6th July 2012
Whether you regularly rip through mile repeats or you're new to speedwork, you probably pay more attention to the time, pace, and effort of the hard work than you do to the rest in between. But recovery intervals are just as critical to performing your best. Rush or drag out this period, and you might not reap the intended benefits of your session, says Mindy Solkin, owner and head coach of the The Running Center in New York City. How you rest is up to you—walk, stretch, or jog, just don't sit down, as blood can pool in your legs and turn them to lead. "I often tell people they should do what's comfortable," says Jeff Gaudette, head coach at RunnersConnect in Boston. "What you do during the rest period isn't going to have as dramatic an effect as the length of the rest." Before your next speed session, determine whether your downtime should be short, medium, or long.
SHORT REST: 30 TO 90 SECONDS
Short recovery intervals keep the intensity of the workout elevated, teaching you to run through fatigue. Your body gets more efficient at clearing the lactic acid that causes muscles to burn, so you can run harder or longer, says Joe McConkey, M.S., a coach at the Boston Running Center. Because the intervals are so short, your breathing will be heavy and your heart rate will remain high throughout, says Sean Coster, a coach and exercise physiologist in Portland, Oregon.
USE IT: To build speed and stamina. Total newbies can build endurance by running easy for one minute, resting for one minute for up to 30 minutes. Novice runners can alternate five to 10 sets of one minute hard running with one minute jogging or incorporate short rests into a fartlek workout. Advanced runners targeting 5-Ks or 10-Ks can do hard repeats of 400 to 800 meters with short rests in between.
MEDIUM REST: TWO TO FOUR MINUTES
Stopping short of complete recovery teaches your body to sustain its lactate threshold longer. In other words, it helps you build stamina, so you're more comfortable running at goal pace, says Solkin. At the end of the rest, you'll feel 80 to 90 percent recovered, as if you were in the middle of an easy run, says Gaudette.
USE IT: To improve endurance at race pace. Advanced beginners may run two or three quarter-mile repeats at a comfortably hard pace with four minutes rest, says Solkin. Runners racing 5-Ks and 10-Ks should take medium breaks during 800-to 1000-meter repeats. Half and full marathoners can use them to break up long tempos into two-or three-mile segments. "You can stay on the road longer and simulate your race without doing the complete effort," Gaudette says.
LONG REST: FOUR TO 10 MINUTES
Extended rest allows your heart and breathing rate to return to resting levels, which helps you attack the next repeat with the same effort you ran the previous one, thereby ensuring a quality workout, says Solkin. The extended downtime should leave you refreshed, and without the fatigue that contributes to poor form and injury, she says. You should feel 100-percent recovered and ready to go.
USE IT: To build speed and running economy [the ability to comfortably handle faster paces] or to boost aerobic capacity. For speed, pair long rest with two to three minutes [or a quarter-mile] of hard running. Jog between longer repeats of 1.5 to three miles to build volume. "What would only be a four-mile workout of intervals, rest, warmup, and cooldown can turn into eight miles," says Solkin.
RUN better: If you jog during rest periods, keep the pace super slow. Depending on the length of your repeat, you may end up jogging half the distance.
By Cindy Kuzma Runner's World
Showing posts with label Marathon Training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marathon Training. Show all posts
Rev up your warmup to prep your body for hard efforts.
3rd July 2012
You know the feeling. It's the first repeat of an interval workout, you're breathing like a steam engine, and your legs feel like they're caught in quicksand. But you also know the second interval will feel a little better, and by the third, you will have settled into a rhythm. It's called the priming effect—as your body adapts to the physiological demands of running hard, the effort feels easier. Learn to prime your body during your warmup instead of the first repeat, and you'll run the entire speed session—or entire race—at your best effort.
When you first start running hard, your muscles immediately demand more oxygen. The rest of your body tries to respond with a higher breathing and heart rate, dilated blood vessels, and metabolic changes within the muscles that all speed the delivery of oxygen. But by the time these systems have ramped up, your oxygen-starved muscles have already dipped into anaerobic energy reserves (this is when you get that quicksand feeling). However, if you include a few minutes of strategic hard running as part of your warmup, you will bring your oxygen delivery system up to maximum efficiency while still allowing enough time for your anaerobic energy reserves to recover before the start of your repeats or race. In other words, here's how to get those demoralizing first-mile blahs out of the way during your warmup—not during your workout.
MAKE IT HARD
To trigger the priming effect, you need to exceed your lactate threshold, which corresponds roughly to half-marathon pace, for at least a few minutes. Legendary coach Jack Daniels, Ph.D., suggests two to three minutes at 10-K pace. World record holder in the mile Hicham El Guerrouj would perform several 200-meter repeats close to mile race pace, jogging back to the start for recovery.
PERSONALIZE IT
University of Alabama researchers recently studied three different warmup routines for swimmers. On average, the longest warmup produced the best performance—but results varied widely among the individual swimmers. In fact, half the swimmers swam slower when they tried the "best" warmup protocol. The takeaway is that what's best for the average runner may not be best for you. Experiment with the length, intensity, and timing of your priming surge until you find a combination that works.
TIME IT RIGHT
Aim to finish your priming about 10 minutes before the start of the race. You don't have to get it exactly right; the effect lasts for up to 45 minutes, says British exercise physiologist Mark Burnley, Ph.D. A shorter break between priming and racing won't hurt either. Logistics at the start of a big event can be complicated, so be flexible, and don't fret if you have to adjust on the fly.
Ready to Go
The shorter and faster the race, the more important priming becomes
PRIME FOR IT:
Mile: 2 x 400 meters at 5-K pace; 1:00 rest
5-K: 2:00 to 3:00 at 10-K pace
10-K: 4:00 starting at marathon pace and steadily accelerating to finish a bit faster than half-marathon pace
Half-marathon and longer: Skip it. For longer races, starting with full glycogen stores is more important than oxygen delivery.
By Alex Hutchinson Runner's World
You know the feeling. It's the first repeat of an interval workout, you're breathing like a steam engine, and your legs feel like they're caught in quicksand. But you also know the second interval will feel a little better, and by the third, you will have settled into a rhythm. It's called the priming effect—as your body adapts to the physiological demands of running hard, the effort feels easier. Learn to prime your body during your warmup instead of the first repeat, and you'll run the entire speed session—or entire race—at your best effort.
When you first start running hard, your muscles immediately demand more oxygen. The rest of your body tries to respond with a higher breathing and heart rate, dilated blood vessels, and metabolic changes within the muscles that all speed the delivery of oxygen. But by the time these systems have ramped up, your oxygen-starved muscles have already dipped into anaerobic energy reserves (this is when you get that quicksand feeling). However, if you include a few minutes of strategic hard running as part of your warmup, you will bring your oxygen delivery system up to maximum efficiency while still allowing enough time for your anaerobic energy reserves to recover before the start of your repeats or race. In other words, here's how to get those demoralizing first-mile blahs out of the way during your warmup—not during your workout.
MAKE IT HARD
To trigger the priming effect, you need to exceed your lactate threshold, which corresponds roughly to half-marathon pace, for at least a few minutes. Legendary coach Jack Daniels, Ph.D., suggests two to three minutes at 10-K pace. World record holder in the mile Hicham El Guerrouj would perform several 200-meter repeats close to mile race pace, jogging back to the start for recovery.
PERSONALIZE IT
University of Alabama researchers recently studied three different warmup routines for swimmers. On average, the longest warmup produced the best performance—but results varied widely among the individual swimmers. In fact, half the swimmers swam slower when they tried the "best" warmup protocol. The takeaway is that what's best for the average runner may not be best for you. Experiment with the length, intensity, and timing of your priming surge until you find a combination that works.
TIME IT RIGHT
Aim to finish your priming about 10 minutes before the start of the race. You don't have to get it exactly right; the effect lasts for up to 45 minutes, says British exercise physiologist Mark Burnley, Ph.D. A shorter break between priming and racing won't hurt either. Logistics at the start of a big event can be complicated, so be flexible, and don't fret if you have to adjust on the fly.
Ready to Go
The shorter and faster the race, the more important priming becomes
PRIME FOR IT:
Mile: 2 x 400 meters at 5-K pace; 1:00 rest
5-K: 2:00 to 3:00 at 10-K pace
10-K: 4:00 starting at marathon pace and steadily accelerating to finish a bit faster than half-marathon pace
Half-marathon and longer: Skip it. For longer races, starting with full glycogen stores is more important than oxygen delivery.
By Alex Hutchinson Runner's World
Hit your speed and fitness goals even when you can't run as much as you'd like.
29th June 2012
Ah, summer: Humidity slows you down, vacations disrupt your schedule, and the call of the barbecue proves irresistible. It can be tough for a runner to stay on track. But those distractions can be a great excuse to streamline your schedule and start accomplishing more by running less. "People are surprised to find out that improving their running doesn't necessarily mean committing more time," says Mike Smith, a Flagstaff, Arizona, coach who works with runners of all levels through the Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. It simply means maximizing each minute and every mile. Here's how to take a minimalist's approach to achieving your goal to run fast, run far—or run yourself into a routine.
Read more
Article by Cindy Kuzma - Runner's World
Ah, summer: Humidity slows you down, vacations disrupt your schedule, and the call of the barbecue proves irresistible. It can be tough for a runner to stay on track. But those distractions can be a great excuse to streamline your schedule and start accomplishing more by running less. "People are surprised to find out that improving their running doesn't necessarily mean committing more time," says Mike Smith, a Flagstaff, Arizona, coach who works with runners of all levels through the Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. It simply means maximizing each minute and every mile. Here's how to take a minimalist's approach to achieving your goal to run fast, run far—or run yourself into a routine.
Read more
Article by Cindy Kuzma - Runner's World
18 Mile Run
Sunday 13th February 2011
Ran 18 miles today and it took 2:31:19. I felt good until the last mile, I had to focus myself then. Weather was ideal and no wind.
Check out the stats for my run
Next Sunday it's 20 miles!
Ran 18 miles today and it took 2:31:19. I felt good until the last mile, I had to focus myself then. Weather was ideal and no wind.
Check out the stats for my run
Next Sunday it's 20 miles!
8 Mile Fartlek
Last nights workout was a hard seesion. I did 15 min warm up followed by 30 min FARTLEK finishing with a 15 min warm down, the run covered 8 miles and was very undulating which made it very difficult to stay in the correct zones. Check out my results below:
Click here to see results
I need to buy new running shoes as the cusioning in my current shoes has worn out and is quite hard on my heels now.
Click here to see results
I need to buy new running shoes as the cusioning in my current shoes has worn out and is quite hard on my heels now.
40 Minutes at Marathon Pace
Yesterday evening I ran 40 minutes at marathon pace, quite an easy run as you can see from the results, I scored 98%.
Check out my results here
Check out my results here
16 Mile Run
On Monday 17th January I ran an easy pace for 16 miles, the reason for this is that I accompanied Lisa (my partner click here to see her blog Lisa's blog) as she is also training for The 2011 London Marathon and needed some encouragement. You can check out the results for that run here:
Results for an easy paced 16 miles
I can run a faster pace lol, wait for my next solo long run.
Results for an easy paced 16 miles
I can run a faster pace lol, wait for my next solo long run.
Speed Training - Fartlek.
On the evening of Thursday 13th January I ran a 50 minute Fartlek. It was very intentse as this was the first fartlek workout during this marathon training period, you can look at my results by clicking the link below:
Check the results of my fartlek run
Fartlek, which means "speed play" in Swedish,[1] is a form of conditioning which puts stress on the whole aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. Most fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes and can vary from aerobic walking to anaerobic sprinting. Fartlek training is generally associated with running, but can include almost any kind of exercise. (description from Wikipedia).
Check the results of my fartlek run
Fartlek, which means "speed play" in Swedish,[1] is a form of conditioning which puts stress on the whole aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. Most fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes and can vary from aerobic walking to anaerobic sprinting. Fartlek training is generally associated with running, but can include almost any kind of exercise. (description from Wikipedia).
Speed Training - Pyramid Workout
An important part of marathon training is speed training.
To properly prepare for a marathon, the idea is to raise lactate - threshold speed (LTS) as high as possible and build enough speed-endurance to run the whole race just 2- to 3-per cent slower than LTS.
Lactate is a metabolic intermediary produced (mainly) during intense exercise when the demand for energy in the muscles outstrips that which can be produced by aerobic metabolism. The point at which lactate begins to accumulate is often referred to as the "lactate threshold"
Yesterday evening at my athletic club we did a pyramid workout on the track, it went like this:
200m - 200m recovery, 400m - 200m recovery, 600m - 200m recovery, 800m - 200m recovery, 1000m - 200m recovery, 1200m - 400m recovery, 1000m - 200m recovery, 800m - 200m recovery, 600m - 200m recovery, 400m - 200m recovery, 200m - warm down.
Click on this link to see my workout stats for this session
I'm running for charity in the 2011 London Marathon. The charity is Asthma UK. Part of what Asthma UK do is to bring awareness to young children on how to control their asthma to enable them to take part in sport up to professional level, like varioous celebs such as David Beckham, Paula Radcliffe and Paul Scholes to name but a few. If you think this is a worth while thing then please show your support and make an online donation (no matter how small) any amount will be greatly appreciated. Please click on the link below.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephenMiddleton
To properly prepare for a marathon, the idea is to raise lactate - threshold speed (LTS) as high as possible and build enough speed-endurance to run the whole race just 2- to 3-per cent slower than LTS.
Lactate is a metabolic intermediary produced (mainly) during intense exercise when the demand for energy in the muscles outstrips that which can be produced by aerobic metabolism. The point at which lactate begins to accumulate is often referred to as the "lactate threshold"
Yesterday evening at my athletic club we did a pyramid workout on the track, it went like this:
200m - 200m recovery, 400m - 200m recovery, 600m - 200m recovery, 800m - 200m recovery, 1000m - 200m recovery, 1200m - 400m recovery, 1000m - 200m recovery, 800m - 200m recovery, 600m - 200m recovery, 400m - 200m recovery, 200m - warm down.
Click on this link to see my workout stats for this session
I'm running for charity in the 2011 London Marathon. The charity is Asthma UK. Part of what Asthma UK do is to bring awareness to young children on how to control their asthma to enable them to take part in sport up to professional level, like varioous celebs such as David Beckham, Paula Radcliffe and Paul Scholes to name but a few. If you think this is a worth while thing then please show your support and make an online donation (no matter how small) any amount will be greatly appreciated. Please click on the link below.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephenMiddleton
Speed Training - bridge turn arounds
Speed training with Southend Athletic Club last night, we did bridge turn arounds.
Basically you sprint 300 metres come back on a hairpin turn and sprint back 300 metres, we repeated each circuit 12 times. We ran a relay in teams of two, it was a cold evening but we soon warmed up!
Basically you sprint 300 metres come back on a hairpin turn and sprint back 300 metres, we repeated each circuit 12 times. We ran a relay in teams of two, it was a cold evening but we soon warmed up!
My First Sponsor!
A big thanks to Reece Cockerell for starting my fundraising off to a great start, THANKS Reece!
Running For Asthma UK - Children For Sport
I'm running for Asthma UK to help them build awareness regarding asthma among children.
There are a number of successful sport celebrities (David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Paula Radcliffe, Scott MacLeod, Frank Lampard, Mark Spitz, Rebecca Adlington, Karen Pickering, Ian Botham and Darren Gough to name but a few) who have learned to manage their asthma through proper training and medication. A total of 20% of the British Olympic Squad in 2004 had asthma.
Young people can often be singled out in the classroom by other children and are often told that they shouldn't do sports, this is why it's important to bring the same awareness to children as is to the sports professionals. It's about inspiring individuals to overcome asthma barriers and encouraging thousands more to get involved in sport and take their medicines seriously, as we approach Olympic year 2012.
Thank you for your support in helping to make a difference, should you wish to make donation and sposor me it will be greatly appreciated. To make an online donation go to:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephenMiddleton
There are a number of successful sport celebrities (David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Paula Radcliffe, Scott MacLeod, Frank Lampard, Mark Spitz, Rebecca Adlington, Karen Pickering, Ian Botham and Darren Gough to name but a few) who have learned to manage their asthma through proper training and medication. A total of 20% of the British Olympic Squad in 2004 had asthma.
Young people can often be singled out in the classroom by other children and are often told that they shouldn't do sports, this is why it's important to bring the same awareness to children as is to the sports professionals. It's about inspiring individuals to overcome asthma barriers and encouraging thousands more to get involved in sport and take their medicines seriously, as we approach Olympic year 2012.
Thank you for your support in helping to make a difference, should you wish to make donation and sposor me it will be greatly appreciated. To make an online donation go to:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephenMiddleton
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