Race-specific runs are arguably the toughest workouts in any runner’s training schedule. For 5K athletes that means hard intervals near VO2max pace and for marathoners it means extended efforts at high-end aerobic speeds just under lactate threshold. Both are highly demanding in their own right. Learn when and how to incorporate these potent runs into your training cycle. Read more >>
Heart rate training has become a lost art. With the rise of GPS watches and ever-increasing features ranging from pace, cadence, ground contact time and vertical oscillation – and more recently, power meters, heart rate training seems antiquated. But don’t throw your chest strap just yet. Instead, learn how to interpret its data alongside the newer metrics on the block. Read more >>
Running economy is one of the most overlooked performance factors in running. Naturally the conversation of competitors circles around the various methods of taking fitness to a higher level. But running economy isn’t primarily about fitness. It’s about lowering your cost of oxygen at any given speed, which in turn, makes you a faster runner. Learn how to improve it with training. Read more >>
Imagine someone promised you a 10% performance increase within just 6 weeks. You’d be skeptical, to say the least. After all, It sounds too good to be true for such a short time frame. Speaking of your velocity at lactate threshold, this is possible. It is one of the best performance predictors for race times of all long distance events. In this article, you’ll learn how to improve it. Read more >>
Have you ever wondered why a training program led to excellent results for your running buddy, but not for you. Despite best efforts, have you had trouble to follow through the workouts and it left you overly drained? Don’t fret! In many cases the problem isn’t you, it is the wrong training plan for your type of runner. Find out whether you are more of an endurance type or a speed type. Read more >>
Long distance running performance thrives on ample supply of oxygen. In a 5K race more than 90% of the energy demands are covered by the aerobic system, in the marathon, it’s nearly 100%. In other words, if you don’t have a high VO2max, then your body won’t be able to burn enough of your primary fuels in the tank (carbs and fatty acids) to meet the demands of fast running for long distances. Read more >>
The act of running fast essentially comes down to 2 things: Stride rate and stride length. In other words, you either have a faster leg turnover per minute or you cover more ground with each stride. Now, in this article, we answer which of the 2 can be improved to a greater degree and look into the various methods that will make you a faster runner in training and at races. Read more >>
The various benefits of running for health & fitness are well-documented in the popular press as well as in scientific literature. Running, in fact, is so effective that it even serves as a preferred conditioning tool for many other disciplines: e.g., martial arts and racket sports. But what about the reverse—which conditioning tools can serve runners in their quest for improved race performances? In this article, we are about to discover the most beneficial cross-training methods for runners, and dismiss the ones that are ineffective. Read more >>
Life and running are in many ways analogous. If you want to succeed in life, you need to pursue goals with an intelligent game plan made up of clear short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives. Being a bit of a genius is of advantage, but how you set up and execute goal-oriented tasks is what ultimately gets you places. In a similar vein, in running it is helps to have inherited talent, but learning to excel at the training process is what separates average runners from great ones. No one ever made it with talent alone. Read more >>
We think of distance running as being primarily an aerobic affair – and indeed, it is. But studies show if you lined up 100 endurance runners according to their 10K times, and they rearranged themselves based on their 50m sprint times, the two lines would look strikingly similar. In fact, they would look more similar than if we took their VO2max values as a performance indicator – in the context of endurance runners, of course. Is a lack of strength limiting you from achieving your potential at your favorite event? Read more >>