Longboat Training Kicks Off

January saw the introduction of new training sessions for Longboat runners. Two of the workouts were aimed at preparing runners for the Robbie Burns race next Sunday (January 24th) while the third is a long run over a hilly route in west Toronto. While the training sessions are open to all Longboat members, a core group of runners are making use of the sessions to prepare for early season races.

Wednesday nights traditionally feature a club run along the Martin Goodman trail that hugs the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto's south end. So far this year the run has evolved, for some members, into a long fartlek session of 6 minutes on and three minutes off, which equates to about a mile for the faster runners. Because it's still early in the season, these sessions are targeted at just under anaerobic threshold pace. A similar session was held on Fridays at High Park, where runners ran mile repeats at a comfortably hard pace, working up to a maximum of 5 repeats. The repeats were run clockwise around the ring road and featured a slight hill at the end of each mile, so the runners appreciated the recovery (2 to 3 minutes).

The Long run was set up to allow runners a common indoor meeting place (important in Canadian winters) from which to start. We eventually settled on the local YMCA and we now have routes ranging from 13km to 28km and a core group of runners out running the various routes. The main attraction, from a training perspective, if not from the runner's perspective, is the number of hills that can be included in each route. Even the shortest route features several significant hills, whereas I have yet to figure out how many hills are on the 28km route. The upshot of it all? Excellent training for leg strength and early training for the hills in the Around the Bay race at the the end of March.

It has been an inspiring first two weeks of the year and I'm really looking forward to some good performances this season. Congratulations to all of you that have bought into the training; I hope you will get the results you deserve.

KISS

Or Keep It Simple Stupid! This was the advice of my thesis supervisor prior to me giving a talk on my research. Apparently an audience, even an academic one, is really only capable of concentrating on a few key points, and then for only a few minutes at a time. So the idea is to limit the number of points made and repeat them throughout the presentation. I found that 3X3 worked well - three points repeated three times during the presentation.

This holiday season while putting together a running program for myself and fellow Longboat Roadrunners members, I realized that the same can be applied to training. There are an incredible number of types of runs and variations on these types, but when all is said and done, there are really only a handful of runs that, regularly performed at the right time, are needed to reach your potential as a runner. So, in an attempt to keep it simple, here is my list of Top 5 runs that should be on everyone's training schedule at some point. In future blogs, when specific runs are being introduced into the training, I'll go into each of them in more detail.

5 Intervals: These are short runs (typically less than a mile) done at a pace faster then goal race pace. The goal is to improve the bodies ability to transport and use large amounts of oxygen to produce energy aerobically (i.e. to increase VO2 max).

4. Hills: Hill runs are the best way to build up leg strength outside the gym (and even better than the gym for runners because it is running specific). Regularly running on hills, either as hill repeats, or over hilly courses, has been shown to reduce the risk of running related injuries.

3. Tempo/Anaerobic Threshold runs: As the name suggests these runs are run at a pace at, or just below, the anaerobic (lactate) threshold, which for most runners is a pace that can be held reasonably comfortably for about an hour. The anaerobic threshold is described as the point above which lactate and associated hydrogen ions start accumulating in the muscles and blood. This results in decreased ability of the muscles to produce energy, forcing you to slow down.

2. Easy/Recovery Run: The easy run rates right up there at number 2 because I believe that as soon as you have a hard workout, you have to follow it with an easy day. While the easy run has had a bad rap in the past often being referred to as simply adding junk miles, the recovery benefits of an easy run are now better understood. As has been said many times elsewhere, it is in the recovery after hard workouts, that the real progress is made. The stress/recovery system works well, but only if both parts are used. But beware, those easy miles can turn to trash miles if done too fast. In that case, you may not be ready for your next hard workout which will, effectively, be trashed.

1. Long Run: This really is the most important run for pretty much any runner. It is essential for increasing aerobic capacity and, since even at the 5k distance the running is 95% aerobic, this is the number 1 run on the list.

So there you have it, five simple runs to include in your schedule that will get you in good shape for those Spring races.