Our Training:
For athletes like ours, who are just out of college and are focused on the 2009 US Track Championships next summer, our goal this fall is to give them the proper base that they couldn't fully develop in college due to racing obligations. We are taking the time to provide them a full three to six months of base training to maximally develop their aerobic system. As Joe Vigil pointed out in a presentation last year, our athletes must 'catch up' aerobically to the rest of the world and these athletes must put in the mileage over the next two years to set them up for our push to the 2012 Olympics.
Our base training comes directly from Arthur Lydiard and is tailored to each individual athlete. Our first task is to build the athlete to the following volume (which comes directly from Arthur's book; Running to the Top):
Monday: 60 minutes
Tuesday: 90 minutes
Wednesday: 60 minutes
Thursday: 90 minutes
Friday: 60-75 minutes
Saturday: 60-70 minutes
Sunday: 120 minutes
Depending on their previous training volumes in college, this may take three weeks or it may take three months. We have a long-term focus so whatever it takes, it takes. We just gradually build them up to this level. From a mileage standpoint, this amount of running works out to in the mid-80s for these runners. We then add 'doubles' to build them to their goal mileage which gradually but progressively moves them to 90-110 miles per week.
Given that most of them only ran long runs of 90 minutes in college, we are careful and gradual in our build-up to doing three runs per week over 90 minutes. Once we reach this level of running, we will maintain this for three to six months to maximize their base.
During the base phase, we perform two "workouts" though I shy away from calling them workouts as they are not intense. The first one is a leg speed workout. Year-round, it is important for distance runners to work on leg speed. Leg speed workouts are NOT heavy breathing workouts. They are neuromuscular workouts to make sure the brain and muscles remember how to turn the legs over quickly. Since we don't want to breath heavy (indicating a large build up of lactic acid - a big no-no while in the base phase), these workouts include repeats lasting less than 30 seconds. We often go to the track for this workout as most of the athletes in the base phase are preparing for spring track. We don't time the repeats but simply work on a fast leg turnover and good technique. A good example might be 10 x 150m striding the first 50m, running quickly the second 50m then at 90% of top speed for the final 50m. The recovery jog is the 250m remaining to make a full lap of the track. Technique is more important then speed and we focus on running quickly but very relaxed. The athletes enjoy this workout because it is a departure from the base miles yet doesn't fatigue them since they are running two 90-minute runs and a two-hour long run each week. This workout is usually performed on Wednesday.
The cornerstone of the base phase is the long run. For us, that means building up to 2+ hours of continuous running. Again, this is pure Lydiard. Arthur learned that there was something that happened to the runner when he or she routinely logged 2+ hour long runs. Science has teased out some of the physiological benefits but I still think there are changes that take place that we don't understand but that the runner feels. These changes may also be part of the incredible psychological benefit that runners who do regular long runs feel and to be honest, I don't care what the scientific reasons are. Regular long runs work and so we do them every week.
Doing them correctly of course is the trick. The long, steady run as is performed in a proper base phase should be at an easy effort. What pace is this...? Who knows and who cares? What HR is it...? Who knows and who cares? What lactate level...? Who knows and who cares? The most important variable to monitor in a long run is effort. If the effort is easy and the long run doesn't take too much out of you then you are doing it correctly. Remember, we are trying to build capillary beds (the small blood vessels in the muscles where the oxygen from the blood is transferred into the muscles). Long, easy running is the best for building these capillary beds - particularly at altitude. Running too hard on long runs is one of the most common mistakes competitive runners make. They think faster is better but this is not necessarily true. Why? Because of injury and peaking too soon. Injuries which often start when running too fast on fatigued legs interrupt your week in and week out long run. This disrupts adaptation and cuts short your progress. The small extra stimulus (physically and probably more mentally) from a hard long run is far outweighed by injury risk. In my opinion, it is much more important to stack 10 long runs together that are a bit slower than it is to push too hard and risk injury. As a result, our long runs are at an easy pace and every runner knows if he or she is running easy or not. Our internal coach lets us know. Unfortunately, many competitive runners are quite adept at ignoring their internal coach. Let's learn from their mistakes and perform long steady runs at an easy pace.
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Greg McMillan, M.S.
McMillan Running Company, Inc.
7104 W. Suzette Lane
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
USA
Personal Online Coaching:
www.mcmillanrunning.com/oc.htm
Custom Training Programs:
www.mcmillanrunning.com/ctp.htm