Training

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I find myself repeatedly talking about the importance of running your easy days slow enough. There’s a two part reason for that.

1) It really is that important.

2) Most runners don’t run slow enough on their easy days.

Why is it really that important? Let’s think about building your running fitness like building an engine. You want both a big engine that can produce a lot of power (aerobic capacity) and one that is fine tuned so it performs at its best (fine tuning for speed).

You build your running engine by running a lot. To an extent, the more running, the better. How do you run more? By slowing down so you don’t break down. The cool thing is that the aerobic engine is built just as well at slower paces as it is at faster paces. Time matters more than intensity.

Next, you fine tune the engine for speed on the hard days. Faster/higher volume at speed is better. Any guess how you maximize the speed and volume of those hard days? That’s right, by going slower on your easy days so you can recover more completely.

So what does this add up to? Building and fine tuning that engine requires making sure you’re not running too hard on your easy days.

Photo credit: Training by Running Across Borders, on Flickr

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Summer is here! School is out, family vacations are planned, and the summer racing season is firing up!

The summer racing season is a fun time. All runners, from high schoolers to masters, come together at the same races. We’re all out of season as the younger runners are thinking of the upcoming cross country season and the older runners are planning out their fall marathons or other fall plans. However, we’re all together giving it all we have in the summer.

I love that aspect! One of the drawbacks of the spring and fall road racing season is that you see very few runners younger than about 22 at these events. Not that there is any problem with older runners. I am one of them after all but I for one enjoy seeing those younger runners out there.

This is a fun time of the year but it can also be challenging. The heat and humidity that comes with the summer racing season can take its toll on us. So how do we prepare for this?

Step 1: Training

In training, embrace the heat. Don’t shy away from it. If it’s hot on race day, you don’t get to hit the treadmill to run the race. While sometimes it might make sense to do so in training, if you do this all the time, you’re not going to be prepared for the heat. Generally, it’s going to be best to get out there and face and even embrace the heat. There are physiological changes that will help you handle the heat and the psychological benefit of knowing you’ve faced that in training can’t be overlooked.

Throughout the summer, as you should ideally be doing all year, make sure you’re staying well hydrated. Hydration isn’t something you can do part time. To be properly hydrated, you need to be consistent. That means throughout the day, every day. Develop the habit.

Step 2: Pre-race

Even before race day starts, you need to ensure your hydration is where it should be. Again, this isn’t something you can just do a crash course for. You can’t properly hydrate starting a few hours or even a day before a race. It’s a long term thing.

On race day, you may want to rethink your warmup. Especially if the race is longer, ask yourself whether you really need to spend as much time warming up as you do when it’s cooler. In some cases, the answer may be yes. In others, you may come to the conclusion that it’s better to not extend yourself in the heat before the race even starts.

Step 3: Race

In my opinion, the most important thing to keep in mind during the race is that you will be slower. Accept and embrace it. This is where running by effort, which I’m a big fan of, comes into play. If you are running by effort, your pace will automatically adjust to the conditions. If you insist on checking your splits, I can’t tell you how much to adjust because we all handle the heat differently. However, make sure you do adjust. If you don’t, you will pay the price later and, in the heat, it can be a hefty price to pay.

Don’t be shy about grabbing some water at aid stations. Even in short races, I do this when it’s warm but I don’t drink the water. I pour it over my head. I’m sure you’ve seen runners doing this when racing in the heat. It feels good. Some research also says it is beneficial, potentially more beneficial in cooling than drinking it (and, if you’re running fast, you don’t have to worry about actually getting it down or choking on it). Also, if sprinklers are out, use them. The same for shade. It may even be beneficial to run a little farther to get shade rather than running a shorter path but in the sun if those are your choices.

Step 4: Reap the benefits

So what does all of this get you? Well, beyond the thrill of competition, there are actually benefits to running in the heat. You’ll be a faster runner when fall comes around (and not just because you kept your training up).

So get out there and race this summer! Just make sure you’re well prepared and you have a race day plan.

Photo credit: Castlepollard 5KM 2014 -The race start by Peter Mooney, on Flickr

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Where are the training plans on HillRunner.com?

I get asked this frequently. My answer? I hate pre-canned training plans and will never place one on HillRunner.com.

Ok, hate is a strong word. Maybe I don’t “hate” them. I just strongly dislike them. Never is a long time. I guess I can’t completely rule out the possibility. But don’t count on it.

Why do I so strongly dislike pre-canned plans? Because those plans assume everyone will benefit from the same things. In short, they assume we’re cookie cutter people. We’re not.

So what do I like better? I like building around a core set of principles, then adjusting to the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of the individual runner.

What does this mean in practice?

Start with core principles. If you’re going to run a marathon, you need some good long runs. For any distance race, you need a base of aerobic conditioning. You need some running at or very near race pace. You need to run faster than race pace at times. You need to run slower than race pace at times.

Don’t tie yourself to any one philosophy. Lydiard had very good ideas. Igloi had very good ideas. Coe had very good ideas. Daniels has very good ideas. The Hanson brothers have very good ideas. I could go on and on. All of these people and many others did things a little differently but they all had very good ideas and applied them in very thoughtful ways. Also, if you get to know how they worked with runners, they adjusted their core ideas to fit the needs of the runners.

Adjust according to your individual needs. Personally, I respond very well to long runs and tempo runs. I need some shorter interval work to run my best but too much burns me out. So I do a lot of long and tempo runs and use intervals sparingly. Others are just the opposite and may need a more steady dose of intervals with fewer long and tempo runs. Some people need a big base of weekly mileage to run well, others are at their best with lower volume. The key is to figure out what the best balance of variables is for you. That does mean some trial and error is necessary. Some mistakes will be made. Learn from them, improve, and move on.

In the end, there are no plans on HillRunner.com because there is no plan I can write that will be the best possible for everyone reading it. Instead, my goal is to give you the tools you need to come up with your own plan.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Recently, I wrote about running practice races. This is incredibly important for many reasons. One of the reasons: taking chances.

Wait, what? Aren’t we supposed to be practicing how to do things the right way? Aren’t we supposed to be practicing what we want to do at our goal race? I don’t want to take chances and risk all my hard work!

You’re right. We do want to do those things with practice races. Sometimes, though, we want to try something new. Is there a better way? Am I really capable of more than I’m giving myself credit for? Sometimes, the only way to know is to roll the dice and find out in a race and it’s better to do so in a practice race than a goal race, just in case things don’t work out.

Of course, this is easier to do in a 5K than in a marathon. If you, for example, start a little faster than you are capable of in a 5K, you’ll crash in the last mile and have a rough 1/2 mile or so. If you start a little faster than you are capable of in a marathon, you might have a rough 10K. So you do have to pick and choose your times to take chances but you should give yourself the opportunity at times at least to challenge yourself, take chances, and see what happens.

You might just learn that there is a better way you can then take advantage of in your goal race.

Photo credit: _D102406-elite women runners by Jim Plumb, on Flickr

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

We all have hard and easy days in our training plans, right? We all have workout days, long run days, and those other days we just call easy days. Some call them junk miles but they are anything but junk miles. We know they aid our recovery from those hard days while helping to build the aerobic fitness that we all know is so important for racing any distance from the mile up.

But do you include at least an occasional max recovery day? You should, especially if you’re an every day runner.

What is a max recovery day? It’s something I like to do at least once a week as an every day runner myself. It’s essentially a day when you take it even more easy than a normal easy day. You can plan these days but I think they work even better when you just start running, feel low on energy or find yourself with heavy legs, and decide to keep the pace extra easy because you need the recovery.

So how do you do a max recovery day? First, I like to cut the distance of the run a bit. Not because I’m looking to spend less time running but because I want to go slower without spending more time on my feet. Personally, I usually aim for about an hour running on most days. For me right now, that’s usually about 8 miles. On a max recovery day, I’ll say I’m going 7 miles and still expect to be around an hour. Then you just run slow.

By running even slower than usual, you get a little extra recovery while sacrificing very little in regards to aerobic development. Most important, that little extra recovery will leave you feeling fresh and recharged for your next hard day.

So next time you’re dragging more than usual, consider trying a max recovery day. You’ll be surprised how much of a difference slowing one run down can make in leaving you feeling fresh, recharged, and ready to go the next day.