Daz put it very well. The more you put in the more you get out (for racing anyway). But you also need to spend some of that time outside, and way outside your comfort zone.
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Daz put it very well. The more you put in the more you get out (for racing anyway). But you also need to spend some of that time outside, and way outside your comfort zone.
I've just relocated and am now doing more road running but it is something i haven't really trained properly for. I'm struggling to get my 5k times much below 20 mins. I feel like i'm training often and making zero progress. Does anyone have any advice for getting those pesky parkruns faster? I'm not sure whether to train more (i do about 35 miles per week, not bad with two young kids and working away) or less but focussed just on speed?
Without any insight into your training, I'd say the latter. Have you tried short bounding or striding?
Speed endurance is more important. I recon make more of your runs more intense, make the easy runs less intense than your current average run. Think of comfy low intensity runs as recovery for the hard sessions. The tougher the speed sessions you can handle, the lower your 5k times will become.
^^This!^^ I don't see the value of short sprints - eg, much below 400m reps to increase speed over 5K and above. Back when I used to train properly the key elements were short intervals, eg 12 x 400, 6 x 800, 3 x mile (eg, 3 miles worth of efforts + warm up / warm down), a tempo run of between 2 and 4 miles, again warm up for 2-3 miles then tempo then 2-3 miles cool off, and a long steady run on Sunday, typically 15ish miles at a steady pace. To put this into context, I was running 70ish miles a week with a couple of days running twice which I realise may not be achievable for some people due to time constraints. That said, I think the fundamental, short intervals, tempo, steady runs still holds true. If you can't have a chat to your training partners on a steady run - it ain't steady enough!Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Lucker
Perception of 'effort put in' it is something i dwell on a lot. When i could run a race properly i was a master at being in oxygen debt coming downhill, which gives you a different idea of what real pain is and reminds you how hard you can actually push it in other areas. Some of the interval sessions i used to do if i didn't bother with a race would cripple me now. Learning to turn it up to 11 is something i used to focus on a lot, the more you do it the easier it gets.
To a certain extent, this is what I'm struggling with just now. I've lost the ability to endure pain going uphill, I can hang on downhill and flat but any serious gradient and my legs go to pieces. I'm not exactly sure why this is but I'm having a fair battle to get back into shape.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
I agree with this. Occasionally I like to flog my guts out when training. I think it helps in terms of fitness. It also helps you know your limits better - when you're racing hard you can say to yourself "well it's not as bad as Tuesday's training session". I'm amazed that some very good runners don't go with this, and have heard "train, don't strain". I'm heartened by the fact that Kenny Stuart used to advocate very hard training, and he wasn't bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
I struggle with it too, but it's this knee problem that keeps me backing off all the time. I've always got an excuse not to push too hard; i let myself off given the state my knees are in, but worry i might be getting into bad habits.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Furness
I've noticed a lot of very good runners don't flog their guts out aswell, it's something i've spotted whenever i've been marshalling. Thing is they don't need to with aerobic and cardio systems like theirs. I think it's part of the tactical games they all play, they're all waiting for someone to kick and don't want to be the first to do so- a bit like watching an olympic 1500. One thing i admire about Ted Mason is that he very rarely plays this game; at Kilnsey a couple of years ago he passed Bailey on the last drop to the beck and i know he was is real pain, Bailey wasn't phased and just got him on the flat run in to the showground. He didn't need to battle Ted on deep and steep stuff because he knew exactly where he was going to get him if he needed to.Quote:
Originally Posted by noel
Do you do Fartleks? If you get your body into a routine it'll adapt to it, weight lifters always mix up sessions to avoid repetitiveness and seem to think it gives results. 35mpw is a lot for someone focusing on 5k times for what my twopenneth is worth. I'd lower your milage and focus more on tempo, fartlek and intervals; and try and find a way to make the time and distance parameters as random as possible, like pulling raffle tickets to decide what you'll be doing. I don't really have a training program being in a comeback routine, but if i did it would look something like that. I recently reversed one of my routes and found myself confused about how fast i should be going in certain areas; i was posed with different challenges but without adding milage and it had me thinking all over again about how best to play it to get the most out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Smith