Why you shouldn’t go hard all (or even most) of the time
For most of us, there is not much nuance in the act of training for a distance event. Just put one foot in front of the other, over and over, for a long period of time, right?
But if you perform a quick Google search or spiral down a YouTube rabbit hole, it is easy to get overwhelmed, confused and disoriented by all the available information. So let’s clear the air and focus on the most basic principles of the sport.
At any given time, you are either walking, jogging, running or sprinting. All workouts you execute fall into one of these categories, and some are a blend of two or more. The body makes different adaptations in response to different stimuli; that is why some workouts are short and fast, while others are long and slow.
If we were to run at our goal race pace every time we hit the road, we would not be making adaptations across the spectrum and would miss out on developing a great deal of overall athleticism.
If we fall into the common trap of only training at our goal race pace (running), we would lack the complexity it takes to become a well-rounded athlete. Recovery runs should be easy and relaxed (jogging), while your track intervals should be hard and fast (sprinting).
Volume, density and intensity
At the beginning of a training cycle, most runners’ goal time for their event-exceeds their current level of fitness. That’s the point of training. The three most important training principles are volume, density and intensity — and they should be prioritized in that order.
To successfully complete a distance race, training must consist of logging a lot of time on your feet (volume).
In order to navigate the late stages of a race when your legs are tired, we need to log these training miles frequently (density).
If we have a goal time, are shooting for a PR or hoping to qualify for Boston, we need to introduce harder workouts into our program (intensity).
The SAID Principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) is a core concept of health and fitness. If you want to get better at doing something, do more of it, do it more frequently and, finally, do it more quickly. But to optimize your training and racing, it must be done in that order. Our systems absorb and respond to changes in training parameters most effectively the moment they are introduced. If you’ve hit a plateau in your running, incorporate a novel stimulus into your routine.
If you only run at your goal race pace, you are missing out on the benefits of jogging, such as increased mitochondrial density and capillary beds, which help your body deliver oxygen more efficiently to working muscles. If you only jog, introduce surges into your workouts or perform a dedicated speed session to elicit physiological adaptations like an elevated maximum heart rate or level of oxygen uptake (VO2 max). Providing your brain and body with a new challenge will trigger a plethora of neurological and physiological adaptations.
Acronyms to train by
I encourage runners to break their training season into thirds, using three different (but not necessarily distinct) parameters: RPE, HRZand GRP.
During the first phase as we build volume, we can gain fitness by focusing on our Rate of Perceived Exertion. Your watch will spit out a slew of specific metrics, but it is too early in the training cycle for them to mean much. Instead, focus on the subjective nature of the experience. Do you feel like you are jogging, running or sprinting?
In the second phase, we can shift our attention to Heart Rate Zones and assign specific zones (based on maximum heart rate) to each of the aforementioned efforts. This starts to give us a better understanding of what we could reasonably expect as our ultimate race pace.
In the third and final phase, we can introduce a pace-specific component to our workouts: Goal Race Pace. We have built our fitness (volume) and become more durable and resilient (density), so now is the time to sharpen the knife and structure workouts based around our anticipated finish time (intensity).
Although your watch will tell you that you ran a certain pace over a certain distance, the body only understands the amount of
stress it is under for a particular amount of time. By understanding these training parameters and the type of stimulus each workout is designed to elicit, we can more effectively engage with each session and use our devices as a tool instead of a crutch.
This is why the concept of running by feel is important. Heat, humidity, sleep and fueling all affect your performance on a daily basis. The body knows stress as stress, whether from work, family or training. Your physical exercise should elicit eustress (the good kind), while helping relieve distress (the bad kind).
It is important to remember that training adaptations typically occur within two to three weeks, with the most significant results manifesting six to eight weeks later. This means the work you are putting in now will not be fully realized until almost two months have passed.
Timothy Lyman, director of training programs at Fleet Feet Pittsburgh, is a health & wellness professional specializing in fitness program development, management and coaching. He is an ACE-certified Health Coach, Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, in addition to being a NASM-certified Performance Enhancement Specialist. Email: training.pgh@fleetfeet.com.