Like the recipe of your favorite dish, your runcoach training plan combines many difference types of ingredients. Each of these ingredients are important, even as some of them come in large quantities and some are just a pinch of salt on top of a mound of flour in the bowl.
Your runcoach pace chart provides a wide array of paces for various types of workouts prescribed on your individualized schedule,. Your marathon, maintenance, 80% and half marathon paces are paces your body should be able to handle for long durations – paces at which your cardiovascular system can keep up with the oxygen demand of your muscles for extended periods of time. Even though you may not be out of breath during this type of running, your muscles are building more extensive and efficient pathways for oxygen and energy delivery. In addition, your mind is preparing for the lengthy race task ahead. If you are using a heart rate monitor, this running is done somewhere in the range of 65-85% of your maximum.
While some “Pace Runs” on your schedule might be prescribed at slower paces, “threshold” running is designed to challenge you at a comfortably hard level. This pace should be sustainable for a shorter period of time, say 20-25 minutes, but should not feel easy to continue much beyond that duration. It should also not feel hard after just a few minutes of running. This area of pacing helps to challenge your body to become more efficient with handling a steadily accumulating blood lactate level (something you will have to do in races shorter than a half marathon). Threshold workouts are ideally executed at about 88-92% of your maximum heart rate.
Crossing the “threshold” literally and figuratively, leads us to paces that can only be performed for shorter, more challenging periods of time. Balancing intervals or repetitions with just enough rest or active recovery allows an athletes to spend a significant cumulative period of time at a quick pace and high heart rate, conditioning the body and mind to operate effectively and efficiently at that level of demand, which is ideally in the mid to high 90s of maximum heart rate percentage. If one ran a series of 800m intervals at 4:00 with 90 seconds recovery, each successive interval would see the athlete’s heart rate shoot up more and more quickly within the 4:00, but ideally not so quickly that the athlete could not complete the interval at the prescribed pace. This effect may result in the first couple intervals of a workout feeling slightly easier than anticipated, tempting the athlete to run faster than the prescribed paces. While this may seem logical – to run harder initially and shoot the heart rate to the moon on the first interval – the workout is designed to create its effect by the end of the session. What may seem like a comfortable pace on the first interval turns out to be a misguided assessment as the athlete slows down precipitously at the end or requires way more rest than assigned.
Some athletes may wonder why an 800m or 1500m pace might even be assigned to them as they train for a half or full marathon. Although the bulk of an endurance race training schedule includes work preparing for the paces, energy efficiency, heart rate demand, and mental effort of the longer races, workouts prescribed with some quicker paces allow an athlete to work on running economy. Workouts or even strides on your schedule at 800m or 1500m pace provide a valuable opportunity for athletes to challenge the fundamentals of their running stride, to teach their legs to have a bit more range of motion in the stride, to strengthen their feet to push off the ground more effectively, quickly, and with strength. Although they may seem inconsequential in the larger picture, even small improvements in this area can result in large gains considering how many thousands of strides we take during the course of our general training.
While it is normal and natural to feel more at home with one type of workout over another, avoid the inclination to slough off the types of workouts that seem unfamiliar or not in your wheelhouse. Each of the paces prescribed in your schedule has a purpose. Commit to executing each workout with mindfulness and a sense of purpose. This is your best chance of turning out a race day “dish” you’ll remember for years.
At runcoach, we love celebrating the great race results that roll in after each weekend. Although sensible training and belief can ensure that many race days proceed well, occasionally an off day or an unexpected turn of events affects us all.
One of the best ways to recover from a tough race is to have a short memory. In every race, there are many things a runner can control: clothing choices, food choices, pacing choices, fueling choices, and more. Likewise, there are several factors that are beyond the control of the athlete: the weather that may prove those clothing choices to be wise, the digestive system that may repudiate those food choices, the topography or wind that may prove those pacing choices to be miscalculated and events like an unexpected bathroom need or unseasonably humid weather which may show the fueling choices to be inadequate. Because we really do not control quite as much on race day as we believe we do, it is unproductive to dwell on a disappointing result when it was significantly affected by one of these factors.
Certainly, we also know there are times when we weren’t quite as tough as we had envisioned, when the effort given seemed monumental at the time, but retrospect asks the question, “Was there more in the tank?” In these times just as well, we need to avoid miring ourselves in what could have been and focus on what we plan to do next time out.
Because running is a singular pursuit, requires such strong task commitment both over the long training cycle as well as during a race effort, and the sense of accomplishment is so great when done well, runners often have a hard time divorcing our overall confidence from one or two tough days out of many. But, we should. Difficult things by definition would be easy if everyone could do them, and running long distance is most definitely a difficult thing. Without minimizing the value of finishing a large goal or glamorizing the somewhat sanitized notion that the victory is only in attempting to begin, if you have trained well for a goal race, you have should have satisfaction for what you have learned about yourself along that journey. A race completed, but not as fast as expected, is a race where the spirit of perseverance yielded a finishing result, which on a better day would be the type of commitment that will indeed lead to a PR. If Murphy’s Law prevailed on a particular day, you have a great story and a lesson of resilience in the face of a gauntlet of unexpected difficulties.
Sometimes, the tough day has definite antecedents in choices we have made or training that trended less positively than we would have hoped leading in. This is where the running log enters into the conversation. When the dust is settled, an examination of any correctable factors is well in order, but always in the context of fact versus feelings. Beating oneself up over situations that can neither be redone nor controlled next time is not productive. Preparing to do battle with more training, a mellowed sense of humor, and a renewed sense of hope is crucial. Carrying the burdens of a previous tough race is a heavy load. If you are able to leave that load and focus on the opportunity ahead rather than the unrealized promise of a previous race, you have the opportunity for a much more positive experience. Running toward a goal is always more productive than running away from a fear. Daily, practice focusing on the run at hand, the potential of the present day, and the joy or challenge of the experience presently underway. Have a short memory, and in doing so, you’ll leave more room for new ones!
Think Sleep Doesn’t Matter? Think Again!
Runners tend to enjoy challenges. How else to explain things like 50 state marathoners and people running in the driving rain or the dark of night? Many times the daily challenge is how to fit everything into 24 hours, run included (definitely), and sleep included (maybe…some at least). Runners often rationalize the lack of sleep because it is the only way (often waking up early in the morning) that they can conquer this “24 hour challenge”. But, does it really matter if you sleep enough? You bet it does.
Dr. Michael Fredericson of Stanford University, long time team doctor for the track and cross country teams, as well as one of the most experienced medical researchers on running related injury patterns, maintains that when compared to time, money, and effort spent on things like vitamins, minerals, supplements “If you get a really good night’s sleep, it outweighs almost everything else.” To consider why, he encouraged a look at several recent explorations of the effects of sleep on performance for several important points.
Running for your health might not erase the health risks from lack of sleep.
Drs. Stephan Esser and Rick Feeney in their recent article “ZZZs for Speed” (Marathon and Beyond, March/April 2012), relate how studies show chronic sleep deprivation can increase the risk of high blood pressure, depression, certain cancers, and diabetes…just for starters. It also increases an appetite-stimulating hormone, which might challenge the efforts to use running for weight loss. Yikes!
Sleep has a demonstrable effect on your athletic performance.
We have all survived days or longer periods where we have been sleep impaired. College or high school finals might come to mind. However, if you are looking for a PR, extra sleep is more than a marginal concern. Cheri Mah of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic (along with famed sleep researcher William Dement), conducted a study on the Stanford Men’s Basketball team, where their performance on sprints, shooting accuracy and other measures were charted based on their levels of daily sleep. Those who slept more during the course of the study found significant improvements in their time on sprints and their accuracy on shooting improved as much as 9%. Imagine even just a 2-3%% improvement in athletic execution in your next goal race and a 4 hour marathoner gets to the finish line almost a half mile faster!
Don’t just take it from basketball players, though. Esser and Feeney also cite studies that have found a cyclist getting twice as much sleep during a 4800 kilometer event could make the top 10, while spending much less time in the saddle than the other nine. Another study found that one night without sleep caused an average of an 11% drop in time before exhaustion with a spread of 5-40% (in other words, some folks fell much further off than the average)!
Even if you can make it on less sleep, the running usually feels much harder.
Perceived exhaustion also spikes like crazy when sleep is elusive. Most busy people can attest to this – when the 2pm meeting feels interminable or the key workout just feels more like “5k pace” than the “80% pace” written on the training plan. David Martin’s oft cited study enforces that believe that even one night of reduced sleep not only decreases time to exhaustion, but time until perceived exhaustion. Other literature cited by Esser and Feeney indicates that mental fatigue can greatly hinder the drive needed from our brains to require our musculoskeletal system to continue moving. The limbs might still be able to keep moving with less sleep, but the brain is less inclined to require them to do so, and feel much less inclined more quickly.
Lack of sleep also results in the slowing of glucose metabolism, resulting in a lesser ability to draw needed sugars from the muscles during that next bout of exercise following the short night’s sleep. Most of us in this fatigued situation then turn to some simple sugars to help flood the system and get what we need right now, even if it is not helpful energy for the long term. You can guess where this leads in terms of diet…..
Sleep to recover from and prevent injuries….You can’t run if you can’t run
While your bones are constantly remodeling during the day, important amounts of this protective and ameliorative process take place during sleep. In one 2008 study cited by Esser and Feeney, bone resorption was increased by 170% when sleep was increased among army recruits under a consistently challenging physical demand. If stress fractures are a concern, sleep might be a particularly huge and important variable for you.
OK, OK, OK….I get it! Now what should I do?
Most people need 6-8 hours to function regularly and healthily. However, your individual needs may vary. If you are using remedies (coffee, sugary foods, 5 Hour Energy, Red Bull) to alleviate sleepiness on most days, then it probably is appropriate to track your typical patterns for several days. Seek to improve upon your amount of sleep if even temporary adjustments result in an improvement on performance or perceived level of exertion. Even if change is difficult to come by due to structural forces beyond your control, a healthy dose of mindfulness about nighttime habits might yield a more quality level of sleep during the shut-eye you do get.
Read Esser and Feeney’s entire article here.
Read a detailed summary about the Stanford Basketball Sleep Study here.
Will Running on Cement Injure Me?
Many runners run in urban settings for years, logging mile after mile on cement and other hard surfaces without any apparent problems. Other runners swear by the trail and believe it has prolonged a running career and mitigated many risks of injury. Still others do the exact same thing, and still fight injury after injury. Who is right?
Force = mass x acceleration
Conventional wisdom would indicate that the hard surfaces found in cement (your average city sidewalk), or asphalt (black top road surface) would increase the risk of injury for runners. After all, the body creates 2-3x its actual weight in force just during the heel off phase while walking. This increases to 5-8x body weight during running due to the increase speed and the fact you are (for some of us, very briefly!) completely airborne before each foot lands. Cement is about 10x harder than asphalt so it seems reasonable that cement would be an absolutely horrible surface on which to run.
If all your concerns related to problems that occurred due to force alone, then perhaps abstinence from cement would be a wise idea, and indeed, many runners opt for the street instead of the sidewalk, or go long ways out to find trails and grass surfaces. However, many of the injuries runners suffer have a more complicated genesis. Are your shoes appropriate for you? Does your foot strike the ground efficiently? Are you hips in alignment or do you have muscle imbalances and weaknesses that have left your joints and ligaments vulnerable to forces that your body has not been able to dissipate? All of these factors come into play, and have been much more easily researched as injury culprits than the surface itself.
What is good for the bones might be tough on the ligaments
Likewise, the even, but forgiving surface of a golf fairway (when rarely available) might provide a luxuriously feeling run, as does a well- manicured forest trail. But when does that desired effect dwindle when the trail become rocky and uneven, or muddy and slippery? When the grass is long and mushy, or the bark trail too soft, such that you sink perceptibly on each step, or the blacktop road so cambered that you are running on a slant instead of a flat sidewalk next to you, do you receive the same benefit?
While these surfaces might provide relief from the abrupt forces of cement, they often demand a great deal more from stabilizing muscles and ligaments and present their own challenges to your goal of staying injury-free. If tendonitis, muscle strains, or other soft tissue ailments are your kryptonite, you might risk more by continuing to run on these surfaces all the time and may benefit from a steadier ride on a hard surface.
Running is healthy for the spirit as well as the body
One of the reasons pavement and cement may get the blame for many maladies is the correlation with the environment where these surfaces are typically found. Not many runners would prefer the start and stop of a sidewalk interrupted every hundred yards with a stoplight, complete with honking, speeding cars and loud noises, crowds, and the like. The peaceful environment of a trail deep in the forest, around a lush and green grass field, or along the ridge of a slowly descending dirt path sounds much more reparative to the soul. Studies show that the body is best prepared to run hard late in the afternoon, or early in the evening. Potentially a study might show that those who run along peaceful dirt paths can extend their running careers later into middle age and beyond. But just as not everyone has the luxury to knock off work or family obligations for a 60 minute run in the hills at 4pm, not everyone can get to an idyllic nature setting for their daily run, whenever it occurs. For them, running along a busy street or the best bike path available most definitely is better than not running at all, and that may mean running on cement or non-ideal surfaces.
Look at the whole picture
Rather than automatically assume the risk of the surface one way or the other, a more thoughtful approach is in order. Consider your problem areas, where injury trouble tends to start or flourish, and then work through each of the other variables: shoes, foot striking pattern, known muscle weaknesses or misalignment issues, sleep, stress, nutrition, hydration, etc. It may be that a change to soft surfaces may be in order, but the investigation may uncover other areas where change may eliminate the risk or problem, even if the ground under your feet remains the same.
One of the most important, but often overlooked, components of training for a goal race is the taper. The hard work has been accomplished and all that remains is to rest and sharpen up. Confidently easing off the gas pedal and arriving prepared, yet rested at the starting line is a crucial component to racing success. Here are a few things to consider when race day is in sight, but still a couple weeks away.
You don’t have to push hard all the way up to race day in order to preserve your hard-earned fitness. 
Just as it is important to heed the scheduled call for recovery days in your regular training, the last 2-3 weeks of a half or full marathon training cycle is a singular opportunity to allow your body to be as rested as possible before going to the well on the big day. While there have likely been times where you have had to push yourself to finish the last few miles of a long run or get out of bed when a hard session is on the schedule, enjoy the reduction of miles over these last couple weeks. Remind yourself that you have the physical ability to go farther and the mental confidence from those workouts that will carry you through on race day.
The last few weeks are a great opportunity to focus on healthy living as you prep for your race.
If it is difficult to keep your sleep habits as intended for months at a time. This is an opportunity to get maximum impact from a few weeks of slightly increased sleep. Likewise, you can make a difference with a few weeks of healthier eating habits.
Many of us have too many obligations and commitments to live a daily life with the healthy habits we’d hope for, but ideally we can all get on board for a few weeks for the final push to race day. Maximize the rest you are getting from shorter workouts with an extra half hour of sleep per night and increased hydration with healthy food choices. This allows arrival on race day without the need to cram hydration and nutrition concerns into a short 1-2 day period.
Keep your body in the training rhythm to which you are accustomed.
Tapering doesn’t mean change everything. What it does allow you to do is keep your body and mind focused while requiring less strain and allowing for more recovery. Your training schedule will follow a similar pattern with slightly easier tasks. Continue to take your workouts as seriously and resist the urge to over schedule your life now that you may have a bit more time to play with than in the last few months. For example, continue to allow time for the stretching you were so diligent about when the workouts were really tough, instead of dashing off to another engagement now that the workout wasn’t as taxing.
As your body will require less fueling to accomplish these workouts, the temptation may be to continue eating as though your long runs are still at maximum length. Consider your current fuel needs and adjust accordingly to allow yourself to maintain the spring in your step you are trying to gain by backing off the volume.
Use the taper to make final race day plans
The taper is a great time to break in the fresh pair of shoes you plan to use on race day. This will allow you to make sure you are past any risk of blisters or other problems, but won’t put that much wear on the shoes before you need them to really go to work. Similarly, consider your race day attire, pre-race food consumption, and mid race fueling. While your workouts are a bit easier, you can experiment a bit more to ensure every aspect of race weekend is practiced and proven.
Don’t worry if you feel “flat” during your taper
Feeling a bit sluggish even while you are doing easier workouts can be a function of many things, but is quite common with recreational or pro runners alike. If you continue the good habits already implemented, you can expect to feel the results of that work ~ 25% into race day (be careful not to take off and drop the pace drastically when this rush hits). Yes, your body is used to a different level of activity and that may leave you feeling a bit off. This is why it is important to maintain a similar training rhythm so you maintain familiarity and consistency. Once the gun goes off, your months of training won’t betray you!
Updated by Cally Macumber
