Nearly all of us dash into it hoping for and expecting results which are quite unwarranted. Nature is unable to make a really first class job of anything if she is hustled. To enhance our best, we need only, and should only, enhance our average. That is the basis we ought to work on, for it succeeds every time when the other fails. So, in running, it is essential to take to it kindly.

Many beginning runners experience their first injury fairly on in their running career. Often, after successfully completing their first race and full of enthusiasm, they increase their training realising that more miles equals better racing and end up at the physio’s. For most untrained people, the cardio vascular system will adapt to a training stress far more rapidly than the ligaments, muscles and tendons. So, often the new runner will be able to run a distance without experiencing any breathing distress but will end up with shin splints, runners knee or any one of a dozen overuse injuries. So, for newcomers, it is essential to follow this law. Many runners expect to run the same mileage in 10 weeks that it took international runners 10 years to build up to.

What about experienced runners returning to training after a period of injury or just an end of season break?

One system for incorporating this principle into training has been devised by Phillip Maffetone. He is an exercise scientist and coach who has worked principally with triathletes. He would advocate using the Maffetone formula for at least three months at the beginning of your training year.

To establish this, you start with 180 and then subtract your age in years.

Then

If you are recovering from a major illness, recent hospitalisation or are on regular medication, subtract 10

If you have not exercised before or have had a period of not exercising due to injury, or lack of interest, subtract 5

If you have been exercising recently without interruption, subtract 0

If you have been training uninterrupted for 2 years without injury, add 5

You then do all you running at a heart rate that does not exceed this figure.

So, a 50 year old runner with no medical conditions but who is returning to running after being made redundant would use the following calculation:

180 – 50 – 5 = 125.

How realistic is it?

Looking at Train Smart principles, your training has to be tailored to you as an individual, both physiologically and psychologically. The Maffetone method has been used successfully by many runners and those that have used it often have lower injury rates and swear by it. For many runners, me included, the idea of crawling along at a pace barely above walking for at least three months would be enough to drive us loopy!!

So, whether it is using something as structured as the Maffetone formula, or just building your weekly mileage, the slow and steady route is definitely best.

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!

Jenny, my daughter, is currently studying the Ancient Greeks at school so I thought I would share a tale with you.
Milo of Croton was a legendary strongman and wrestling champion. Probably his most renown feat was carrying a bull into the arena on his shoulders. Legend has it that he then felled the bull with a single blow, slaughtered it and ate it in a single meal. The feats of eating are of less interest to us than the feats of strength!!
The reason that Milo had the strength to carry the bull on his shoulders is that he started lifting it when it was still a calf and he was a young man, easily capable of lifting it. Milo lifted the calf every day and as the animal grew, so did Milo’s capability of lifting it.
Whether this story is true or merely myth, what is does do is illustrate a very important training principle – that of progressive overload.

What has that got to do with the topic of rest and recovery?

A good question and one you are entitled to ask. The human body is an incredible structure. One of the most important biological principals is that it will seek homeostasis that is to remain in balance. Once we place a stress upon the body, the body reacts by saying ‘I was a bit out of my comfort zone there – next time I’ll be ready for it’. (I know, you body doesn’t really talk like that but bear with me…it’s just for illustration!) In practice, when we train we break down the body microscopically. The body then seeks to repair itself but rather than just rebuilding to the original level, it rebuilds to a level higher than before – so that it is ready for the next time we train. This is known as supercompensation.

So where does rest and recovery come into all this?

If we train too soon, before the body has reached the point of supercompensation, all we will do is to continue to break it down resulting in overtraining and injury.

There are strategies we can use to speed up the period of recovery:
• recovery runs/walks
• good nutrition
• fluid management
• massage
• hot and cold therapy
• stretching

How do we know that we have reached the supercompensation point?

That is the $64,000 question. How long would it take to recover from a 10 mile training run for example?. For a veteran runner who’s been runner 50 mile weeks for the last 20 years, maybe the next day. For a runner who has just run their first 50 mile week and 10 miles is their longest run, it might be two or three days.

By employing good recovery strategies, making progress gradually and listening to your body, you can maximise your fitness and minimise your injury risk.

Train Smart.

There’s a guy at work who always tells me that he works smart, not hard. The way I look at it, he’s just bone idle!! So it’s great to seek to train smart not hard – but to do that, we need to know what it means to train smart.

Here are the components that I include in smart training:
• Have a challenging long term goal
• Have a purpose for each training session
• Train holistically
• Plan and execute rest and recovery strategies
• Use the latest research combined with running wisdom
• Plan training that fits the character of the runner

I believe that training smart is definitely the best way to go. But how about training hard?

One of my favourite athletics memories (prepare for a big name drop coming up!!) was a day spent at an athletics match competing against Daley Thompson. Now I appreciate that some of you may not be as old as I am but Daley is the greatest all round athlete this country has ever produced. At the time, he was Olympic, World, European and commonwealth champion and world record holder. I was filling in for my team in the long jump and jumped against Daley. He was competing in about seven events as preparation for the decathlon. He was tremendously friendly, having a laugh and a joke with all the other guys and offering tips and support. However, this story is not just about an outrageous name-drop. What impressed me most about Daley was his dedication. I remember an interview where he described his training on Christmas Day – and went on to explain that when it came to the day of competition he knew he would win because he’d trained harder than all his opponents.

So, do I believe in training hard?

Yes, I certainly do. Unless you push your self hard in training, when it starts to hurt in a race you’ll struggle. But training smart means you pick the time when you need to train hard.

Over the next few days, I’ll explain a bit more about each of the components of smart training. But, to answer the original question – to be the best, train hard and most importantly, train SMART!!

Please leave a comment and let me know what topics you’d like me to cover in future