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.

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!

The first type of speedwork we’ll look at is threshold training. In the 1980s, Jack Daniels (the world renown exercise physiologist and running coach – not the whisky guy!) introduced the term ‘cruise intervals’ to runner. These, along with tempo runs have become the mainstay of threshold training.

But what do the terms mean?

Threshold training – during running, the muscles obtain fuel from a process called glycolysis. As a bi-product of this process, lactic acid can be formed. When exercising gently enough, the body is able to utilise this lactic acid to help fuel the running effort. However, once you start running harder, the lactic acid can build at a pace that the body is unable to clear from the muscles. The point where the acid build up is occurring at the maximum rate at which the body can clear and use it is known by various different terms most commonly lactate threshold or anaerobic threshold. Threshold training is training at a pace that is designed to improve the body’s threshold ie to increase the speed at which the lactate rises at a pace which the body is unable to use.

Tempo runs – tempo runs are continuous runs at a pace that is designed to boost your lactate threshold. The effort required is the same as one you would use if racing for an hour. So, if you complete a 10k in 60 minutes, your 10k would be your threshold pace. For the Paul Tergats of this world who run a half marathon in 60 minutes, their half marathon pace would be their threshold pace. For most club runners it will be somewhere between 10k pace and 10 mile pace. Daniels would suggest that ideally a tempo run should be 20 minutes long (with additional warm up and cool down). Other coaches would include longer tempo runs for marathon runners eg Pfitzinger & Douglas include an 11k tempo run in Advanced Marathoning.

Cruise intervals – the aim of cruise intervals is to run a longish interval at threshold pace with a short recovery so that the lactate level remains fairly constant throughout the session. By running cruise intervals, a runner could run for longer periods at threshold pace than during a tempo run. An example would be for a runner whose threshold pace is 6 minute miling, a cruise session could be 4 x 1 mile with 60 seconds rest between each interval. This would give the runner 24 minutes at threshold pace – more than our 20 minute tempo run. Another use for cruise intervals is to throw a couple of mile intervals at threshold pace into a weekly long run.

There is an almost unbreakable link between race pace and lactate threshold. Your 10k pace will be very close to 2.5% above your threshold pace and your half marathon pace will be very close to 2.5% below it. Fortunately, lactate threshold responds well to training and can be improved by most runners. Daniels and most coaches would advocate plenty of tempo runs and cruise intervals to boost it.

But are they right???

Watch this space and train smart!!

One of the biggest challenges facing new runners is speedwork
• What is it?
• Is it necessary?
• How much do I need to do?
• Will I get injured?

Over the next week or so, I’ll look at different types of speedwork and give some suggestions of sessions you could do in that particular area.

But to answer our original questions:

What is speedwork?
In the SMART training system, it is any running done at faster than steady state. So, any time you run at a pace that is faster than your normal running training speed. For example, if instead of your normal 3 miles steady run, you run the first mile easy, the second mile as fast as you can to see how fast you’ll do it and then the third mile easy – that is speedwork. It can be as informal as that or as formal as a session on a track with a coach holding a stopwatch and shouting instructions.

Is it necessary?
In order to achieve the most you can as a runner – Yes. Different coaches with different ethoses (what is the plural of ethos???) may disagree about how much speedwork you need to do and what preparatory training you need to do before it but I’ve yet to find one that would not include it at all.

How much will I need to do?
That depends of lots of factors
• What event you are training for
• How much natural speed you already have
• What is your training background
• What type of training suits you body best

Will I get injured?
Many runners get injured when they start speedwork because, in addition to running at a faster pace than they are used to (which will effect the mechanics of how they run), they often change surface and running shoes to run on a track. All of these things are risk factors in causing injury. However, if the introduction to speedwork is properly managed, the risks of getting injured are no greater than any other running training.

For those of you who are already experiencing the delights of gasping for air whilst it feels like someone has chopped off your legs from the knee down (well that’s how I often felt during speedwork) feel free to download my free e book. You can get it from the link at the top right of the page and it includes a selection of ideas about speed training including instructions on how to carry out a dynamic warm up.

Please let me know what you think of it.

Train Smart!!