Distance via Volume
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 7:07PM I've been training a lot lately for the Rocky Raccoon 100 (I'm just doing the 50). I learned much while being professionally coached for Ironmans last year, so I thought I'd share something with those of you that are interested.
An effective technique for racing Ultras (running or triathlon) is to train slowly. This is why and how:
- Running fast does damage, and it takes time to recover from that damage.
- You may need a day or two to recover fully from that damage so you can run well again.
- Slow yourself down to a zone 1 or 2 heart rate, and you can run a long time. Much longer than when you run fast.
- Set aside the additional time to train longer for these workouts.
- You'll find that you can run almost double the distance that you were doing before, and you can also do it day after day. Still, you should take a rest day at least once a week.
- In the end, you will be logging much higher weekly mileage and at a lower HR, which trains your body to burn fat as fuel instead of carbs.
- Bonus: Running slower prevents injuries.
- Tip 1 - Do the run+walk method (Galloway) to keep your HR down.
- Tip 2 - Never run by distance. Run by time and HR. Distance is a result, not a target.
Example: I'm now running for an hour each morning at a very casual pace. If I was doing this hard, I'd only be able to do this every other day. 6 days at 5.5 miles each day = 33 miles a week. 4 days at 6.5 miles each day = 26 miles a week. By going slowly, I'm able to get in 7 more miles, reducing injury risk, and training my body to fuel on fat.
The above isn't my actual training schedule. I'm now doing 1 hour of running every morning Mon-Fri, 4 hour long run on Sat, then an easy bike ride on Sun to flush all the lactic crap out of my legs. That is approximately 47.5 running miles per week and none of it is difficult to do. You can do it too! (I was taught to go for an easy bike ride the day after a hard run or bike to clear things out. It helps you recover faster. )
I still have to write a post about how to "Train like a Pro" from all of my experiences last year, but the above is a glimpse into that world of elite training.
Remember,
- Go slow and build that aerobic base.
- Speed kills. Do speed training when you get closer to race day.
- Never say "I'm going to run X miles today!" Instead, say that you will be running a certain length of time at a certain effort.
- Enjoy your higher mileage and fewer injuries. You'll get faster and faster at that same HR as your body becomes more efficient.
Reader Comments (24)
I'm now motivated to go and sign up for that 13hr road race next week. I also signed up for the 2:45 Triathlon and the 15 hr triathlon coming up in August.
I did a 1hr open water swim yesterday and had my wife come pick me up in the rowboat. She was really helpful in when my 2.5 hr bike came up short of my "finishing point" and came out in the car to pick me up.
I know every coach in the world subscribes to the train to time approach...but every race I've ever done was done to one standard: distance. Just my 2c.
I'm just not sure if I have the patience for the long, slow, distance! I AM learning about base mileage right now though... my coach has me going out for 55 minutes keeping my HR down at 145... which is virtually impossible for me! My HR shoots to 165 taking a crap. As a result I crrrrrrawl along... but I'll tell ya something... after only 3 weeks... my pace has dropped significantly while my HR remains steady. Pretty fun!
Breathe...
Slow roll it homie. Raise the base and add the crunk at the end. You got it.
Like the idea of a bike as recovery. I've never heard of that. I swam for many years for the local teams & we would swim 2 times a day Monday - Friday & long on Saturdays. The morning practice was always long, easy, with lower heart rates.
I guess the difference between a recovery bike & recovery swim is that I get a better stretch of the muscles doing the swim. On my recovery swims I will do a lot of breast & back strokes to get a good stretch during the workout.
You guys are silly. Don\'t shoot me, I\'m just the messenger. My HR for a 10.5 minute mile pace for an hour is now 120 BPM. More numbers on next post, showing a speed increase and HR decrease.
If you have trouble timing your training workouts to end at a certain point, error on the short side and then do an extra small loop or two to make up the difference.
This morning, I ended up at my house at 55 minutes instead of an hour. I ran down my street 2.5 minutes and back 2.5 minutes to make up the extra 5 minutes. No big issue. I do the same on the bike quite often.
I\'ll post some links tomorrow showing pro distance runners targeting effort level and time, not distance.
Besides, hitting the time right on the head isn\'t a worthwhile pursuit. If your target is an hour, sometimes you come in at 55 minutes, sometimes 65, it all works out in the end. Like Tri-rob says, breathe and relax. It\'s called \"practice\" for a reason.
Im envious of you...Im suffering through some tendon issues at the moment. I cant even run 20 minutes, so im spending almost all of my training time in the pool. Ive run the H2H (Haney to Harrison) 100km ultra 3 times (as a relay) and i can tell you its GRUELING...Its held in November on the roads and its ususlay about 0 - 5 degress with rain and snow a common site. Im not sure how those ultra guys and gals do it. Good luck with it!
I have been using this tenchique since I heard you talk about it on the podcast months ago. I have gone from a cyclist trying to run to get ready for his first tri to someone who enjoys running. I also notice that I am racking up the distances with this method. How cool is Suunto for having an interval feature built into the watch so you can do this without having to check?
ANYWAY, thanks for the great podcast - I stumbled onto it after searching iTunes for Zen and have since talked myself into training for a olympic tri.
quicktrip, you are an animal. when you start running again, stay in zones 1 and 2 and you might be just fine.
mike, the same thing happened to me. i used to HATE running. then i started doing it barefoot and fell in love with it. now i do it to escape the house and have fun.
like you are finding out, it is great to throw the whole mileage as a target concept out the window. isn't it much more reasonable to say "i'm going to go bike/run for 4 hours!"? It is impossible to compare workouts from one person to the next with mileage. Person A can be running off-road, in mud and in the mountains, while person B can be running on flat pavement in perfect weather at sea level. This is even more true with cycling and wind conditions.
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