We all work better with targets to aim for. Having a run-based challenge towards the end of your base preparation phase focuses your energy and gives you an immediate goal before racing starts.

You can pick an organised event or just work out something that’s a personal challenge for you. Be careful if you select a road –based long distance event, because they’re often very competitive and potentially damaging if you give them too much priority when your real races are later in the year.

Preferably find an event where merely competing the distance is the aim. This then adds to your bank of endurance mileage rather than testing out race fitness, which isn’t fully developed yet.

Something like a point-to-point run, or an ascent of a mountain gives you the chance to push your endurance but not worry about your speed.

Some points to note;

Doing something like this will inspire you to dig a little deeper in training to accomplish the challenge and your success will be measured by simply completing it in good shape rather than achieving a PB or position.

The type of event to choose should be pitched at a level that you couldn’t achieve when starting your base programme but one that is attainable at the end. The event and pace should be highly unlikely to injure or tire you so much that the remainder of the season is compromised.

Happy training!!

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Following on from my previous post on Building Your Base Endurance the following two run sessions are designed to give you some inspiration on how to make your base-run training through the winter both enjoyable and effective. If you can manage to cover an increasing volume of steady mileage during the winter you’ll see vast improvements next year.

The Acceleration Run
Despite not being a pure endurance session, the acceleration run does fit nicely into an endurance base programme. As the name suggests you start at a very easy pace and get faster as the run goes on. Obviously the magnitude of acceleration over a given distance determines the exact benefits you get.

In the base phase of training, a subtle acceleration over a long distance is the most beneficial. Basically it varies the level of stress on the body and also provides a very tough workout mentally, as you have to work your hardest when fatigue is setting in at the end of the run. It also just starts to knock on the door of anaerobic-type training that follows the base phase, aiding this transition later on.

Ideally it will be about 40 – 50% of the distance of your long run at that time. The pace will go from very comfortable aerobic pace to a borderline anaerobic pace in the last few minutes. You also really need to measure your pace, either with a marked route, GPS watch or on a treadmill to ensure quality of the set.

Over the weeks and months the pace should naturally increase at all stages of this run as your body becomes more efficient. Repeating the same course is therefore a good idea so you can monitor improvements from time to time.

The Run Week
Leading on from twice a day running sessions, occasionally it can be a good idea for a triathlete to take a break from a balanced programme of swim, bike and run and focus on one sport for a brief period. This can be mentally appealing as well as providing the type of overload needed for real breakthroughs in performance. In running terms this might mean setting a target for a week of mileage that exceeds anything you’ve ever achieved in the past. This would be perfectly compatible with a plan to increase base endurance in the winter.

Set the target high, but don’t go mad. Ideally the total amount of running should be more than you’ve done in a week but not double. Plan on keeping the intensity relatively low as the volume overload will place more than enough stress on the body.

As with an individual long run, a healthy amount of off-road miles will keep injuries at bay. Ideally retain one swim and one bike session during the week just to keep those muscle groups awake.

Make sure that the ‘run week’ comes after a period of gently increasing mileage. Legs that haven’t been pounding the streets for a long while won’t respond well to being thrown in at the deep end.

Finally make sure that you listen to your body and if injury niggles start to appear, back off.

Happy training!!

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The idea of base training is founded around the traditional theory of periodisation, where a considerable amount of steady endurance is completed before moving onto add speed, pre-season.

By definition base training has to be almost aerobic which means being disciplined and keeping the intensity low. Fail to do this and you start to go anaerobic. If you find yourself straying into the red, trying to keep up with faster training partners or just because you feel keen, then you’re playing a risky game and are more likely to suffer from tiredness and injury.

As with any form of training it needs to be progressive and the best form of progression at this point of the year is in volume. Increasing the amount of running you’re doing while maintaining a comfortable pace is the best way to maximise aerobic gains rather than just turning up the pace. You may find (especially if you are new to training) that your pace increases almost naturally, but this is of secondary importance to upping the time on you feet.

Give base training enough time to take effect. Base training needs an absolute bare minimum of around six consistent weeks to have long term noticeable effects. Where possible try to keep as much as your base running off-road, as this will work far more muscle groups than plodding on the tarmac, will be kinder to your joints and will also build strength when the going gets hilly or muddy.

The following couple of sample base training sessions form the skeleton of a base-run training plan. You need to take into account your current ability, susceptibility to injury and aspirations before deciding if any of them are for you, or whether they need adapting to suit your circumstances.

The sessions are designed to give you some inspiration on how to make your base-run training through the winter both enjoyable and effective. If you can manage to cover an increasing volume of steady mileage you’ll see vast improvements next year.

I’ve started some prep work towards my run base training for next season as one of my main goals is to race a marathon in May, as well as the regional Duathlon Grand Prix series late March/April and I’m already chomping at the bit to get on with some base-running. Can’t wait.

Session 1 - The long weekend run

I blogged about this here in September and regard this as one of the most important elements of triathlon/run training in the base phase as it trains our bodies to have the most efficient and economical aerobic system possible.

Session 2 – Running twice a day

For many of us multi-sport people the concept of training twice a day is not unusual. However, repeating sessions of the same sport may not seem like an obvious choice. Running twice a day can be very beneficial for all sorts of reasons especially as part of an endurance-building programme.

Running twice a day allows you to make use of small time gaps during the day, for example before work and at lunchtime. When you’re trying to increase your overall run mileage in weekly terms but cannot fit in many long individual sessions this also provides a solution.

It can help to break your legs in more gently to bigger running mileages. 2 x 30 minutes in a day is much easier on you legs than 1 x 60 minutes if you have never done it before.

It enables you to complete two totally different sessions, for example a fartlek session and an easy run, within an allotted amount of training time for the day.

Finally running twice a day increases the activation of your metabolism through the day and is therefore a great strategy if you’re trying to control your weight.

Next week I’ll introduce a couple more base-run sample sessions to keep you going.

Happy training!!

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As most of use have finished our main triathlon/multi-sport season our focus shifts towards next season, after a short rest of course. However, I try to keep a little fitness training going just to tick over, before we enter the ‘real’ base training period. One of my favourite training sessions is the long run on a weekend. I find it quite enjoyable because of the low intensity as well as it preparing me for the ‘base phase’, as this key session is vital in any base training period.

Some key points to consider when planning your long runs;

The length of run is going to be determined by your current fitness levels and training gaols. A long run for a sprint or Olympic distance novice athlete could be as little as 45 mins to begin with, whereas an experienced Ironman athlete may be heading out for 2 hrs. If you’re at all unsure what you can handle, then start well within your known capabilities and build up slowly. That way injuries and staleness are less likely to hamper your progress.

The pace needs to be hard enough to stimulate adaptation to the training but not so hard that you end up working anaerobically and overdoing it.

It’s wise to make your long run ‘time’ rather than ‘milage’ based, as factors like terrain and weather exert a large and variable influence on a session.

Try to monitor your pace or heart rate to keep the level of exertion fairly consistent. This means that it’ll probably feel harder towards the end of the run and your heart rate may drift up slightly just to maintain your speed. This is ok, as it is good preparation for the season.

Try to progress the ‘long run’ in small increments each week (around 10% is usually safe). Do this for about three to four weeks and then have one week where you take it easy and step it back a bit. This R&R week acts as a safeguard against illness and injury because the body rarely likes to keep responding to pressure applied in a constant manner.

Running off road is much kinder on the body’s joints and can be much more pleasant, so try to mix up the terrain as much as possible.

Happy training!!

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Last week I wrote a post on Time Efficient Training. Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting a time efficient training session for each of the disciplines associated with triathlon, and here’s the first, a time efficient run session.

This acceleration runs increase in speed, culminating with a pace just above your target race pace. The idea is to progress each week by increasing the distance or speed of each increment. This session has many of the benefits of a steady tempo run but allows the body to gradually warm up, which reduces fatigue and injury risk. You can measure the increments in speed or heart rate. In this example heart rate is used. The formula may look a little confusing for each of the runs, however if you take a 5 minutes to work out the specific BPM’s (beats per minute) for your specific run you’ll feel the benefits in no time.

Acceleration Run For Sprint Distance Tri – 25 minutes continuous running as follows;

5 minutes at 30 BPM (beats per minute) below 5K pace OR 5 minutes steady

5 minutes at 20 BPM (beats per minute) below 5K pace OR 5 minutes at marathon pace

5 minutes at 10 BPM (beats per minute) below 5K pace OR 5 minutes half marathon pace

5 minutes at 3 BPM (beats per minute) below 5K pace OR 5 minutes just above 5k pace

5 minutes easy jog

Acceleration Run For Olympic Distance Tri – 40 minutes continuous running as follows;

7 minutes at 36 BPM (beats per minute) below 10K pace OR 7 minutes easy

7 minutes at 27 BPM (beats per minute) below 10K pace OR 7 minutes steady

7 minutes at 18 BPM (beats per minute) below 10K pace OR 7 minutes at marathon pace

7 minutes at 9 BPM (beats per minute) below 10K pace OR 7 minutes at half marathon pace

7 minutes at 3 BPM (beats per minute) below 10K pace OR 7 minutes just above 10k pace

5 minutes easy jog

Acceleration Run For Middle Distance Tri – 55 minutes continuous running as follows;

10 minutes at 28 BPM (beats per minute) below half marathon pace OR 10 minutes easy

10 minutes at 21 BPM (beats per minute) below half marathon pace OR 10 minutes steady

10 minutes at 14 BPM (beats per minute) below half marathon pace OR 10 minutes at marathon pace

10 minutes at 7 BPM (beats per minute) below half marathon pace OR 10 minutes at half marathon pace

10 minutes at 3 BPM (beats per minute) below half marathon pace OR 10 minutes faster than half marathon pace

5 minutes easy jog

Acceleration Run For Long Distance Tri – 1 hr 23 minutes continuous running as follows;

13 minutes at 25 BPM (beats per minute) below marathon pace OR 13 minutes easy

13 minutes at 20 BPM (beats per minute) below marathon pace OR 13 minutes steady

13 minutes at 15 BPM (beats per minute) below marathon pace OR 13 minutes steady

13 minutes at 10 BPM (beats per minute) below marathon pace OR 13 minutes steady to marathon pace

13 minutes at 5 BPM (beats per minute) below marathon pace OR 13 minutes just below marathon pace

13 minutes at 3 BPM (beats per minute) below marathon pace OR 13 minutes above marathon pace

5 minutes easy jog

Happy training!

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Most people find that when they’ve raced or trained a reasonable downhill section at speed, they suffer from aching muscles, especially the quads (thigh muscles) for several days afterwards. I took part in the Scarborough Duathlon earlier this season and suffered the same.

This can be minimised though by some thoughtful prep work which could mean getting back to your usual full on training much quicker.

Practice

In order to run down hills effectively you need to practice running downhill. Make sure you know the route of your race. If there are significant descents, either in gradient or distance, then practise running downhill, preferably on a similar surface and gradient. Over speed training can be achieved by running down a hill. The difficulty is finding a suitable hill with a safe surface. If you know your race route has some serious downhill sections try this simple over speed training session to assist in preperations.

Make sure you have a good 10-15 minute warm up.
Locate a hill with a slope of approx 15° decline and a length of about 100m.
Run down using 40-60 metres to build up to full speed and then maintain the speed for a further 30 metres.
Recover by walking back up.
Start with 2 sets of 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time.
Ensure you complete a suitable cool down of 10 minutes jogging with stretching to finish.

Adequate footwear

Running downhill places a lot of stress on joints, tendons and muscles, so ensure you have good cusioning footwear. If running off road, a solid pair of fell/off road shoes will give the grip and stability you need.

Posture

Keep your body perpendicular to the road or trail. Avoid the urge to lean back as this will add stress to your body and slow you down. Leaning back will also cause you to consume more energy and may increase the risk of injury from increased impact.

Relax

Let momentum carry you down. Avoid sprinting but more importantly avoid breaking. This places an enormous amount of stress on the quads,  constantly contracting the muscles trying to slow you down. This is why you’ll find going down stairs painful for the next few days. Do not strike on your heels, as your foot will land too far in front of your center of gravity, causing you to put the brakes on.

Control

Try to land lightly and increase your cadence rather than lengthening your stride.If you feel you are going to fast keep your stride short, but don’t break. Don’t be afraid to stick your arms out to control your balance.

Take a cold bath

This is a tried and tested method of post training/race recovery for athletes as it halts any internal bleeding withing the muscle fibres caused by the stress of downhill running.

Happy running.

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You know the part of the race when you feel you’ve hit the wall?  Maybe you are on a hill or the flattest section of the course. Your mind is telling your legs and arms to drive, but your muscles are crying out for mercy. We are demanding them to perform at a rate at which they are not conditioned. Our body cannot supply the blood and oxygen that our hip flexors (in particular) are requiring to meet the demands of our heads. Hip flexor muscles or iliopsoas consist of iliacus and psoas major muscles. These enable you to move your thighs towards the stomach area and are also some of the most important muscles for cyclists, recruited during the pulling up phase.
At least you’ve done your mental homework. But have you neglected working regular hill drills into your routine?  Perhaps you do them but don’t know why. Do you vary the type of workouts?

One of the best ways to strengthen those hip flexors and in turn improve the power of our swing phase is to do hill repeats. As we gain strength, our chances of getting injured are diminished.  Not only will we finesse our charges on inclines and finish line kicks on flats, but hill repeats also increase our mental confidence. Once you’ve done 15 X 2:00 of a tough hill, one minute of climbing a similar incline in a race will feel easy. It often surprises people that running hills improves speed.

Actually, running hills is speed work in disguise.  Your effort will increase as you run up a hill, even if you reduce your pace.  Moving your body up the hill requires more work than moving it along a flat surface.  Hill running is equivalent to throwing in a surge on the flats. So, in a race, the best way to run a hill is to maintain effort and forget about pace while on the hill. Steady effort is the surest route to a faster time. Trying to maintain pace on the hill is like surging and varying the body’s perceived effort, which will only tire you prematurely.

As runners, triathletes need to recognize the importance of strengthening our hip flexor muscles. Strong flexors help us maintain a grueling pace, attack a hill, kick with speed on the flats, and protect our bodies from injury. They are an integral piece of training year round that, with variation, can make us more efficient runners and cyclists.

Take to those hills, happy running!!!

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