Running has never been more popular, and
the new year always brings a mass of new recruits to what has to be one of the
best fat-burning, muscle-toning, stress-busting sports around!
Most will begin with easy jogs, or a mix of
walking and running, and rightly so. The first step for any new runner is to
stay within your comfort zone as you build up ‘time on feet’. But if you keep
at it, you’ll soon find yourself able to run comfortably for 30-40 minutes at a
time without stopping. So what then? Well, carrying on in the same vein will
continue to improve your stamina up to a point but, if you want to take your
running to the next level, there comes a time when you need to train not just further,
but smarter. You could try hill work, threshold runs, recovery runs, fartlek,
track reps, progression runs -but for distances from 5K to the marathon, there
are three important types of session to schedule in, each delivering distinct
benefits.
Running
has never been more popular, and the new year always brings a mass of new
recruits to what has to be one of the best fat-burning, muscle-toning,
stress-busting sports around!
Up The Tempo
Tempo running is on the edge of your
comfort zone and helps improve your lactate threshold (LT). The LT is the point
at which lactic acid in the muscles increases sharply because it can no longer
be cleared as quickly as it’s being produced. Once you pass this point, it
becomes very difficult to sustain your pace -your breathing goes ragged, your
muscles contract less efficiently and you may feel as if your legs have turned
to rubber. But training at an intensity that hovers around this point nudges
your threshold up, enabling you to run faster without these ill effects.
Tempo
running is on the edge of your comfort zone and helps improve your lactate
threshold
Try tempo training to improve your pace in
events lasting 30 minutes or longer. Your LT is usually around 85 per cent of
your maximum heart rate -so aim to train at seven or eight on a scale of one to
10. If you’ve already done a 10K race, your tempo pace is likely to be between
your 10K pace and five to 15 seconds per mile slower (use your 10K pace if your
finish time was an hour or more).
Run at a sustained pace for 20-45 minutes
(warm up first), or break it down into chunks, separated by short recovery
jogs. Don’t make the efforts less than five or six minutes, or you may run too
fast -and have around one minute of jogging for every five minutes of tempo running.
Do a tempo run every week. Mix it up with continuous tempo runs and long
intervals or, continuous hills (see below). Re-assess your tempo pace every six
to eight weeks.
Tempo Training
Level/session: Beginner
What to do: 4x5minuteswith1-minute recovery jog between sets.
How to progress it: Add 1 minute every 2 weeks, starting after a fortnight. Drop a set
(but still add 1 minute) every 4th week until you reach 2 sets, then continue
to add on 1 minute every fortnight as you progress towards 45 minutes in total.
Level/session: Intermediate
What to do: 20-minute tempo run.
How to progress it: Add 2 minutes every 2 weeks.
Level/session: Advanced
What to do: 4 x 4 minutes tempo intervals on a moderate hill with 1-minute
recovery jog.
How to progress it: Doing tempo intervals on a hill adds intensity and variety. Run up
and down the hill at an effort level that feels ‘comfortably hard’ (so your
pace will be faster on the way down than up). Progress by adding 1 minute every
fortnight to each rep starting after 2 weeks. Drop a set (but still add 1
minute) every 4 weeks, starting after 4 weeks, until you reach 2 sets, then
continue to add on 1 minute every fortnight as you progress towards 2 x 15
minutes.
Use Intervals
‘Interval training’ means breaking a run
into sections, with either recovery jogs (as in the long intervals in tempo
training) or complete rest in between. Here, we’re using interval training to
improve maximal aerobic capacity (VO ² max). While tempo running is a way of
teaching your body to get comfortable working at a higher proportion of its
maximum aerobic capacity, interval training helps improve the maximum capacity
itself. The higher your VO ² max, the faster you can run while still
maintaining aerobic energy production. Once energy production becomes
‘anaerobic’ -when there isn’t enough oxygen coming into the body to supply the
muscles -you'll have to slow down or stop.
‘Interval
training’ means breaking a run into sections, with either recovery jogs (as in
the long intervals in tempo training) or complete rest in between.
The best way to train VO ² max is to run
at, or close to, the pace (or effort level) that lets you reach your maximum
(VO ² max is a physiological measurement, not a pace). You won’t be chatting to
your running buddies! On that one-to-10 scale, you’ll be at nine or 10. This is
tough training, but you only need to work in short bouts to reap the benefits
and you get long rests in between. For each minute of effort, take 30-60
seconds of recovery -and limit the efforts themselves to one to five minutes in
length.
VO ² max training is most beneficial for
those training at shorter distances, such as 5K and 10K. One study found that
four weeks of a weekly VO ² max session consisting of five, three-minute
efforts increased pace at VO ² max by three per cent. Re-assess your VO ² pace
every six to eight weeks.
