Fartlek Training for Performance-Minded Distance Runners

Fartlek training is unlike any other workout in your toolbox. It’s where you let intuition, spontaneity, creativity, and fun take over instead of having your training plan dictate your run. Yet that doesn’t mean all common sense should go out the window. There’s a method to fartlek runs, too. In this article, I will outline the framework that will ensure your fartleks are both fun and effective so that you can excel on race day. Read more >>

Base Training for Running: Developing Speed and Endurance

Base training for running matters. All too often runners reach a ceiling in their lactate threshold, VO2max, or race-specific workouts in later training cycles because their insufficient base doesn’t allow them to reach higher. Yet base training is the least demanding of all training phases. For that reason, it can also serve as off-season training during winter or as an aerobic refresh after long stretches of race-specific training. Read more >>

Steady-State Running: Why Zone 3 Training Matters

Steady-state running is neglected by many runners. All too often, we pursue aggressive mileage goals of easy running early in the training cycle and then top it off with demanding lactate threshold runs, VO2max intervals, or race-specific workouts closer to race day. But moderate runs trigger potent adaptations to increase your aerobic engine. In this article, you will learn how to pace these workouts and where to place them in your schedule. Read more >>

How to Run a Faster 5K with 8 Weeks of Focused Training

The question “How to run a faster 5K?” isn’t just asked by beginners or 5K specialists. Competitors of longer distances use the 5K as a benchmark for speed to calculate their potential 10K, half-marathon, or marathon times. If you want to stand a chance of breaking the 3-hour mark at the marathon, for example, you better make sure you can run a sub 19min 5K first. Read more >>

What Weekly Running Mileage is Right for Competitors

Running mileage is an essential factor for long-distance running performance. But how many miles do you have to log each week to compete at a high level? It turns out there is no simple answer to that. Instead, I have identified eight factors that help determine your optimal mileage to achieve solid race performances without breaking down during the training process. Read more >>

Running Training During the Coronavirus Crisis

The coronavirus crisis certainly has caught all of us by surprise. Lockdowns to varying degrees are set in place by government order and races are being canceled. There’s a lot to complain about. And yet, it’s not all bleak. Running is an individual sport and therefore training can continue without too many interruptions. In this article, I will outline a few adjustments in training during this time. Read more >>

Winter Running: How to Lay the Groundwork for Next Season

Winter running has its challenges. The days are short and it takes a few layers of clothing to make outdoor runs bearable. Even if you take it to the treadmill during this time of the year, you may not be looking forward to your runs the same way you do at a sunny afternoon in spring. But those who prevail and train strategically will reap the rewards further down the line. Read more >>

Lactate Threshold Training for Competitive Runners

Lactate threshold training is an important aspect of goal-oriented running. The higher your lactate threshold, the longer you can ‘hang in there’ at your races. But like training any physiological system, doing the same LT workouts over and over again – or at the wrong time – will have you stagnate at some point. This article will show you how to approach it like a pro-athlete. Read more >>

Run Faster by Switching Between Race Distances Year-Round

Racing frequently undeniably results in physiological and mental benefits that training alone can’t provide. We are able to push harder in a competitive situation. But to really step it up over your favorite distance, you need to get out of comfort zone and race other distances as well. In this article, I’ll make a case for year-round racing at your best. Read more >>

Treadmill Workouts for Competitive Runners

We, competitive runners, have a mixed relationship with treadmill workouts. As for the running experience, there is no substitute for being out in nature. But with the winter season kicking in for many of us, it is often the lesser ‘necessary evil’ to continue training – at least on particularly nasty days. In this article, you will learn how to use the treadmill like a professional athlete. Read more >>