Showing posts with label endurance running training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label endurance running training. Show all posts
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Friday, October 07, 2011
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Sit and reach flexability impares endurance performance(Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI
The COL5A1 Gene, Ultra-Marathon... [Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
TRAINING PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL DISTANCE RUNNING
TRAINING PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL DISTANCE RUNNING
By Ken Grace, City College of San Francisco
The author presents some excellent guidelines to help the coach better quantify distance training. This article will help to take the guesswork out of prescribing training pace and monitoring the athlete’s training.
REPRINTED FROM TRACK COACH #101 (Fall, 1987)
“Successful running requires a good training program. No single program is the perfect way to train: You can use many different routes to the same goal. However, every successful training program follows certain ba- sic principles and shares common characteristics with the other successful training programs. . .” states 1964 Olympic 5000m bronze medalist and head track coach at the University of Oregon Bill Dellinger (2).
The “Oregon System” is known for its five basic principles of training and its orientation to date pace and goal pace running. Arthur Lydiard, the famous distance running coach from New Zealand, also espoused five important points when training middle and long distance runners (3). As one examines successful running programs, as Mr. Dellinger stated, it quickly becomes evident that there are more similarities than differences.
Programs that consistently develop athletes to their potential do the following:
1. Evaluate each individual athlete’s current ability level and review the athlete’s past history of training and performance.
2. The new training program is designed around the runner’s present ability level, a realistic goal for the upcoming season and the athlete’s personal responsibili- ties.
3. Workloads within the training cycle are varied for each individual. The amount of variation in workloads differs for each athlete depending on his or her ability to recover and adapt to the stress of training. Improvement and progression will only occur as the runner continues to adapt to the stresses of training.
Exercise physiologist Dr. David L. Costill has devised a method for quantitatively monitoring a runner’s train- ing program based on his or her current VO2 max. VO2 max (maximum oxygen uptake) is the maximal amount of oxygen that can be consumed by the body. Most exercise physiologists consider VO2 max the best single indicator of endurance potential (1).
To determine the runner’s current VO2 max we need the runner’s present best time for one or two miles or 10,000 meters. With one or more of these times one can estimate fairly accurately the athlete’s current VO2 max.
Here are the formulas for determining VO2 max:
For One Mile VO2 max 133.61—(13.89 x mile time in total minutes)
For Two Miles VO2 max = 128.81—(5.95 x two mile time in total minutes)
For 10,000m VO2 max = 120.8—(1.54 x 10,000m time in total minutes)
“The relative intensity of the training run can be calculated as the percentage of VO2 max used during the run,” states Costill (1). The percentage of maximal oxygen uptake (%VO2 max) used while training can be calculated with the following equation (1): VO2 = (329/Pace in minutes per mile)—5.24 %VO2 max = (VO2/VO2max) x 100
“To rate the pace or intensity of the workout, the percent of VO2 max is divided by 70%, an effort known to be neither hard nor easy for the athlete” (1).
3221
%VO2 max/70% = Intensity Rating
A rating of 1.0 is considered a moderate training pace equal to 70% of the runner’s VO2 max. The higher one goes above 1.0 the faster the training pace and closer to VO2 max. A rating of 1.43 is training at a pace equal to the runner’s VO2 max. This is an intensity rating that can be tolerated only once or twice a week by most athletes.
To evaluate the distance run in a given workout divide the distance run by the average daily mileage for the past three weeks. For example, if an athlete was running 35 miles a week for the past three weeks his daily average would be 5 miles. If he went out for a 7-mile training run the distance rating would be equal to 1.4 (1).
DR=Training Miles Run/Average Daily Mileage DR=7/5=1.4
“The distance rating and the intensity rating help to estimate the demands of training” (1). By using both factors one can estimate the demands of training. The overall rating for the workout is obtained by averaging the two ratios, intensity and distance ratings, together to obtain one overall rating.
Overall Rating = (DR+IR)/2 x 100
According to Costill, “Workouts that receive an overall rating above 105 are usually quite stressful, indicating a need for lighter training the following day.
A workout rated at 100 or less is tolerated well by the runner and can be repeated for several days”(1). While this approach to monitoring the runner’s workout may appear complicated and time consuming, it does provide the coach with a single index indicator of the physiological demands of training.
To insure the athlete’s progress and to monitor for signs of overtraining, several methods of evaluation are readily available:
1. Resting pulse rate upon waking. If the resting pulse remains the same or drops training is going well. A morning pulse rate 10% or higher than average is a signal that the athlete has not fully recovered
. 2. If the athlete’s weight in the morning, before break- fast, is 2 or more pounds below normal, compared to the previous morning, he or she is still dehydrated from the previous workout.
3. Disrupted sleep patterns. Waking several times during the night is a sign of distress and overtraining.
4. Talk with the athlete daily. Ask him how he feels.
5. Have the athlete run a mile at sub-maximal pace each week or two. The mile must be run at the same prescribed pace every week. Upon finishing the run take the runner’s pulse. If training is going well this pulse rate should drop over time. If the pulse is elevated above the previous efforts this could be a sign of overtraining (1).
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING FOR IMPROVEMENT AND PROGRESSION
1. Physical performance improves as the body adapts to the training stimulus (2).
2. The physical workload and rate of adaptation to that training regimen is different for each individual (2).
3. When the training stimulus is inadequate, too large or too small, the rate of adaptation to that stress is slower and less than optimal (1).
4. The S.A.I.D. Principle. Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands states that physiological adaptations are specific to the method and mode of training (1). There is little crossover training effect.
5. The human body adapts slowly and therefore responds optimally to small gradual increases in training stress. Periods of greater workload should be followed by periods of reduced workload (1).
REFERENCES
1. Costill, D. L., Inside Running: Basics of Exercise Physiology, 12-134, Bench- mark Press Inc., Indianapolis, 1986.
2. Dellinger, B., & Freeman, B., The Competitive Runners Book, 9-60, MacMillan Publishing Co., 1984.
3. Lydiard, A., Arthur Lydiard’s Running Training Schedules, Track & Field News, Los Altos, CA, 1970.
3222
By Ken Grace, City College of San Francisco
The author presents some excellent guidelines to help the coach better quantify distance training. This article will help to take the guesswork out of prescribing training pace and monitoring the athlete’s training.
REPRINTED FROM TRACK COACH #101 (Fall, 1987)
“Successful running requires a good training program. No single program is the perfect way to train: You can use many different routes to the same goal. However, every successful training program follows certain ba- sic principles and shares common characteristics with the other successful training programs. . .” states 1964 Olympic 5000m bronze medalist and head track coach at the University of Oregon Bill Dellinger (2).
The “Oregon System” is known for its five basic principles of training and its orientation to date pace and goal pace running. Arthur Lydiard, the famous distance running coach from New Zealand, also espoused five important points when training middle and long distance runners (3). As one examines successful running programs, as Mr. Dellinger stated, it quickly becomes evident that there are more similarities than differences.
Programs that consistently develop athletes to their potential do the following:
1. Evaluate each individual athlete’s current ability level and review the athlete’s past history of training and performance.
2. The new training program is designed around the runner’s present ability level, a realistic goal for the upcoming season and the athlete’s personal responsibili- ties.
3. Workloads within the training cycle are varied for each individual. The amount of variation in workloads differs for each athlete depending on his or her ability to recover and adapt to the stress of training. Improvement and progression will only occur as the runner continues to adapt to the stresses of training.
Exercise physiologist Dr. David L. Costill has devised a method for quantitatively monitoring a runner’s train- ing program based on his or her current VO2 max. VO2 max (maximum oxygen uptake) is the maximal amount of oxygen that can be consumed by the body. Most exercise physiologists consider VO2 max the best single indicator of endurance potential (1).
To determine the runner’s current VO2 max we need the runner’s present best time for one or two miles or 10,000 meters. With one or more of these times one can estimate fairly accurately the athlete’s current VO2 max.
Here are the formulas for determining VO2 max:
For One Mile VO2 max 133.61—(13.89 x mile time in total minutes)
For Two Miles VO2 max = 128.81—(5.95 x two mile time in total minutes)
For 10,000m VO2 max = 120.8—(1.54 x 10,000m time in total minutes)
“The relative intensity of the training run can be calculated as the percentage of VO2 max used during the run,” states Costill (1). The percentage of maximal oxygen uptake (%VO2 max) used while training can be calculated with the following equation (1): VO2 = (329/Pace in minutes per mile)—5.24 %VO2 max = (VO2/VO2max) x 100
“To rate the pace or intensity of the workout, the percent of VO2 max is divided by 70%, an effort known to be neither hard nor easy for the athlete” (1).
3221
%VO2 max/70% = Intensity Rating
A rating of 1.0 is considered a moderate training pace equal to 70% of the runner’s VO2 max. The higher one goes above 1.0 the faster the training pace and closer to VO2 max. A rating of 1.43 is training at a pace equal to the runner’s VO2 max. This is an intensity rating that can be tolerated only once or twice a week by most athletes.
To evaluate the distance run in a given workout divide the distance run by the average daily mileage for the past three weeks. For example, if an athlete was running 35 miles a week for the past three weeks his daily average would be 5 miles. If he went out for a 7-mile training run the distance rating would be equal to 1.4 (1).
DR=Training Miles Run/Average Daily Mileage DR=7/5=1.4
“The distance rating and the intensity rating help to estimate the demands of training” (1). By using both factors one can estimate the demands of training. The overall rating for the workout is obtained by averaging the two ratios, intensity and distance ratings, together to obtain one overall rating.
Overall Rating = (DR+IR)/2 x 100
According to Costill, “Workouts that receive an overall rating above 105 are usually quite stressful, indicating a need for lighter training the following day.
A workout rated at 100 or less is tolerated well by the runner and can be repeated for several days”(1). While this approach to monitoring the runner’s workout may appear complicated and time consuming, it does provide the coach with a single index indicator of the physiological demands of training.
To insure the athlete’s progress and to monitor for signs of overtraining, several methods of evaluation are readily available:
1. Resting pulse rate upon waking. If the resting pulse remains the same or drops training is going well. A morning pulse rate 10% or higher than average is a signal that the athlete has not fully recovered
. 2. If the athlete’s weight in the morning, before break- fast, is 2 or more pounds below normal, compared to the previous morning, he or she is still dehydrated from the previous workout.
3. Disrupted sleep patterns. Waking several times during the night is a sign of distress and overtraining.
4. Talk with the athlete daily. Ask him how he feels.
5. Have the athlete run a mile at sub-maximal pace each week or two. The mile must be run at the same prescribed pace every week. Upon finishing the run take the runner’s pulse. If training is going well this pulse rate should drop over time. If the pulse is elevated above the previous efforts this could be a sign of overtraining (1).
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING FOR IMPROVEMENT AND PROGRESSION
1. Physical performance improves as the body adapts to the training stimulus (2).
2. The physical workload and rate of adaptation to that training regimen is different for each individual (2).
3. When the training stimulus is inadequate, too large or too small, the rate of adaptation to that stress is slower and less than optimal (1).
4. The S.A.I.D. Principle. Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands states that physiological adaptations are specific to the method and mode of training (1). There is little crossover training effect.
5. The human body adapts slowly and therefore responds optimally to small gradual increases in training stress. Periods of greater workload should be followed by periods of reduced workload (1).
REFERENCES
1. Costill, D. L., Inside Running: Basics of Exercise Physiology, 12-134, Bench- mark Press Inc., Indianapolis, 1986.
2. Dellinger, B., & Freeman, B., The Competitive Runners Book, 9-60, MacMillan Publishing Co., 1984.
3. Lydiard, A., Arthur Lydiard’s Running Training Schedules, Track & Field News, Los Altos, CA, 1970.
3222
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Sara Hall training:Changing Speeds to Go the Distance
FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER
Changing Speeds to Go the Distance
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
Published: April 17, 2008
SARA HALL experienced an instructive epiphany in 2006. In the fall, she’d won the national road-running championship for 5K (3.1 miles), a distance she specialized in at Stanford. At the time, she considered herself a 5K runner. So did everyone else.
Axel Koester for The New York Times
Sara Hall, an aspiring Olympian runner, trains at UC Riverside by running speed drills around the lap.
This article is the second in a series that began with “A Swimmer’s Different Strokes for Success” (March 20).
Axel Koester for The New York Times
Hall takes an ice bath after her daily exercise regimen to help with muscle recovery between training sessions.
A few weeks later, everything changed when she won the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York, a glamour event in American road racing. “Afterward, I thought, ‘That’s my distance,’ ” she said. “It plays to my strengths. I loved the fast pace. I’m not a patient runner.”
Today, Hall, 25, is laser-focused on training for the 1,500 meters (0.93 mile) in hopes of making the United States Olympic team in middle distance running.
She and her coach, Terrence Mahon, who also coaches Hall’s husband, Ryan Hall, the winner of the United States Olympic team men’s marathon trial, have increased her speed work and reconfigured how much she’s running and her intensity.
“Her work capacity has gone through the roof,” Mahon said, and she can run greater distances faster than ever before. Which makes her current regimen a good model for how recreational runners — not just the elite — can get swifter and sharper, and perhaps even decide that they have been racing the wrong distance all along.
SPEED THRILLS
“I’m not running as far these days,” Hall said, compared with the distances she ran in high school and college. That might come as a surprise to anyone who learns that her average weekly mileage remains 85 to 90 (compared with her husband’s 140-plus). A typical training week includes easy running on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (usually twice a day). Hall, who can run almost a four-minute mile, lopes through these 30- or 50-minute workouts at a leisurely mile pace of 7 minutes. (To accurately figure her mile splits, she wears a watch equipped with G.P.S.) On Saturday, she takes a 14-mile run at a pace (5 minutes 45 seconds per mile) that is between what she runs in races and her easy days.
Then there are the fast, hard interval sessions at a track on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These hurt because they are supposed to. “You stress the body to get it to adapt” to the mechanical and physiological demands of speed, Mahon said. A typical Tuesday session includes two miles of warm-up, six miles of intervals and three miles of cool-down.
Anyone not aiming for an Olympic qualifying time should adjust speed-training mileage downward, Mahon said. “Go to a track and run a mile flat-out” and record your time, he said. Your ideal pace for a 5K race would be around 95 percent as fast per mile. Then implement what Mahon calls “over-speed and under-speed training.” In over-speed, you sprint through quarter-miles, 800 meters and other intervals at a speed faster than your 5K pace (close to your top mile time). Don’t run more than two fast miles.
For under-speed work, time your interval splits to be a little slower than your 5K pace, with shorter rest periods than those within the over-speed intervals. Total mileage can be four to six miles. Cool down with a gentle jog of about half your total interval distance.
Try sprinting one week, and running slower the next or, if you’re an experienced racer, both in separate sessions in a week. Don’t, despite its discomforts, worm out of speed work. “The most common mistake” that recreational runners make, Mahon said, “is running the same pace all the time.” Occasionally making yourself run fast, he said, “is the only way to make yourself a fast runner.”
STRIDE RIGHT
Hall kicks like a mule when she runs. She’s trying to stop. “This year, we’ve been totally focused on my form,” she said. “I tend to lean forward and I have a big back kick.” This slightly toppling stance lessens the power of her strides, and also has made her prone to being tripped up from behind during races.Although some runners and coaches are loathe to fiddle with a runner’s stride, Mahon isn’t one of them. “Proper running form will lessen the chance of injuries and further the longevity of an athlete’s career,” he said. “It will improve running economy and allow the runner to run faster with less fuel expended.”
To help with form, “those of us in the elite-distance running community have started looking at what sprinters do,” Mahon said.
Ideally, he said, “You want a straight, perpendicular line between the ground and your ankle and knee.” So, for up to two hours a day, several times a week, Hall has been practicing various drills, which as she said, are designed to teach her to “keep your feet right underneath you.”
During each exercise, she said, she tried to land more toward her heels than her toes. This is known as “dorsiflexion” of the ankle, or a slight upward tilting of the foot. Mahon said this is the ideal foot-strike position. Landing flat-footed or near your heel, he said, “allows for the arch to work as a spring.” It also “allows for the ankle joint to disperse shock up to the knee and hip and lessen the total blow on a single joint.”
The drills seem to be working for Hall, who demonstrated some of her favorites on a recent Thursday while training at the University of California, Riverside, with her husband. “People have told me I look more upright,” she said. She hasn’t tangled legs with another racer for months. And, she said, her feet don’t hurt like they once did.
LOAD UP ON ICE
“You can’t keep up with a heavy workload” of running if you don’t recover between sessions, Mahon said. Hall schedules a weekly sports massage and, after hard interval sessions, settles herself into an ice bath (a tub filled with ice-cube-laced water at the sports medicine department at U.C. Riverside, where she trains) for 15 minutes.
This immersion is widely believed to help reduce the swelling and soreness that can follow intense workouts. Ice baths after intervals “feel really good,” she said. The scientific evidence is more equivocal.
A study published last month in the European Journal of Applied Physiology showed that cold-water immersion did hasten muscle recovery and also reduced swelling in men assigned to complete repeated leg press exercises. Other studies haven’t shown similar benefits from ice baths.
But Mahon, at least, believes ice baths are helpful in reducing swelling and soreness in his athletes, allowing them to return for another interval session within only a day or two. (Most sports medicine doctors suggest waiting until any significant muscle soreness is gone before repeating a hard workout.)
TRY IT, YOU MIGHT LIKE IT
“It can be hard for an average runner to know what his real genetic potential is,” Mahon said. “Many runners pick a distance and stick with it.” The dedicated, mediocre marathoner may never discover that nature had intended him to win his age group at 5Ks.
“You have to run different distances,” Hall said. “Experiment. If I hadn’t run that Fifth Avenue Mile, I wouldn’t be doing the 1,500 now.”
More systematically, Mahon says, track your performance during intervals. “Are you excelling in the workouts that highlight intensity or those that highlight endurance?” he said. “We saw that Sara was topping the charts in intensity.” She was clearly meant, he said, to be going hard, fast, and relatively short.
Destiny, of course, can be tweaked. Hall doesn’t expect to contest the 1,500 for the rest of her career. “The speed work that I’m doing now for the 1,500 will translate beautifully” to the 5K, she said, should she decide to run that distance at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials or at future Olympics.
Then there’s the marathon, which has an ineluctable pull. “Ryan makes the training look so fun,” she said almost wistfully. But for now, “I haven’t reached my potential in the 1,500. There’s still lots of speed to explore.”
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