This article was provided my McMillan Running, a recommended resource for running coaches and runners.

By Greg McMillan

TWEAK TRAINING FOR BETTER RESULTS SIMPLY BY KNOWING YOUR RUNNER TYPE

Runners can usually be divided into three general types — Speedsters, Endurance Monsters and Combo Runners – based on how they respond to training and racing. Think about your training and racing history and see which description sounds most like you.

Speedsters

The Speedster dominates his peers in any workout where the repeats are short and fast (15-minute race pace or faster which for many competitive runners is 2-mile to 5K race pace). Speed workouts and short races get the Speedster excited and leave him fatigued but not exhausted. Long runs, tempo runs, marathon training and longer races, however, take more out of the Speedster than a day of hard repetitions on the track. When comparing race results with his peers, the Speedster is often frustrated that he can perform so well at short races but as the distance increases, he gets left behind. I also find that the Speedster was usually an athlete who could sprint fast (like running to first base in baseball/softball), jump high (like in basketball or volleyball and/or was really good at dynamic activities like jumping rope.

Endurance Monsters

For the Endurance Monster, long runs, marathon training, tempo runs and any workout at long distance race paces are a breeze and usually invigorating. The more miles per week the better is a common mantra for the Endurance Monster and she finds that she can almost double her 5K personal record (PR) in a 10K and nearly double her half-marathon PR in her marathon. The Endurance Monster, however, finds it very difficult to get her legs to go fast. Short, fast training like speed workouts leave the Endurance Monster feeling deflated. Short races like 5Ks also leave her exhausted and sore. When younger, the Endurance Monster gravitated to events that were more about steady effort (think cycling, swimming or other “endurance” sports) rather than short, fast burst.

Combo Runners

The Combo Runner is the most common type of runner. He performs fairly well in all types of workout – short/fast and long/slow. The Combo Runner also performs equally well in races of 5K to the marathon, placing nearly the same compared to his peers in each distance. No runner is perfectly balanced, however, so even Combo Runners may find some subtle tendencies toward one type of workout or race. So you may be a Combo-Speedster or you may be a Combo-Endurance Monster. I find that 90% of runners are Combo Runners and if you are unsure of your type, start with Combo Runner training plans and as we learn more about your, it will become clear where your tendencies are.

What’s Your Type?

So, which one are you? By knowing whether you tend to be more of an Endurance Monster, a Speedster or a mix of both, you get an idea of your strengths and weaknesses as a runner. This is valuable because it does you no good to train like a Speedster if you’re an Endurance Monster, even if you’re getting ready for a speed-oriented event like a 5K. I’ll say it again: It does you no good to train like one type of runner if you are the complete opposite type.

What we need to do is set up your training to match your type. This doesn’t mean you won’t do some training in your weaker area, but it does mean that any workout that isn’t your strength needs special consideration in your training plan. Why? Because that workout will likely be a tougher workout than it may appear when just looking at it on the training plan. You will need to be mentally ready to challenge yourself even though your training partner may fly through the workout with no apparent effort or concern.

What you’ll learn as you use the McMillan training system is that we have to carefully mix training that is your strength, with training that is your weakness, to bring you to peak fitness as your goal race or racing season nears. I cannot emphasize enough that it’s the subtle manipulation of training plans that can take your fitness to an entirely new level, and knowing your type is vitally important for you.

This article is courtesy of McMillan Running, a recommended resource for distance coaches and runners.

By Greg McMillan, M.S.

A LAYPERSON’S TEST OF AEROBIC DEVELOPMENT

Most competitive runners include a base phase once or twice each year. The purpose of the base or maintenance phase is to further develop the aerobic system and to prepare the body and the mind for future training phases that will become increasingly more race-specific as the goal race or season of races nears.

In the base phase, the focus is less on the intensity and more on the volume of training. A common guideline is to increase weekly mileage by 10 to 20 percent above “average” mileage level. Intensity is necessarily reduced to keep the stress/rest cycle in balance, and to let the race-specific energy systems recover from the previous season. Physiologically, the extra training volume adds components to the muscular system that help deliver oxygen to the working muscles–a critical aspect of racing faster. First, with a few weeks of adding volume and reduced intensity, the body builds more capillary beds around the working muscles. Think of capillaries as pipes that deliver oxygen to the working muscles. Adding more pipes to deliver more oxygen-rich blood allows the muscles to perform better. Second, within the muscle cells, mitochondria are the structures that produce the aerobic energy that powers muscle contractions.

Base training helps build more of these power plants, and it also builds them bigger and puts them closer to the end of the cells to better pull oxygen from the blood, resulting in the ability to create more energy. Third, within these mitochondrial power plants, base training stimulates the body to build more of the enzymes that aid in aerobic energy production. Finally, base training increases the durability of the musculoskeletal system–muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones become more resistant to injury.

Some coaches consider only race-specific training valuable, and pooh-pooh the idea of a base phase. But the fact is that adding more capacity to deliver oxygen to working muscles and adding more capacity within the muscles to produce aerobic energy is necessary for ultimate success as a distance runner.

So, I’m a firm believer in the base phase, though it may vary from runner to runner. I also like to know the training I’m prescribing is working. Enter the Marker Workout.

THE MARKER WORKOUT

While you could go to a lab and have your aerobic system tested (usually via a VO₂ max test), I use a Marker Workout once every four to six weeks as a layperson’s way to test aerobic development.

To test your aerobic capacity, run a workout that includes five or six repetitions, with each lasting 5 to 6 minutes. This corresponds to repetitions of 1200 meters to 1 mile for most competitive runners. The recovery is just over half the duration of the repeat (e.g., 2.5 to 3 minutes). In theory, these repeats should all be run at 8-15 minute race pace (3K to 5K race effort for speedy runners).

5-6 x 5-6 minute repeats at ~5K race effort with 2.5-3 minutes recovery jog between

But runners in a base phase usually aren’t as tuned in to pace as they are in a race-specific phase, so I suggest running these repeats by effort. Start at what feels like 5K effort and try to get slightly faster with each subsequent repeat. If you can’t run the last two faster than the first two, then you started the workout too fast. If you can run more than 15 seconds per mile faster on the last one than you ran on the first one, then you started too easy. The goal is to progress the pace across the workout but to also make sure you get the most out of yourself by running strong for all five or six repeats.

This workout is tough, and it’s meant to be. The goal is to see what your aerobic capacity is and then to compare it to a future Marker Workout. Effort is your guide, but record the times of each repeat; you should see your performance in the next Marker Workout, four to six weeks down the road, improve.

With the pro athletes I coach, we include a base phase before we get into race-specific training . During this base phase, I’ll prescribe this Marker Workout every 4 weeks or so. It provides me with information on how the athletes are developing their aerobic systems (and helps me to see just how much each individual athlete is “aerobically blessed”). It also provides the athletes with an objective indicator that their fitness is improving. Every runner enjoys improving in workouts, and this base phase Marker Workout provides just that.

COACH’S NOTES

This workout is a favorite from one of my most important coaching influences, Dr. Joe Vigil. He uses it frequently with his runners. It’s a workout my athletes get excited and nervous about. They bring their “A” game to practice, and I think inserting this workout from time to time during the base phase helps the athletes stay in touch with the race mentality that’s so vital to peak performance. So, even during all the relaxed running during the base phase, the workout keeps the athletes connected with their competitive juices, which helps them in their transition out of the base phase and into the more intense training phases.

Read more of our “Best of” Workouts.

This article is courtesy of McMillan Running, a recommended resource for distance coaches and runners.

By Greg McMillan, M.S.

Over the last few years, I think I’ve finally figured this peaking thing out. It took a while because, like many coaches, I fell into the standard “tapering” model we’ve all been taught. Problem was, tapering didn’t work consistently. The results were just as hit-or-miss as not tapering at all.

So, I threw “tapering” out of my vocabulary. I replaced it with “peaking.” Semantics? Maybe. But by studying peak performance research — both physiological as well as psychological — as opposed to just the tapering research, I’ve been able to dial in how to truly peak on race day. It works for all athletes no matter where you find yourself in the pack come race day.

Here are my secrets for your peaking phase — the last 14 days before your race:

1. Secret: Don’t change your weekly running routine

Our bodies and minds like routine. If you run four days per week, then run four days per week during your peaking phase. If you run six, then run six. You’ll feel flat if you suddenly run less frequently than normal. Exception: Runners who are nursing a sore muscle or niggling injury may take an extra day off each week during the peaking phase. But, don’t take it the day before the last long run or the race if you don’t normally rest the day before your long runs. This risks feeling flat on race morning.

2. Secret: Reduce weekly training volume, but not too much

Over the last 10-14 days before your race, you should progressively reduce the volume of your running. Two weeks out from the race, I like to reduce the daily volume by 10-20 minutes or so. The week of the race, reduce approximately 20-30 minutes. This, along with the normal reduction in your long run length as the race nears, will drop your overall running volume in line with what we know from research (and, more importantly, from practical experience) to the level that allows the body to get prepared for a peak performance. Don’t make the common mistake of dropping your volume too much. This takes your body out of its routine and can leave you stale on race day. My opinion is that more runners fail because of tapering too much rather than not enough.

3. Secret: Keep the engine revved

While we may want to reduce the volume of running, we do not want to reduce the intensity of our workouts. In fact, we may want the intensity to increase. You want to keep your engine revved, the pumps primed. Never race your workouts, but during the peaking phase, don’t back off in them either. I’ve found that some fast running in the peaking phase helps bring the body and the mind to tiptop condition on race day.

4. Secret: Plan your strategy and stick with it

Most distance runners have the same race strategy — start conservative, build into race pace, run as efficiently as possible and get as deep in the race as possible before you have to pull out your superman or superwoman powers to get you to the finish line. Yours may vary, depending on your strength and preferences. No matter what your strategy, however, stick with it. For most runners, their pre-race strategy is the best strategy. Be open to change if the conditions change, but for the most part, you know what you need to do so, just get out of your own way and let the race unfold as planned.

5. Secret: Reflect on training to build confidence

I like athletes to reflect on training in two ways. First, think back on a particularly tough workout, something where you didn’t feel great but you gutted it out. You were tough. This shows that you can do it. You are tough. You can handle the ups and downs of running and get to the finish line. After this retrospection, think back to your best workouts or races. Really re-live them in your mind. Bolster your confidence knowing that you are fit, fast and ready. Bring on the race! Get excited to go out there and perform like you know you can! Your training successes should build your confidence.

6. Secret: Have fun and smile

Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t going for an Olympic gold medal here. We are simply enjoying the challenge of doing our best. There is no real pressure, so quit putting so much on yourself. We run for fun, and you should remember that. Have fun! I encourage runners to smile a lot in the final days before a race. Smiling puts you in a better mood, and that can play a big role on race day.

It’s only through having a positive, happy mindset focused on doing your best, combined with a well-trained body that is rested but revved, fueled and hydrated that helps you race at your best.

 

This article is courtesy of McMillan Running, a recommended resource for distance coaches and runners.

By Greg McMillan, M.S.

A KINDER, GENTLER TRANSITION TO EARLY SUMMER SPEED WORK

In 2004, I helped a very talented runner build a solid aerobic base for the U.S. Olympic trials marathon, only to fail her during the race preparation phase of her training. I didn’t take into account her drive and tenacity, and when I put her on the track, she simply ran herself into the ground. Sound familiar?

As a competitive runner, you have a certain determination, a certain resolve that helps you accomplish high goals. Intellectually, you know you shouldn’t compare early season workout times to your peak season track times from previous years. Emotionally, however, you can’t help it as you drive yourself based on numbers on the watch and the times in your log book. My runner did just that and ended up limping through the trials marathon. The biggest lesson learned? Fartlek runs should be your best friend before the weather warms and races spring up like daisies.

FARTLEK FIRST, TRACK SECOND

This article is courtesy of McMillan Running, a recommended resource for distance coaches and runners.

By Greg McMillan, M.S.

I’m going to be honest. Tempo runs and I don’t get along. I always struggle with them and, while I know they’re good for me, I dread them.

I’m more of a speedster-type runner so I naturally gravitate toward intense, track-type workouts. Tempo runs (continuous runs at lactate threshold, near your one-hour race pace) are a weird effort for me. They’re fast but not too fast, and I find it difficult to ride this line between easy and hard. Other speedsters have told me they often struggle more with tempo runs than their endurance-monster friends, so I know I’m not alone.

It’s one thing to simply not like a workout, but it’s worse when you can’t execute one correctly, and that’s what happens with me during tempo runs. I just can’t seem to hold myself back enough, and I start pushing the pace in the second mile or so. This tendency to start going too fast (and believe me, I’ve worked on correcting this error) causes me to have to cut my tempo runs short, more often than not. The result is that I’m not getting in the volume at my lactate threshold that I want and desperately need.

But I’ve found a way to work around this, using a workout called “Minutes” that I learned from Gabriele Rosa, who coached the best marathoners of the 1990s and early 2000s. It’s similar to what Jack Daniels, elite coach and author of Daniels’ Running Formula, calls cruise intervals — where the runner breaks a tempo run into smaller chunks — but it’s even more extreme for runners like me who tend to run too fast at tempo pace.

TRICK THE TEMPO

In this workout, alternate running 1 minute at tempo run pace with 1 minute at easy run pace, for a total of 20 to 60 minutes. I typically start with 10 times 1 minute on, 1 minute off at the start of my stamina training phase and build to 25 to 30 times.

With this workout, I never get to the point where I start pushing too fast, because the minute is over quickly. This allows me to overcome the problem of turning the run into more of a race. But I’ve noticed over time (and this is what Rosa taught) that my “slow” minute gradually gets faster so that by the end of my tempo run phase, there really is little difference between my “on” and “off” minutes. In the end, I stay in my stamina training zone for more of the workout and am able to get in more training at my lactate threshold than I would if I just ran a tempo run.

Is a Minutes workout better than a tempo run? Probably not, but it’s better than constantly failing to execute my tempo runs. The best thing is, after leaning heavily on Minutes workouts in my stamina phase, by the end of this four-to eight-week period I can actually finish a proper tempo run. I just need a bit more lead-up than my endurance-oriented training partners.

COACH’S NOTES

1. When you run a Minutes workout, it’s important to remember that the “off” minute isn’t a slow jog but is run at your normal easy run pace. If you run too slowly on the “off” minute, you’ll end up running too fast on the “on” minute and change the session from a stamina workout to a speed workout. Over time, you’ll notice the pace stays pretty fast throughout with less variation between “on” and “off” minutes. That’s when you know you have it dialed in.
2. Always do a large volume of Minutes in order to keep the pace under control. I may start with 10 times 1 minute, but I must soon increase to 20-30 times 1 minute; otherwise, I’ll get carried away. Big volumes of Minutes are the only way to keep speedsters from going too fast.
3. Use Minutes as a great first workout in a training plan. It helps you regain your sense of effort and pace and gives you a quick boost of fitness without the worry of hitting splits.
4. One of the best things about a Minutes workout is that you can do it anywhere, anytime, as a fun, effective session. No marked course (or GPS watch)? No problem. Just do a Minutes workout. Pressed for time? Lace them up and start doing Minutes.

SAMPLE “MINUTES” PROGRESSION

(Run one workout every seven-14 days during your stamina phase)

Start with your usual warm-up

10 × 1 minute on / 1 minute off
15 × 1 minute on / 1 minute off
20 × 1 minute on / 1 minute off
25 × 1 minute on / 1 minute off
30 × 1 minute on / 1 minute off

End with your usual cool-down

WARNING: Don’t run too fast when “on” or too slow when “off.” Keep the “on” pace in your stamina zone, not your speed zone.

If you’re a speedster like me, I hope Minutes will help you boost your lactate threshold and become better at tempo runs. If you’re more of an endurance monster, I hope Minutes can add some fun to your stamina training phase.

Read more of our “Best of” Workouts.