s original laws but has been incorporated by Noakes. Newton has recorded for posterity his training and the effects it resulted in. Similarly, by recording our training, we have an ideal resource to determine what will work for us. Over a running career, comparison of training logs from previous years will provide an assessment of current fitness and areas to address in future training. Through analysing training logs, the causes of most injuries or poor race performances can be diagnosed and remedial steps introduced to prevent a reoccurrence.

So, what do we need to include in our log?

The date
The time of day
The route run – most runners have a limited number of routes that they use making comparisons easy. Routes over differing terrain will affect the average speed.
The details of the session – how far, how fast, rest intervals etc
Shoes worn – many shoes will be deteriorating prior to showing outward signs of wear. By logging those shoes worn, you will be able to measure how many miles you have done in each. Dependant upon how heavy you are on your shoes, they will need to be replaced every 500-1000 miles.
Weather conditions – poor weather will slow you down
Waking pulse rate – an elevated pulse rate is an indicator of over-training or the onset of illness. A pulse rate that decreases over time indicates improving fitness
Early morning bodyweight/post exercise bodyweight – although it is not too much of an issue in the UK, in areas where the temperature is generally higher, most daily reductions in bodyweight are a good indicator of hydration status.

There are other areas that can additionally be recorded eg how the run felt, effort rating, enjoyment rating, bedtime and hours of sleep. These are good measures to determine the effects of training and can be used to provide an early indication of overtraining.

There are mainly online and computer based training logs as well that will also record and calculate training load and follow and measure heart rates using heart rate monitors. I have known runners who kept a detailed spreadsheet of a multiplicity of variables from their training. If you have the time and the knowledge to do this, it can provide an excellent basis to analyse your training and make the necessary adjustments to maximise performance.

For me, I recently cleared out a cupboard and found some old training diaries lurking at the back. I spent an enjoyable hour reliving various races and feeling very old as I considered my current performance against what I was once capable of!!

Train Smart!

Cut out all racing… during the last month of your training: you will need certainly three weeks to put the finishing touches to your stamina and reserve energy. When you consider what a vast amount of work you have already gone through, you will admit that a fortnight or so longer is a relatively trifling matter. Endeavour to keep all your spare time fully occupied with reading, writing; anything that will keep you still, anything to divert your mind from harping on the forthcoming event.

Newton was certainly ahead of his time in recommending rest before a big race. There are numerous tales in athletic history of runners being prevented from training by illness and injury and then returning with a breakthrough performance. Prior to the 1950 European Games, Emil Zatopek trained so hard that he made himself ill and spent 2 weeks in hospital. He was released two days before the 10000m race which he won and lapped all the other runners in the process. He also went on to win the 5000m by 23 seconds. Carlos Lopez of Portugal was prevented from training by an accident for ten days leading up to his victory in the 1984 Olympic marathon.

There have since been various scientific studies carried out on the best way to taper for various events. After a period of intense marathon training, the muscles in the legs can suffer damage at a cellular level that can take up to 4 weeks to repair. Most marathon training programmes advocate a taper of two weeks. I’d suggest that three weeks is a minimum taper for a marathon.

Very few programmes advocate tapering for shorter road races eg 5 or 10k. However, various studies have shown improved performance when mileage is reduced significantly (by up to 70%) provided the remaining mileage is carried out at a brisk pace. Measurable performance gains were demonstrated in a study in 1994 by Houmard and others where average daily mileage was reduced from 10km to 1.5km and the training was based on 400m repeats at 5k race pace.

So, despite the evidence that a dramatic taper will improve your performance, it is often overlooked. Probably the greatest reason for this is a mental one. Having spent weeks training for an event, getting into the habit of regular training and knowing that training will improve performance, it is sorely tempting to cram in as much training as possible right up to the last minute before the event in the belief that it will improve performance. As in Law 12, it is necessary to have the mental strength to rest and recuperate prior to the event to achieve maximum performance.

Train Smart!

When you begin training you will find that the longest and most strenuous mental and physical exertions all come at the start…It seems to me that stamina is just as much a mental attribute as a physical one. Make your mind healthy and it will do the rest. If it is not normally healthy, you will never make a decent job of anything.
One of my favourite maxims about training is that the most difficult part of any run is the bit between the sofa and the front door! Mental toughness is, I believe, essential in all forms of running in order to be successful This view is echoed by Noakes and Newton. Noakes devotes an entire section of his book to the mental aspect of the sport. At the elite level, often it is only the mental aspect that separates the medallists from the also-rans. Asafa Powell has held the 100m world record and has run more sub 10 second hundred metre races than any other runner – but on the big occasions he has never performed at that level. Alternatively, Lasse Viren produced very little between Olympics but was twice a double Olympic champion.

For those of us at a less rarified level, the mental aspect of running is often neglected but equally important. From goal-setting to completing events, recreational runners can improve performance through improved mental toughness. Coach Roy Benson, coaching advisor to Running Times, advocates occasional extreme training sessions specifically for the purpose of developing mental toughness. At 18 miles into a marathon, mental toughness is the thing that gets you through. One of the greatest milers ever, Herb Elliott
Was no stranger to training to develop mental toughness. He wrote, “If you emphasize the physical side of training you may become superbly conditioned but mentally not advanced at all. On the other hand, if you concentrate on the mental aspect, it is inevitable that the physical side will follow.”

My favourite thought to remember when struggling in a race is “Pain is temporary, glory is eternal!”