Top Seven Lessons For
Coaching Runners
Coach Jason Karp gives some solid science-based advice for
training middle and long distance runners.
When I was in high school, my
electronics teacher had a silly, fortune cookie-type saying to remind
his students of hov^ to handle electrical wires: "One hand in pockey, no
get shockey," Like touching wires
with both hands, there's a wrong
way to do almost everything. For
example, going down a park slide
head first, throwing a paper airplane
at your high school teacher, and not
buying your twin brother a birthday
present (claiming you forgot his
birthday), could all be considered
errors in judgment. (Okay, so I don't
always make the best decisions,)
As a physiologist and coach, I
see runners doing the wrong things
much too often. Although imperfect
training and racing won't have as
severe a consequence for your athletes as electrocuting themselves,
not training and racing correctly will
prevent them from meeting their
potential. In honor of my electronics teacher, here are my top seven
lessons for coaching runners.
1. HAVE YOUR
ATHLETES RUN FOR
GOLD BY TRAINING
THE LACTATE
THRESHOLD
From the time of the classic
study by Farrell, et al. (1979), research has shown that the lactate
threshold (LT) is the best physiological predictor of distance running
performance. The LT is an important
physiological variable that demarcates the transition between running
that is almost purely aerobic and
running that includes significant
oxygen-independent (anaerobic)
metabolism. It represents the fastest
speed your athletes can sustain aerobically. (All running speeds have an
anaerobic contribution, although
at speeds slower than the LT, that
contribution is negligible.) LT runs
raise LT to a faster speed, allowing
your athletes to run faster before
they fatigue because they can run
faster before anaerobic metabolism
begins to play a significant role.
The longer the race, the more
important LT training becomes.
For recreational runners, LT pace
is approximately 10 to 15 seconds
per mile slower than 5K race pace
(about 80 to 85% maximum heart
rate). For those more highly trained,
it's about 25 to 30 seconds per mile
slower than 5K race pace (about 90%
maximum heart rate).
Subjectively, these workouts
should feel "comfortably hard."
Examples of workouts are: 1) LT
Run: 2 to 4 miles (or 10-20 minutes)
at LT pace; 2) LT Cruise Intervals: 4
X 1 mile (or 5-7 minutes) at LT pace
with 1 minute rest; 3) LT+ Cruise
Intervals: 2 sets of 3 x 1,000 meters
(or 3-4 minutes) at 5 to 10 seconds
per mile faster than LT pace with
45 seconds rest and two minutes
rest between sets; and 4) LT/Long
Slow Distance (LSD) Combo: 12 to
16 miles with last 2 to 4 miles at LT
By Dr. Jason R. Karp, Ph.D.
TRACK COACH — 6121
pace or 2 miles easy + 3 miles at LT
pace + 6 miles easy + 3 miles at LT
pace (for advanced marathoners).
2. TO PREVENT YOUR
ATHLETES' FITNESS
LEVELS FROM
WANING, RAMP UP
THE INTENSITY WITH
VO2MAX TRAINING
The maximum volume of oxygen your muscles can consume per
minute, VO2max is the second major
player of running performance.
While increasing your athletes'
weekly running mileage will increase their VO2max if they currently run less than 40 to 50 miles
per week, as the increased volume
attends to the many biochemical
characteristics that irifluence oxygen
extraction and use by the muscles,
high-intensity interval training at
or near VOzmax is the most effective stimulus, especially for trained
runners (Billat, 2001; Midgley, et al,
2006; Midgley, et al., 2007). While
long intervals (2-5 minutes) provide
a greater load on the cardiovascular
system, short intervals (<1 minute)
can also increase VO2max, as long
as they include short, active recovery periods to keep VO2 elevated
throughout the workout (Billat,
2001).
In lieu of a laboratory test to
tell you the velocity that elicits
VO2max (vVO2max), you can use
current race performances or heart
rate. vVO2max is close to 1-mile race
pace for recreational runners and
2-mile race pace (10 to 15 seconds
per mile faster than 5K race pace)
for highly-trained runners. Your
athletes should be within a few
beats of their maximum heart rates
by the end of each interval.
SAMPLE AEROBIC TRAINING PROGRAM
Mon.
Week 1:30
miles
3 miles
Week 2: 30
miles
3 miles
Week 3: 20
miles
Week 4:
35 miles
Week 5: 35
miles
Week 6: 23
miles
Tues.
5 miles
5 miles
2 miles
3 miles
4 miles
LT Cruise Intervals
- 2 miles warm-up
- 3 X 1 mile @ LT pace
w/1:00 rest
- 1 mile warm-down
4 miles
2 miles
LT Cruise Intervals
- 2 miles warm-up
- 4 X 1 mile @ LT pace
w/1:00 rest
- 1 mile warm-down
4 miles
Wed.
Thurs.
Fri.
Sat.
LT Cruise Intervals*
- 2 miles warm-up
- 3 X 1 mile @ LT
pace w/1:00 rest
- 1 mile warm-down
4 miles
5 miles
Rest
7 miles
LTRun
- 2 miles warm-up
- 2 miles @ LT pace
- 1 mile warm-down
4 miles
5 miles
Rest
8 miles
LT Cruise Intervals
- 2 miles warm-up
- 2 X 1 mile @ LT
pace w/1:00 rest
- 1 mile warm-down
2 miles
3 miles
Rest
5 miles
5 miles
LTRun
- 2 miles warm-up
- 2 miles @ LT pace
- 1 mile warm-down
Rest
9 miles
3 miles
LTRun
- 2 miles warm-up
- 3 miles @ LT pace
- 1 mile warm-down
Rest
10 miles
2 miles
3 miles
Rest
6 miles
6 miles
5 miles
LT Cruise Intervals
- 2 miles warm-up
- 3 X 1 mile @ LT
pace w/1:00 rest
- 1 mile warm-down
Sun.
*lf you train your athletes on a treadmill, you can use minutes instead of distance.
The training pattern would continue in this fashion, increasing mileage for 2 weeks before backing off for a recovery week. Once your
athletes have reached a significant amount of mileage and/or you feel they are no longer gaining any further benefit from increasing their
mileage, begin inserting interval workouts.
TRACK COACH — 6122
Examples of workouts are: 1)
3 X 1,000 meters (or 4 minutes) at
vV02max with a l:sl work-to-rest
ratio, 2) 4 X 800 meters (or 3 minutes)
at vVOîmax with a l:£l work-to-rest
ratio, and 3) 20 x 200 meters (or 30
seconds) at vVO2max with a 1:<1
work-to-rest ratio.
3. TO MEET
YOUR ATHLETES'
PHYSIOLOGICAL
NEEDS, RUN
WORKOUTS AT THE
CORRECT SPEEDS
One of the biggest mistakes
runners make is running workouts
at incorrect speeds. If your athletes
run their workouts too fast, they
won't meet the purpose of the
workout. At the very least, they'll
add unnecessary fatigue to their
legs without extra benefit.
For example, say you want to
improve your athlete's VOzmax, so
you plan to have him or her run mile
repeats at vV02max (near 100% max
heart rate). If running each mile in
7:00 elicits VO2max (and max heart
rate), running each one in 6:30 will
certainly also elicit VO2max. But
why run each mile in 6:30 when he
or she can run it in 7:00 and still get
the same benefit? Running faster is
not always better.
On the other hand, if your athletes
run their workouts too slow, they may
not improve the physiological variable
you're trying to train. To determine
your athletes' correct paces, you must
know the purpose of each workout.
The goal of training is to obtain the
greatest benefit while incurring the
least amount of stress, so you want
your athletes to run as slow as they
can while still obtaining the desired
result.
4. BEFORE PICKING
UP THE PACE, HAVE A
SOLID AEROBIC BASE
While faster training will improve fitness faster than simply
running more easy miles, any
short-term gains will likely occur to
the detriment of long-term development. Lots of aerobic running forms
the basis of any runner's training
program.
Whether your athletes are training for a local 5K or the New York
City Marathon, it all starts with
mileage. That's because aerobic running develops many physiological
and biochemical traits needed for
good endurance. For example, it
increases the number of red blood
cells and the amount of hemoglobin
contained within them, giving blood
vessels a greater oxygen-carrying
capability. It also increases muscle
capillary volume, providing more
oxygen to the muscles, and increases
mitochondrial volume and the number of aerobic enzymes, allowing for
a greater use of oxygen (Brooks et
al., 2000).
The more you attend to these
qualities of aerobic metabolism, the
more your athletes will ultimately
get from their subsequent interval
training, as they will recover faster
during the rest periods of their
interval workouts (which allows
them to run more repetitions in each
workout) and between workouts
(which allows them to do interval
workouts more often).
5. REFUEL
IMMEDIATELY,
MAXIMIZE RECOVERY
Endurance performance is
strongly influenced by the amount
TRACK COACH —6123
of pre-exercise muscle glycogen
(the stored form of carbohydrates),
with intense endurance exercise
decreasing muscle glycogen content
(Ahlborg et al, 1967; Bergström et
al, 1967; Jentjens & Jeukendrup,
2003). Recovery is closely linked to
the replenishment of carbohydrates.
The synthesis of glycogen between
training sessions occurs most rapidly if carbohydrates are consumed
immediately after exercise (Ivy,
2004; Jentjens & Jeukendrup, 2003).
Indeed, delaying carbohydrate ingestion for just two hours after a
workout significantly reduces the
rate at which muscle glycogen is
resynthesized and stored (Ivy, et
al., 1988).
To maximize the rate of glycogen synthesis, tell your athletes
to consume 0.7 gram of simple
carbohydrates (preferably glucose)
per pound of body weight within
30 minutes after they run and every
two hours for four to six hours. It
would be even better if they can
eat or drink more often, since a
more frequent ingestion of smaller
amounts of carbohydrates has an
even greater effect on glycogen
synthesis (Doyle, et al., 1993; van
Loon, et al, 2000).
Despite the many highly-advertised commercial sports drinks, any
drink that contains a large amount
of carbohydrates is great for recovery. For example, my research has
shown that chocolate milk is a great
post-workout recovery drink (Karp,
et al., 2006).
While some studies have found
that consuming carbohydrates and
protein together also speeds muscle
glycogen storage (Ivy, et al., 2002;
van Loon, et al., 2000; Zawadzki,
et al., 1992), others have not found
this to be the case (Carrithers, et al,
2000; Tarnopolsky, et al, 1997; Van
Hall et al, 2000). The total amount
of calories consumed seems to be
more important for recovery than
the carbohydrate-protein mix. Since
consuming protein helps rebuild
skeletal muscle fibers that are damaged during intense exercise, protein has its own merit for optimal
recovery,
6. RUN THROUGH
TOWN, PUT
DUMBBELLS DOWN
Unlike most sports, which require
strength, speed, and power, distance
running is primarily limited by the
delivery and use of oxygen, neither
of which are improved by weight
training. There is little scientific evidence that weight training improves
distance running performance
or two of its main physiological
determinants—LT and VO2max
tfung, 2003),
If your athletes still want to lift
weights, the best type of weight
training for distance runners is
irorücally similar to what football
players do. Power training, either
with very heavy weights or plyometrics, which focuses on the neural
component of muscle force development, may improve endurance
performance by improving its third
physiological determinant—running economy (Jung, 2003; Paavolainen, et al,, 1999), the amount of
oxygen used to maintain a given
submaximal speed.
However, weight training is
not necessary unless your athletes
have either already maximized their
running training by increasing both
mileage and intensity, they cannot
handle the physical stress of rurming
more miles, or they have reached
their genetic limit for adaptation
to their running training, A 25-minute 5K runner is better served by
improving the cardiovascular and
metabolic parameters associated
with endurance than by weight
training,
7. TO RUN YOUR BEST
RACE, RUN EVEN OR
NEGATIVE PACE
I used to coach a talented runner
who ran the first mile of every race
too fast, only to slow down dramatically during the latter segments and
end up disappointed with the result.
He thought he was better than
his workouts and let his competitive spirit and pre-race adrenaline
obscure his knowledge of his true
fitness level. It was frustrating to
watch him start off so well and get
slower with each successive lap of
the track.
The faster your athletes run
the first mile of a race, the more
their muscles rely on anaerobic
metabolism, which is accompanied
by muscle and blood acidosis and
the accumulation of metabolites
that cause fatigue. Your athletes
can't put running time in the bank.
They will end up losing more time
in the end than what they gained
by being "ahead of schedule" in the
beginning.
The best way for your athletes
to run their races is by starting out
at the pace they can maintain the
entire race. Ideally, the second half
of their races should be equal to
or slightly faster than the first half
(called "negative splits").
Your athletes' workouts are
invaluable for providing you with
knowledge of their fitness levels
and for predicting their average
race paces. For example, LT pace
is about 10 to 15 seconds per mile
slower than 5K race pace (or about
lOK race pace) for recreational runners and about 25 to 30 seconds
per mile slower than 5K race pace
(or about 15 to 20 seconds per mile
slower than lOK race pace) for those
more talented and highly-trained.
If you want your athletes to get
the most from their training and
racing, use these lessons. Not only
will they be rewarded with higher
levels of fitness and new personal
records, you'll have some memorable quips to impress your fellow
coaches with at your next clinic,
REFERENCES
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Bergström, J,, et al, 1967, Diet, muscle glycogen
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(Continued on page 6149)
TRACK C O A C H - 6 1 2 4
TOP SEVEN LESSONS FOR COACHING RUNNERS
Continued from page 6124
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Midgley, A.W., McNaughton, L.R., & Jones, A.M.
Zawadzki, K.M., Yaspelkis, B.B., & Ivy, J.L. 1992.
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Dr. Jason R. Karp is a nationTarnopolsky, M.A., et al. 1997. Postexercise proteinally-recognized
speaker, writer,
carbohydrate and carbohydrate supplements
increase muscle glycogen in men and women.
exercise physiologist and owner
lounial of Applied Physiology, 83 (6), 1877-1883.
ofRunCoachJason.com. He holds
Van Hall, C , Shirreffs, S.M., & Calbet, J.A.L. 2000.
Muscle glycogen resynthesis during recovery
a Ph.D. in exercise physiology
from cycle exercise: no effect of additional
protein ingestion, ¡ouriml of Applied Physiology, and is director and coach of
«8 (5), 1631-1636.
REVO2LT Running Team'". He
van Loon, L.J.C., et al. 2000. Maximizing postexerwrites for numerous international
cise muscle glycogen synthesis: carbohydrate
supplementation and the application of amino
acid or protein hydrolysate mixtures. /
running, coaching, and fitness
magazines and scientific journals,
has authored two books—How
to Survive Your PhD (Sourcebooks, 2009) and 102 Developmental Concepts and Workouts for
Cross Country Runners (Coaches
Choice, 2010)—and is a frequent
presenter at running and fitness
conferences. Subscribe to his
free e-mail newsletter at www.
runcoachjason.com/newsletter.
TWITCH-FUL THINKING
Continued from poge 6138
No. 3, 363-406. http://projects.ict.usc.edu/
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
TRACK COACH —6149
Stephen Sniderman is Professor Emeritus of English at
Youngstown State University,
where he taught American literature, creative writing, and
game design from 1969 to 2005.
He has published two books of
puzzles. Language Lovers' Word
Puzzles and Grid Play. He is a
contributing editor to GAMES
magazine and the co-editor of
an online periodical. The Life
of Games: How and Why We
Play—an Exploratory Journal.
One article from this journal,
"Unwritten Rules," was reprinted in The Game Design
Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology (2005). He also published
"Boos for Taboo" in The World
and I (January, 2001) and has
an article called "The Sports
Dominance Mystery" coming
out in the Winter, 2010, issue
of Skeptic. Dr. Sniderman can
be contacted at MSnide4144@
aol.com.