REVERSE THE TRAINING PLAN AND GET RESULTS!

 

I received an email one day from a friend/runner that I had helped train during my days of working with Team in Training. She ran her first Marathon in 4 hours and 34 minutes at age 27.  She had completed several marathons and her best time was a 3:59. Her goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon for her 40th birthday.  Forty was coming fast and she would need to get her time down to 3:40.

I responded back to her email with the words no runner wants to hear—“you’re too slow.” Of course, that’s obvious and I wouldn’t just leave her hanging. I explained to her that the drop of 19 minutes would mean she would have to run at a pace faster than her current lactate threshold pace and it’s impossible to run a marathon faster than your threshold pace. After a brief explanation, I summed it up by saying—“We should look at getting you faster. But you need to take time away from marathon running.”

Most adult runners, no matter what level, see the marathon as the end all be all of running. There are numerous types of training plans for the newbie as well as the more advanced runner. Most training plans involve piling on mileage at a slower pace and adding in a tempo run or two to get faster. Most of the training is done at aerobic capacity. Some plans might go as far as to throw in some interval workouts, but most plans neglect speed.

Humans are geared more for endurance running. We aren’t the fastest animals on the planet.  Usain Bolt ran the 100-meter dash in 9.58 seconds. That’s 23.4 miles per hour.  Now that’s fast! BUT, compared to a house cat, he’s slow. The average house cat can move at a speed of 30 miles hour. Bolt’s fast, but he’s not fast as a cat.

Even a long-distance race like a marathon still requires speed (a reserve of speed), if you want to be good at it and qualify for certain races like Boston. For example; If you can’t run a 5K under 19 minutes, it’s almost impossible to run a marathon under 3 hours. BUT, just because you can run a 5K under 19 minutes, doesn’t mean you can run a marathon under 3 hours.

Some runners have a background of speed training. They may have trained in high school or college. Some have raced the shorter distance races for a long period of time and as adults they move up to longer distances.

The longer a runner goes without working speed, the more likely they are to become slower with age. Also, the runner who doesn’t have a speed background, the more likely they will become frustrated about not getting much better.

Just like my friend.

So, what happens if we take the traditional model of distance training—establishing the aerobic base first and then adding speed-and flip it upside down? In other words, we train for speed first and then endurance. What will happen if teach them to train at the right speed rather than the right distance?

I hear the pundits screaming you will get injured! It’s true this counters the traditional methods and beliefs. It’s not typical. Plateaus are formed when we don’t try something different. 

But what if we create a strength plan that makes the muscle more pliable and able to become more elastic at the same time? 

As for my friend—she decided to give it a try. She not only qualified for Boston but ran a 3:21 at Boston.

She got faster and more pliable (which will discuss in the next post).