Distance Training

“You don’t need all the zoopy-zoopy”-Bill Squires

• Frank Shorter was once asked if he would ever write a book about training. He said no because it would only be one page long.

• Frank Shorter was the last American to win the Olympic gold medal in the marathon.

Focus on Basic Principles

• Consistency• Volume • Strength• Recovery• Periodization

Consistency

• An athlete’s career is short and their time with you will most likely be even shorter.

• The limiting factor is time in most athlete’s careers, particularly in the high school/college levels.

• Not missing time to injury is often a deciding factor in who excels and who plateaus or even moves backwards.

Volume

• Volume is the first step towards development of a distance runner.

• Volume should be progressive and no next level should be unachievable.

• The benefits of high volume training include increased capillary development, increased mitochondrial activity, improved running economy, increased muscle glycogen supply, improved ability to burn fat as a fuel and a leaner body composition.

Strength

• Runners are athletes and strength is an often overlooked component in the training of distance runners.

• In order to get faster, being stronger is often a necessary step.

• In order to achieve this weight lifting, core drills, speed drills, hill sprints, and hill bounds must be done on a consistent basis.

• “One study has been done on the effects of heavy weight lifting on endurance performance. Millet et al. studied the effects of 14 weeks of heavy weight training on various parameters in triathletes. They found that RE, maximal strength, and power during a hopping test were all significantly increased (2002).”

-Steve Magness, “The Science of Running“

Recovery

• Recovery is an essential aspect of any training plan, but also one that is frequently overlooked.

• Planning specific recovery days through out a training week is essential.

• Easy days vs recovery days: You can go slow on easy days, but you can’t go fast on recovery days.

Periodization

• There are two generally dueling theories on periodization.– Traditional theory of slow to fast.

– The “funnel” theory.

Linear Periodization

Types of workouts

• Threshold workout– Works on clearing out waste products such as H+

and transports lactate to be used as a fuel in other parts of the body.

– Can be done continuously or in intervals with short rests.

– When increasing duration without rest intervals, pace should be decreased.

– Shows to be continually increased even in developed athletes.

V02 Max

• Was the main focus of training for years, but has recently come under debate

• The theory is that training at your V02 Max raises your V02 Max.

• 5 minutes is the recommended upper limit for duration of V02 Max intervals.

• Rest should be 2/3rd’s time run to equal.

Race Pace

• Working at goal race pace.• Benefits the neuromuscular system, improving

muscle memory at specific pace. • Mentally can help the athlete grow

comfortable at the pace.

Speed/Rep Work

• Working at a pace faster than one’s V02 Max.

• Short intervals with relatively long recovery.

• Has been shown to increase power output, running economy (efficiency), as well as V02 Max in some athletes.

So how does a season look?

• Base phase (June-Early August/December-Jan)– Mileage, lifting, strides/sprints, general endurance

workouts later. – Key is to work on general fitness and to prepare the

athlete for the more intense work that is to come.– Raw strength and speed can be a heavier emphasis

than pre-comp and competition phases.– This is a great time to work on weaknesses.

• Transition phase– Between base and pre-competition training, a gap

must be bridged. – “Feel” intervals, such as hills and fartleks and

threshold works bridges the gap between the general fitness training and the more intense and more specific work that will follow.

– Strides/sprints and lifting are maintained.

• Pre-Competition Phase– The most intense phase of training.– Longer threshold work and race pace intervals. – Be wary of overworking race pace. Don’t be afraid

to revisit more unstructured workouts, such as hills and fartleks to avoid mental and physical burn out.

Competition phase

• Race specific work, but at a generally lower volume.

• Slight increase of speed/turn over work.

• DON’T CHANGE TOO MUCH.

• Cater to your athletes’ strengths

The “other stuff”

• Lifting, drills, strides, sprints all play an important part in helping distance runners develop.

• They must be athletes.

• One dimensional runners get injured, burn out and struggle to race at higher levels.

Lifting

• Lifting for “endurance” defeats the purpose of lifting.

• Lift for strength and power.• 4 sets of 5 reps – minimize the time spent

lifting. Quality over Quantity.• Ensure proper form—use light weight (or no

weight) until form is strong to ensure safety.• Allow proper recovery!

Drills

• Drills should work on form and be done with a purpose.

• Use drills for increasing turn over, limiting ground contact, developing back kick/knee drive, stability, stride length.

• While athletes are doing drills, make sure they are observed to ensure that they are being done correctly.

Strides/Sprints

• Strides are great for touching on speed year round without taxing the athlete too heavily.

• Although not overly strenuous, do not have athletes do them every day. Allow them to recover.

Sprints

• Alactic sprints are some of the most underutilized tools in distance training.

• They activate fast twitch fibers that are often neglected.

• Must be done under 10-12 seconds to reduce the production of lactic acid/other by-products.

• Max intensity.

What does a week look like?

• M-Easy recovery run• Tu-Threshold work + Strides. Lower body lifting

after.• Wed-Easy recovery run.• Thurs-Easy run+alactic sprints• Friday-Race pace intervals or hill work +upper

body• Sat-Easy recovery run• Sunday-Long run + long strides after.

Team Dynamics

• Nothing is more important than your athletes’ confidence.

• Know your athletes and what makes them tick• Always have a reason for a workout/practice.• Reduce the amount your athletes need to

think.– But tell them why they are doing what they are.

Teach them as they go along. It will benefit them later.