speech in the book, each practical chapter adds useful tips for a specific distance.
Finally, the practical chapters provide brief information about the world-class runners known for their prowess at the distances that are the subject of each chapter. This information will help you understand how top runners use the principles of the training plans presented in this book to prepare for their big races.
Most athletes know that achieving great results requires more than just racking up the miles. So they get on the treadmill or the road and torture themselves with terrible accelerations, doing "speed work", unable to explain why they are doing these grueling workouts in any way other than just "to get faster." Certainly by running fast and not just racking up the mileage, they will be able to achieve better results in competitions. However, they usually perform intense work without supervision. In this chapter, we'll show you why and how to develop the two main fitness metrics that runners strive to improve through intense training—VO2 max and base speed.
Many serious runners know that improving your VO2 max, or aerobic capacity, is the key to performing well in competition. But what is the best method for developing it? High mileage? Mountain training? Intense 400m sections twice a week? Acceleration of 1.5 kilometers? Before we answer this question, let's first take a closer look at what the IPC is.
MOC (maximum oxygen consumption) is the maximum ability of the human body to transport and consume oxygen. Runners with a high VO2 max have an oxygen transport system that allows them to deliver large amounts of oxygenated blood to their working muscles. Exercise increases the size of the heart and the amount of oxygen it can pump.
To be more precise, VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen that the heart can deliver to the muscles and which the muscles can then use to produce energy. It is the product of the heart rate (heart rate), the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat and the proportion of oxygen extracted from the blood and used by the muscles. The value of VO2 max is determined by training and genetic predisposition.
BMD is important because it determines the body's aerobic capacity - the higher the BMD, the greater the body's ability to produce energy aerobically. The more energy the body can produce aerobically, the faster the speed it can maintain. VO2 max is the most important physiological indicator that determines performance at distances from 1500 to 5000 m. VO2 max is also an important physiological indicator for longer distances. However, the longer the distance, the greater the influence of the anaerobic threshold relative to MOC on the finishing result.
The first determinant of VO2 max is the maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is genetically determined and generally decreases with age. However, recent evidence indicates that maximum heart rate declines much more slowly with age in people who maintain their cardiovascular system in good physical condition. Maximum heart rate does not increase with training.
The second determinant of BMD is the amount of blood ejected into the artery by the left ventricle of the heart with each contraction. This indicator, called stroke volume, unlike maximum heart rate, improves with appropriate training. The increase in stroke volume under the influence of training is the main adaptive change that increases VO2 max. At the same time, the maximum heart rate (beats per minute) multiplied by stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped with each beat) determines the cardiac output.
heart rate (the amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute). The final determinant of the IPC is the share
oxygen used, which is determined by the difference between the amount of oxygen in arterial blood and the amount of oxygen in venous blood. This difference represents the amount of oxygen that is removed from the blood by the tissues. One of the physiological adaptations to aerobic exercise is to increase the ability of tissues to extract oxygen from arterial blood. Compared to untrained people, the percentage of oxygen in the venous blood of athletes is lower. This is because exercise increases both blood flow to working muscles and the number of capillaries in muscle tissue, thereby providing more efficient delivery of oxygenated blood to individual muscle cells.
In sports such as running, where it is necessary to move the body above the ground, the VO2 max value is expressed relative to body weight - in milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). The average BMD value in men and women aged 35 years leading a sedentary lifestyle is 45 and 38 ml/kg/min, respectively. The VO2 max of elite male 5000m runners averages 75-85 ml/kg/min. The MOC of elite male marathon runners is slightly lower and averages 70-75 ml/kg/min. Marathon runners achieve high marathon performance due to their high anaerobic threshold, which we will discuss in detail in Chapter 3.
Women's BMD values are on average lower than men's due to the fact that they have higher fat reserves and lower hemoglobin levels. Since BMD is expressed relative to body weight, women's higher fat stores due to physiological need put them at a disadvantage. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells (erythrocytes) that carries oxygen to tissues. Due to lower hemoglobin levels, the oxygen content per unit of blood is lower in women. BMD values in well-trained women are on average 10% lower than in well-trained men.
Table 2.1 How VO2 max increases under the influence of training
Table 2.2 Average MOC values for people with different levels of physical fitness
With regular training for 6-12 months, people leading a sedentary lifestyle can expect to increase their VO2 max by 20-30%. Be that as it may, training increases VO2 max within the limits set by a person’s genetic predisposition - as you approach your genetic potential, the rate of increase in VO2 decreases. If you have been training for several years, then any increase in VO2 max will be a great achievement for you. That is why experienced runners should pay special attention to the information presented below, which details ways to increase VO2 max.
The highest training effect, promoting the growth of VO2 max, is achieved by training with an intensity of 95-100% of the current VO2 max. But how to determine this intensity? It can be calculated by measuring MIC in laboratory conditions. The lab test asks you to start running slowly on a treadmill. The speed or incline of the treadmill is then increased every few minutes until you can continue running. During this time, the air you exhale is collected and analyzed. Testing usually takes 10-15 minutes.
If you do not have the opportunity to take a test in a laboratory, you can approximately determine your running pace at the VO2 max level based on
personal results in competitions. Running at 95-100% VO2 intensity should be roughly the same as your 3-5K race pace.
The appropriate intensity for training to increase VO2 can also be determined based on heart rate. The tempo of VO2 max training approximately corresponds to 95-98% of the heart rate reserve or maximum heart rate. (For details about heart rate-controlled training, an explanation of the term “heart rate reserve,” and other information related to this topic, see “Monitoring Heart Rate to Monitor Training Intensity” in Chapter 4.) During this type of training, you must maintain a heart rate that is will be several beats below the maximum. Otherwise, the intensity will be too high, resulting in a shorter workout and less training effect to increase VO2 max.
The body responds positively to training at an intensity at the VO2max level only if the volume is not excessive. With excessive intense training, the body’s recovery becomes incomplete and its adaptive capabilities are disrupted. Each athlete needs to independently search for the optimal volume and frequency of MPC training. The goal is to train at VO2 max intensity often enough to produce the desired impact on the body, but not to the point of overtraining. The plans for Chapters 6-10 use the following principles to ensure optimal training effects on VO2 max.
Load volume per workout. The fastest increase in VO2 max is achieved when the distance of intense intervals per workout is 4-8 km. The optimal volume within this range depends on the athlete's training experience. The training effect on the body occurs even when the total volume of intervals per workout is less than 4 km, but the rate of increase in VO2 max in this case is lower. If you try to run more than 5 miles at this intensity (good luck), then chances are you will either not be able to maintain an appropriate pace throughout the interval workout, or you will exhaust yourself so much that you will not be able to recover quickly enough for the next intense session. For most runners, workouts in which the total interval distance is 4800-7200 m are the most effective.
Training frequency. The most rapid growth of MIC is achieved in
in the case when training at an intensity of 95-100% of VO2max is performed once a week. Depending on the distance you're training for and the number of weeks left before your target event, it may be helpful to do a second low-volume MAX workout during certain weeks.
Duration of intervals. The most rapid increase in VO2max is achieved when the duration of intervals during training at the VO2max level is 2-6 minutes. For most runners, this means intervals of 600-1600 m. Perform MPC training You can not only run on the treadmill, but also run uphill, run on the golf course, and so on. When preparing for cross-country races, it is advisable to simulate competitive conditions as much as possible during MPC training.
You will achieve the greatest training impact on your body's aerobic capacity if, during VO2 max training, you accelerate your cardiovascular system to 95-100% VO2 max and maintain this intensity for as long as possible. Short intervals are not as effective in providing the desired training effect, since in this case the body does not work long enough in the optimal intensity range. For example, if you are doing 400m sprints, it will be easier to maintain a pace at your VO2 max, but you will only be running at that pace for a short period of time during each interval.
As a result, you will have to do a lot of 400-meter accelerations to achieve a good training effect on VO2 max. If you perform 1200 m accelerations at the appropriate pace, your cardiovascular system will work at an intensity of 95-100% of VO2 max in each acceleration for several minutes. This way, you can accumulate more work time per training session at the most effective training intensity.
Speed of intervals. VO2max training is most effective—that is, has the greatest training impact on VO2max—when performed at a speed corresponding to 3-5 km race pace. When performing intervals at this speed, the intensity is typically 95-100% of your VO2 max. If you run slower, you move closer to the training zone to increase your anaerobic threshold. As we'll see in Chapter 3, training to increase anaerobic threshold is very important, but VO2 max training is designed to increase VO2 max, not anaerobic threshold.
By performing intervals at an intensity above 95-100% VO2, you
you will also not be able to achieve a good training effect on VO2 max. There are two reasons for this. First, when you run faster than your VO2 max pace, you engage the anaerobic system to a greater extent, which helps improve it. You might think that the anaerobic system is at least as important as the aerobic system, and it is - if you are competing in the 800m. But if you are running 5000m or more, then in competition you will use the anaerobic system mainly for the snatch. the final meters of the distance. If you do aerobic training and your equally gifted competitors do anaerobic training, then in competition when it's time for your dash, you'll be so far ahead of them that you won't have to worry about their finishing speed.
The second reason why intervals performed at excessively fast speeds have less training impact on VO2 max is that it is simply not possible to perform large amounts of intense work at that speed. Remember, what matters is how much time you accumulate per workout, working at VO2 max intensity. Let's say you do four 800m sprints at 1500m race pace, running each sprint in 2:24. You'll definitely feel tired after doing this kind of work, but do less than 10 minutes of intense work, of which probably only 6 minutes will be done at the intensity most effective for increasing VO2 max. However, if you, after reading this book, decide to do five 1200m repetitions at 5000m race pace, running each repetition in 4:00, you will have gained 20 minutes of intense running (see Table 2.3). In this case, almost all the work will be performed at the appropriate intensity, which has the desired training effect on VO2 max.
Duration of recovery between intervals.
The recovery time between intervals should be long enough to allow the heart rate to fall to 55% of heart rate reserve or 65% of maximum heart rate. If you take your rest too short, you will likely need to shorten your workout and may not achieve the desired training impact. Additionally, if you don't get enough rest, subsequent intervals can become overly anaerobic, which, as we said above, is not the goal of maximal maximal resistance training. On the other hand, with excessive rest, the training impact is also reduced.
The optimal recovery time between intervals depends on the length of the intervals you run. As a general principle, rest between intervals should be
constitute from 50 to 90% of the time spent on the interval. For example, if a girl runs a 1200-meter repeat in 4:30, her recovery jogging time should be 50-90% of that time, or between 2:15 and 4:00.
Table 2.3 Why faster is not necessarily better for increasing BMD
Workout 1 | Workout 2 |
||
Interval speed | |||
(competitive | (competitive |
||
1500m pace) | 5 km pace) |
||
Interval length | |||
Number of intervals | |||
Intense running volume | |||
Amount of time | about 6 minutes | almost 20 minutes |
|
intensity, | |||
promoting the growth of IPC | |||
Good workout | |||
increasing MPC? | |||
When resting between intervals, you should not be tempted to stop by leaning forward and placing your hands on your knees. Although this seems unlikely, research has shown that the body recovers much faster when the athlete continues to move during recovery. This is due to the fact that light jogging helps remove lactic acid from the body.
Planning your workout. The perfect workout
stimulating the growth of MPC, should consist of intervals with a total length of 4-8 km, lasting from 2 to 6 minutes, performed at an intensity of 95-100% of MPC. Within these parameters, you can schedule workouts with different combinations of intervals. MAX training falls into two main categories - training in which the distance of the intervals is constant, and training in which it varies.
Many trainers vary the length of intervals to make the workout easier mentally. Many self-trained runners do the same thing by doing “stair-stepped” workouts, which consist of intervals of varying lengths that go up and down stairs. They talk to themselves during training, telling themselves, “Okay, one more 1.5-kilometer boost, and then each one is shorter than the last.” This method can play a cruel joke on the runner, since an important element of training is
psychological preparation for competitions. Running a set number of intervals of the same length is preferable because it gives you a feel for what it's like to maintain speed through increasing fatigue, which much more closely mimics competitive conditions. However, there are times when varying the length of intervals can be beneficial - for example, performing shorter but faster intervals at the end of a workout to improve your finishing spurt.
Another exception where you can vary the length of the intervals is when doing a fartlek workout, a free-flowing workout that alternates intense acceleration with recovery jogging. Cross-country runners who perform their MAX training on competition surfaces are most likely to use fartlek on a regular basis.
Examples of workouts that most effectively increase VO2 max are presented in table 2.4.
Table 2.4 Examples of workouts that promote VO2 max growth
Interval length | Number of intervals | Total distance |
The intervals in each of these workouts should be run at race pace for 3000-5000m, with recovery jogging until your heart rate drops to 55% of your heart rate reserve or 65% of your maximum heart rate. Remember that the optimal pace for these workouts is between 3K race pace and 5K race pace. Perform short intervals at closer to 3-kilometer pace and longer intervals at closer to 5-kilometer pace. (In other words, don't do five 1600m reps at 3k race pace).
Summary of the book “Road Running for Serious Runners” by Pete Fitzinger and Scott Douglas.
Select key start;
build an effective training program aimed at this start;
in the weeks leading up to the race, get your body into peak shape.
The proposed idea is not a sensation. This is exactly how professional athletes approach their competition schedule. But most recreational runners waste their resources on a huge number of races during the season. They approach the training process in a similar way - they perform a large amount of haphazard work, which at best is simply ineffective, and at worst leads to overtraining and injury.
A professional runner's inside knowledge about training types
There are only five of them:
1. Short work on speed and technique.
2. MPC work: sets of 2-6 minutes, 3-5 km long.
3. Tempo run, 20-40 minutes, trains the ability to run for a long time, moderately fast, without accumulating lactic acid.
4. Long run for endurance training.
5. Light jogging for recovery.
Each distance has its own preparation features. Therefore, it is important to first decide on a target start and then develop a training plan that includes the optimal balance of these five types of running training.
These principles are true not only for professionals - any runner who is attentive to their health and wants to achieve their goals can use a well-designed training program.
There are several key factors in an athlete's physiology that influence running performance. The five types of running workouts presented above allow you to work them out. The correct combination of different loads during the preparation process triggers the body’s adaptation mechanisms, which allows it to reach its peak form for the target start.
We have repeatedly emphasized the importance of choosing one key start. But this does not mean that you need to limit yourself to one start per season. Training programs may also include training starts.
Each person, due to physiological characteristics, is predisposed to covering a distance of a certain length. With the right level of training, you can probably overcome any distance from 5 km to a marathon, but you will most likely show the best results at one distance.
The original book proposed training plans for 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 21 and 42 kilometers. We will focus on the most popular distances: 5, 10, 21 and 42 km.
Concepts
Base speed
The maximum speed that an athlete can develop.
Particularly important for running up to 400 m.
IPC
Maximum oxygen consumption is a measure of the amount of oxygen that is delivered to and absorbed by the muscles. Especially important for running 1.5–5 km.
Anaerobic Threshold (AnT)
How much oxygen can the body absorb without lactic acid accumulation? Before overcoming the anaerobic threshold, the athlete can maintain a moderately high pace for a long time. Particularly important at distances greater than 15 km.
Pure Endurance
Particularly important at distances of 21 km.
What is MPC and how to improve it?
The heart pumps a certain volume of blood, which delivers oxygen to the muscles. MOC determines heart rate, blood volume and the percentage of oxygen that muscles absorb. VO2 max is influenced by genetics and training.
VO2 max is the most significant indicator in running over a distance of 1500–5000 meters. It indicates the amount of energy received by the body in aerobic mode.
The main factor in training MOC is the volume of blood that enters the vessels from the left ventricle. MPC training affects it specifically.
Heart rate is genetic, but can be increased with training. BMD decreases with age, but this process can also be slowed down by regular exercise.
VO2max is measured in ml of oxygen per body weight per minute.
MPC of professionals: marathon runners - 73 ml/kg/min; 5 km runners - 79 ml/kg/min.
The BMD of a 35-year-old office clerk is approximately 45 ml/kg/min.
Features: Women tend to have lower BMD because they have, on average, more fat and lower hemoglobin. The difference between BMD levels among professional men is on average 10% higher than among women.
For beginners: if you start training regularly, your VO2 max can increase by 20-30% within the first year. But its growth is limited by your genes.
MPC training
The ideal training regime is at 95–100% of your current VO2 max. It is best measured in laboratory conditions. If this is not possible, then this is approximately your running mode for competitions over a distance of 3–5 km.
It is important to observe the limit of such training - you need to give the body sufficient time to recover.
Option 1
A good workout is interval running of 4-8 km once a week. Sometimes it is possible to add another interval workout of lower volume.
Acceleration section: 600–1600m (requires 2-6 min). Less than 600 m - easier to run, but less efficient. Acceleration speed: competition speed for 3–5 km. If faster, the aerobic system is trained, slower, the anaerobic threshold is trained.
It is necessary to alternate fast segments with slow ones, which in duration can be from 50 to 90% of the acceleration time. In the intervals between accelerations, there is a temptation to stop and rest your hands on your knees. This is a mistake - the best recovery occurs during slow running, when lactic acid leaves the muscles.
Option 2
One of the options for interval work is "ladder". When the length of accelerations first increases and then decreases.
Option 3
Cross-country runners also use “ fartlek"- alternating jogs and accelerations in free mode.
What is base speed and how can I improve it?
Basic speed is the maximum possible speed of a runner over a short distance (up to 400 m). This speed can be gained, but cannot be maintained for a long time. Determined by the product of frequency and step length. Leg length is constant, so training focuses on muscle elasticity and strength.
The physiological basis is fibers in the muscles. There is a certain number of them (and the ratio of fast- and slow-twitch fibers). Speed can be improved by increasing the size of fast-twitch fibers. A person’s orientation towards a sprint or marathon is also based on the number of fast-twitch fibers in the muscles (sprinters have more of them).
Why work on your base speed?
Speed training is important for distance runners for several reasons:
1. the body’s ability to obtain energy anaerobically increases;
2. running technique becomes more efficient and economical;
3. The work of muscles that have accumulated lactic acid is trained - your finishing spurt can now be longer.
Your nervous system also controls your speed. Speed training pushes back the upper threshold. Some coaches force athletes to run downhill, artificially stimulating an increase in speed. Beware, this is not for amateurs!
Speed directly depends on leg strength. You can perform a variety of exercises (including with weights), but the most natural and safest is hill running. In addition to strength, the athlete’s heart and psychological readiness for the difficult terrain of the route are also trained.
Basic speed training
Hill running (strength)
Short segments up and down.
Jogging
At the maximum possible speed, 16 accelerations of 100 m each, after 100 m jogging.
What is the anaerobic threshold (AnT) and how to increase it?
During human movement, lactate is formed (a salt of lactic acid, a byproduct of incomplete oxidation of carbohydrates). While walking, a small amount of it enters the bloodstream, and it is successfully eliminated. As the load increases, its quantity increases, but the ability to process and remove it also increases. At a certain level of load intensity (LI), more of it begins to enter than can be removed per unit of time and it begins to accumulate in the muscles and blood. Accordingly, a person cannot run above this level of intensity for a long time. This level is the anaerobic threshold.
The significance of AnP and MPC for a runner is approximately equal at a distance of 10 km. Starting from 15 km, the AnP value is more important.
(!) Important for experienced athletes: you will not be able to increase your VO2 max (after a certain limit), but you will be able to work on increasing your AnP level.
Why raise the anaerobic threshold?
One important indicator is running economy - if at a given speed you consume less oxygen than your opponent, then you will run longer. This is the difference between a marathon runner and a sprinter - a long-distance runner runs more economically; the slow-twitch fibers in his muscles (unlike the fast-twitch fibers of a sprinter) consume a small amount of oxygen.
It is best to determine ANP in laboratory conditions, for which blood is taken from the athlete for analysis between running segments. There are also portable lactometers.
Inaccurate method of determining - your ANP pace is equal to the competition pace for 15-21 km.
AnP training
Run at 100–110% of your current AnP level.
The task is that lactate should accumulate, but in moderate volumes. The running intensity is above average, but not extreme. If you run too fast, the lactic acid in your muscles will not allow you to maintain the pace for a long time.
Main types of AnP training:
1. tempo run;`
2. interval running at the AnP level;
3. running uphill.
Tempo run(or running with a stretch)
The total distance is divided into three intervals, the middle one is run at high intensity. For example, 3 km of easy running, then 6 km at a good speed slightly above average and finally 2 km of jogging. Runners who have been doing tempo training for a while get a pretty good feel for (and reproduction of) their ANP tempo. IMPORTANT: You cannot run at top speed.
Interval AnP running
2-4 segments of 8 minutes at a moderately fast pace, alternating with jogging. Psychologically, it is easier to train in this mode, but classic stretch running better prepares you for the atmosphere at the start, when you need to maintain a high pace for a long time.
Mountain running
Also a great way to train AnP. The approach is identical - uphill intervals should be long enough and alternate with even intervals.
How to improve endurance?
Endurance training - running at moderate speed. Running pace: 30–60 seconds slower than competitive marathon pace or 40–85 seconds slower than half marathon pace.
Walking and jogging do not train endurance!
The distance for a long workout is determined by your target distance: for example, for an experienced 5K runner it might be 12K, for a marathon runner it might be 35K.
How fast should you run?
A good technique for long training is to gradually increase your pace throughout the race. For example, if you started at 5:30, then you can finish the race at 5:00.
It is preferable to do two high-quality long training sessions during the three weeks of preparation.
What is worked out during endurance training?
1. the use of fat during competition as a source of energy (does not allow you to quickly deplete glycogen reserves in the body during the start;
2. the body’s ability to store glycogen improves (during training, glycogen reserves are depleted, which stimulates the body to accumulate it in larger quantities);
3. the capillary network increases (this makes it possible to more effectively deliver useful substances to the cells and remove waste substances);
4. fast-twitch muscle fibers partially acquire the properties of slow-twitch fibers.
Most modern gadgets allow you to monitor your heart rate during exercise. You can also measure your pulse with your fingers on your neck using a regular watch with a stopwatch.
You can determine your maximum heart rate with the following exercise. After a good intensive warm-up with sprint acceleration, you need to jog for 2 minutes at the highest possible speed. By the end of the distance, your heart rate will be close to maximum.
In order to calculate your heart rate reserve, you need to find the difference between your maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate. Resting heart rate is measured immediately after you open your eyes in bed (without an alarm clock). For accurate measurements, it is necessary to detect it for several days.
The pulse increases in the heat, from caffeine, and when dehydrated. Therefore, it is important in hot weather to drink enough water before and during exercise.
If there is enough time for recovery, this leads to improved physical fitness and performance in competition. But if the volume and intensity of training is so great that the body does not have time to recover between workouts, then overtraining occurs. Overtraining should be distinguished from temporary fatigue, which may be associated, for example, with a recent increase in running volume.
It is believed that overtraining may be associated with the work of the sympathetic nervous system, which responds to the stress to which the athlete’s body is exposed.
Symptoms
Negative dynamics of results, susceptibility to colds, constant fatigue and lethargy, reluctance to exercise, increased heart rate, poor sleep.
How to determine overtraining?
To exclude the diagnosis of “fatigue”: do not perform long and excessively intense workouts for 3-5 days, eat carbohydrates (60-70% of the total food), drink fluids, and sleep regularly. If fatigue persists, then you may be overtraining.
How to overcome overtraining:
Avoid intense workouts;
- reduce the overall running volume;
- monitor your diet and sleep and rest patterns.
If your body has not recovered within 2 weeks, see a sports doctor. Please note that overtraining can be caused not only and not so much by your training, but by a general stressful situation, for example, at work, or a lack of sufficient sleep and rest. It is necessary to take prompt action, as there is a high risk of injury during exercise.
Key points to prevent overtraining
1. sufficient time for recovery;
2. an individual diet (including a sufficient amount of fluid), compensating your body for the elements it needs;
3. monitoring indicators (pulse, speed, volume), keeping a diary.
Runners often become dehydrated while training outdoors.
Extreme dehydration can lead to heatstroke and death (more information about the fatal degree of dehydration on Zozhnik is available in).
Running in the heat:
The body sends more blood to the skin for cooling, but the muscles do not receive it;
- the stronger the sweating, the less blood volume the heart pumps;
- the lower the volume, the higher the pulse and the more difficult it is to keep the pace.
With the loss of fluid, performance decreases.
A 70-kilogram runner can lose 3-4 kg of moisture in 2 hours, which will reduce performance by 10%.
There is also a cumulative effect - if you run in the heat for several days and do not compensate your body for moisture loss, then your performance gradually and imperceptibly decreases.
How much and when to drink water?
During training in the heat, you will not be able to fully compensate for the loss of fluid, since it can be up to 2 liters per hour, and the stomach can only absorb 800 ml (if you drink 170-200 ml every 15 minutes).
Thirst is a bad advisor. As a rule, it occurs when the body is already severely lacking fluid; if you feel thirsty, you are already late for drinking. Therefore, it is necessary to drink regularly throughout the day. Indicator: your urine should be light in color. American experts advise drinking about 0.5 liters of water 2 hours before training. After training, you can drink water and carbohydrate drinks (4-6%).
Alcohol and coffee
Cola, coffee, tea, beer and other alcoholic drinks remove water from the body. Therefore, if you drink, for example, a glass of beer to calm your nerves, then compensate for this with at least the same amount of water.
There can be two types:
From a single strong shock/tension;
- accumulated through repeated repetition.
Thus, you need to gradually prepare your body for heavy loads - through developing strength and flexibility, and for long-term loads - by working on your running technique.
Each workout should begin with a warm-up and end with a cool-down. Before training - a good energetic warm-up, then stretching (not the other way around!) After training - cool down and stretching, which will relieve tension after exercise and maintain the length of muscles and tissues.
Stretching should be done calmly, with a small range of motion. It’s good to do it in several approaches with a short break. Breathing should be even and calm; you cannot stretch while holding your breath.
Some runners' leg muscles may be unevenly developed, leading to pain. Muscle imbalance is difficult to determine without the help of a specialist. Prevention includes exercises for all muscle groups of the legs, which allow you to strengthen them as a whole. It is important not to let this situation take its course, as in extreme cases, imbalance can lead to injury.
One of the best ways to strengthen and develop the body is yoga. It allows you to improve the elasticity of muscles and ligaments, joint mobility, and recover from running stress.
Recovery after training
To speed up the recovery process after training, massage is excellent (either from a sports massage therapist or self-massage at home).
While running, the athlete's body is exposed to shock loads. Concrete and asphalt are especially cruel to us. Sneakers take on part of the load (they need to be monitored and changed on time - the mileage of sneakers is from 600 to 1300 km). If there is such an opportunity, then it is better to train on natural surfaces - soil, grass, forest path, etc. When running downhill, the impact load also increases.
A useful element of training for a runner is cross-training. You can use it for swimming, skiing, cycling, rowing and other activities. It's especially good to use cross-training for recovery workouts. The running shock load is either absent or minimal.
Compared to men, women:
1. smaller heart (leads to a larger pulse);
2. lower hemoglobin, less oxygen reaches the muscles;
3. larger fat reserves;
4. lower testosterone, less muscle mass.
One consequence is lower BMD.
The influence of menstrual cycles is individual. There is a general consensus that performance declines in the premenstrual and early menstrual phases of the cycle. It is necessary to independently keep a training diary and adjust the dates of intensive training and competitions. Taking oral contraceptives may also have an effect.
Runners need to monitor the level of iron in the body - proper nutrition and situational intake of special vitamin complexes will help.
How to choose a tactic?
When you run a marathon, you have two opponents - time and other runners. You need to decide before the start who you will compete with. If your option is a specific athlete, then you need to run the course smarter than him. If it's a stopwatch, then you just need to finish with the best time.
The most effective way is to run evenly. Pay attention to how top-level athletes run - they cover every kilometer with a speed fluctuation of no more than 5 seconds.
How to keep the pace?
Find the right pace during training;
- restrain yourself in the first kilometers, when you have the strength to run faster;
- maintain the pace in the middle section;
- keep the pace in the final quarter of the marathon.
Don't start fast - you will overtake many runners who are fast at the start in the distance. When running in windy conditions, stay in a group if possible. A careful start is especially important in hot weather.
How to overtake correctly?
First, run directly behind your opponent for a while, then accelerate, which will allow you to break away from him by 30 meters or more. Don't turn around to look at those who are catching up - this gives them a psychological advantage.
Race plan
It's good to have a plan, but be smart and flexible. It can be affected by the weather, your well-being, the terrain of the route and many other factors. You must be prepared to make adjustments to your tactics for completing the course.
Before any start, be sure to do a warm-up.
The shorter the distance, the more intense the warm-up should be. If you don't prepare your muscles, then during a good start, lactate can begin to accumulate too early and too quickly. The purpose of the warm-up is to “accelerate” the processes in the body to speed at the initial stage of the race. The body is not able to suddenly switch to a competitive pace from a resting state. The purpose of the warm-up is to smooth out this transition.
45 minutes before the start:
2-3 km calm running with increasing speed;
- the last 600–800 m at a pulling pace;
- free non-amplitude stretching 15 min.
15 minutes before the start:
2 km easy jog;
-series of accelerations of 100–200 m.
You should finish your warm-up no earlier than 5 minutes before the start. This is not always possible, so you need to maintain this state with light exercises (for example, running in place) until the starting whistle.
Warm-up before the marathon: 2km jog to race pace, light stretching. It is necessary to eliminate accelerations and save maximum energy.
The purpose of the cool-down is to normalize the state of the body after the competition: pulse, breathing, internal body temperature, hormone levels. For cool-downs after races up to 10 km, lactate removal is also an important task.
How to cool down?
A great option for a post-workout cool-down is a slow run of 2–5 km.
If you don’t have the strength, you can just walk instead of jogging. The main thing is to keep moving.
Features of the distance
Running is close to your VO2 max, so it's important to pace yourself at the right pace so you don't oxidize too quickly. If you distribute the forces correctly, then by the finish line the oxidation should be painfully high.
MPC training will help you choose the right pace - the environment in the training plan below.
Evenly, finishing dash for 100–200 m.
Example of a training week
Monday: rest day.
Tuesday: easy 6 km recovery run.
Wednesday: warm-up, 4 x 1000 m intervals, cool-down (11 km in total).
Thursday: short long run 9 km.
Friday: rest day.
Saturday: 7 km, including 10 x 100 m stride run.
Sunday: long run 12 km.
Comment: all types of training are worked out in a week, loads are alternated, there is enough time for recovery. You can't reschedule your workouts - if you miss a day, do the next one. At best, the quality will decrease, at worst, you will get injured due to overexertion.
At a distance of 5 km, it is important to be focused throughout the entire distance; you will not have the energy and time to compensate for even a minute of being in the clouds.
At competitions, the body will have to work at 100% from the first meter of the distance, so it is imperative to carry out an intensive warm-up before the start. Within 45 minutes before the start, 2-3 km of running, stretching, running exercises, accelerations of 100 m.
Workout Features
For beginner runners (less than 30 km per week): long run from 8 km at the beginning to 11 km at the peak of the training program (week 7).
For advanced (from 60 km per week): from 12 km to 17 km. The pace is not jogging (!), 60–90 seconds slower than the competitive 5 km pace.
Interval work, stretch training, training competitions, control starts. The pace of the fast part during intervals and stretches is approximately the same as the competition pace of 21 km. In training competitions the pace is slightly higher.
At control starts, the pace is maximum at this stage. An important aspect of participation in control starts and test competitions is psychological preparation.
MPC training
Base speed
The finishing dash is especially important at this distance, so the plan can focus on training for basic speed - short repetitions of 100-200 m.
Features of the distance
Key factors: anaerobic threshold, MOC.
Physiology: running at a speed slightly above the anaerobic threshold.
Training Objective: Increase AnP and VO2 to maintain higher speed with minimal lactic acid production.
Tactics for passing the distance
A good start (but not at the limit), the main focus is on the middle part of the distance, when the mind begins to float. If you run it well and smoothly, you can refine the finish.
Example of a training week
Monday: rest day.
Tuesday: 7 km easy recovery run.
Wednesday: warm-up, 5 x 2:30 intervals, cool-down (total 12 km).
Thursday: short long run 11 km.
Friday: rest day.
Saturday: 8 km, including 10 x 100 m stride run.
Sunday: long run 15 km.
Workout Features
Long run
Twice a week training to develop endurance. The pace is 45–85 seconds slower than 10K race pace. The duration of the second time is less.
Anaerobic threshold training
MPC training
Long intervals, uphill running 600–2000 m long at a competitive speed of 5 km distance. The recovery segment time is from 50 to 90% of the fast segment time.
Base speed
Base speed training allows you to hone your running technique.
Features of the distance
Main factor: anaerobic threshold.
High ANP allows professionals to maintain high speed and not accumulate lactic acid.
If the distance takes about 1.5 hours or more, then glycogen reserves and training to increase them are also important for you.
Tactics for passing the distance
It takes mental toughness to maintain ANP speed for 21 km. A careful, slow start will save energy for the second half of the race. The overall pace should be even throughout the entire distance. Learn to maintain your pace during stretch workouts and long runs, even when you're tired.
Example of a training week
Monday: rest day.
Wednesday: warm up, 5 x 2:30 intervals, cool down (11 km total).
Thursday: short long run 12 km.
Friday: rest day.
Saturday: 9 km.
Sunday: long run 18 km.
Workout Features
For beginner runners (less than 45 km per week): long run from 12 km at the beginning to 20 km at the peak of the training program. For advanced (from 75 km per week): from 18 km to 26 km. The pace is not a jog (!), 35–75 seconds slower than the competition pace for 21 km.
The second long run workout of the week is just as important. Try to imitate the terrain of the future start on it.
Anaerobic threshold training
Interval work, stretch training, training competitions, control starts. The pace of the fast part during intervals and stretches is approximately the same as the competition pace of 21 km. In training competitions the pace is slightly higher. At control starts, the pace is maximum at this stage. An important aspect of participation in control starts and test competitions is psychological preparation.
MPC training
Long intervals, uphill running 600–2000 m long at a competitive speed of 5 km distance. The recovery segment time is from 50 to 90% of the fast segment time.
Base speed
Features of the distance
Main factors: endurance, carbohydrate reserves, high ANP.
Adaptive mechanisms are an increase in the number of capillaries and the use of fatty acids instead of glycogen as an energy source. It is also important to increase the total amount of glycogen stored - this is what long running training does. You can increase your ANP with special exercises.
(!) These adaptation mechanisms work slowly - it takes a long time to prepare the body for a marathon. The recommended training period for the marathon is 18 weeks.
Tactics for passing the distance
The task: to maintain the pace throughout the distance. Patience and more patience. If you did everything correctly - good comprehensive preparation, preparation for the start, carbohydrate loading, normal water balance and daily routine, then you are in ideal shape for the competition. You have to run 42.195 m as smoothly as possible and at the same pace. You need to run the first half of the distance calmly and relaxed, preserving your physical and emotional strength for the second part.
Example of a training week
Monday: rest day.
Tuesday: 9 km easy recovery run.
Wednesday: warm-up, 2 x 3 km intervals, cool-down (12 km in total).
Thursday: 7 km.
Friday: short long run 15 km.
Saturday: 6 km.
Sunday: long run 26 km.
Workout Features
For beginner runners (less than 60 km per week): long run from 17 km at the beginning to 30 km at the peak of the training program.
For advanced (from 90 km per week): from 23 km to 33 km. The pace is not jogging (!), 30–60 seconds slower than the competition pace for 42 km.
The second long run workout of the week is just as important. It consolidates the effect of the first. We also recommend doing one workout for a distance of 30 km, and 6 weeks before the start, one long run of 21 km with a good finishing acceleration (from 19 to 21 km).
Anaerobic threshold training
Interval work, stretch training, training competitions, control starts. The pace of the fast part during intervals and stretches is approximately the same as the competition pace of 21 km. In training competitions the pace is slightly higher. At control starts, the pace is maximum at this stage. An important aspect of participation in control starts and test competitions is psychological preparation. We recommend using intervals and stretching training in the first half of preparation, and adding training starts in the second half.
MPC training
Long intervals, uphill running 600–2000 m long at a competitive speed of 5 km distance. The recovery segment time is from 50 to 90% of the fast segment time.
Base speed
Practicing technique and increasing step frequency.
Where does the energy for a 42 km run come from?
Two sources of energy for long-distance running: carbohydrates and fats.
Long-distance runners use it in the ratio: 80% carbohydrates, 20% fat. The faster the speed, the more carbohydrates are used.
When glycogen (carbohydrate) reserves come to an end, the body begins to burn fat, for which it requires more oxygen. The marathon term “meeting the wall” in the last third of the distance describes a situation when glycogen reserves are completely depleted and there is no more energy to run.
What to do to get there?
Endurance training triggers adaptation mechanisms in the body that stimulate muscles to store larger amounts of glycogen, and also develop the habit of using it sparingly (including the simultaneous use of fat as an energy source).
A typical marathon runner's diet consists of 60% carbohydrates. A special carbohydrate load before the start increases the current glycogen reserve in the body from 1500–2000 to 2300–2700 kcal. This volume theoretically allows you to finish at a working pace and not “meet the wall” 1.5 hours after the start of the competition.
Three days before the competition, the running volume is sharply reduced.
The volume of so-called food consumed is increasing. “long” carbohydrates, such as pasta or rice (up to 80% of calories consumed).
What to eat and drink while running?
The carbohydrate load should be enough for about 2 hours of running. But on the route it is also recommended to organize additional nutrition in the form of energy drinks and gels. Let us remind you that regular consumption of water during a long race is a prerequisite.
Body restriction: about 200 g of liquid is absorbed within 15 minutes. An additional 800 calories will help you cover about 15 more km. Lately, gels have become popular - they are convenient to eat, but they must be washed down, so gel consumption must be adjusted relative to the location of food stations at a distance.
All planned meals must be tried during training to avoid stomach troubles at the start. Race sponsors often offer free gels and energy drinks at nutrition stations, but there is a risk that your body will react negatively to them.
Develop the skill of drinking from cups on the run, without losing your breath or stopping.
How to get to the start line in perfect shape?
Three weeks before the marathon, 10 days before the half marathon, 5 days before the 10 km.
It is necessary to reduce the intensity of training and reduce its volume.
Objective: to enable the body to accumulate reserves (glycogen and water) and recover from stress (including getting rid of microtraumas).
How to distribute loads during training before a marathon?
The load gradually decreases in the last 3 weeks before the marathon. The busiest week is no later than a month before the marathon. In the last week - 1/3 of your maximum weekly running volume (if you ran 90 km per week, then in the last week your running volume from Monday to Saturday should not exceed 30 km). Try to train in the morning this week (if you start in the morning) so that the body gets used to correctly distributing forces.
Do a “Wednesday Workout”: On the Wednesday before your Sunday marathon, in race uniform and running shoes (!), warm up for 15 minutes, then lightly run 3-5 km, then cool down for 15 minutes. This will help you mentally prepare for the start.
How to recover after a competition?
After the finish:
1. Keep moving.
2. Drink water.
3. Put on warm, dry clothes.
4. Eat carbohydrates, such as 1-2 bananas.
First week:
1. Massage (including self-massage).
2. Light exercise other than running (swimming, cycling, walking).
3. Sleep.
4. The first 2–3 days - foods rich in carbohydrates.
Regular low-volume running training can begin in the 2nd–3rd week. In the 6-8 weeks after the marathon, your body should have fully recovered. You will be tempted in a month and a half to take part in a new start. Do not expect to get a high result - for this you need to go through the entire training program again.
The summary did not include some important, in our opinion, parts of the book:
1. Pete's Plan. Pete Fitzinger's training plan that led him to 2:11:54 at the New York City Marathon (210 km per week). And also its improved version (202 km).
2. Interviews and recommendations from world-class athletes. Preparation plans for each distance are commented on by record holders and Olympians. They share the secrets of their preparation and completion of distances from 5 km to marathon.
3. Detailed weekly plans for preparing athletes for each distance from 5 km to marathon. Available for three skill levels, from beginners to advanced runners.
4. Plans for pumping up running volume. They will allow every runner to increase volume and move to the next level of performance.
The book "Road Running" is one of the main running textbooks. Marathoner, coach and exercise physiologist Pete Fitzinger describes in detail all aspects of runner training.
With this book you will be able to:
Independently formulate an individual comprehensive training program;
- competently structure the training process and approach the start in the best shape;
- distribute forces over the distance;
- recover after training and marathon.
Helpful tips will help you gain mental stability. You will learn how to prevent injury and overtraining.
And most importantly, you can train less and achieve greater results!
Other excerpts from books on Zozhnik:
A question has arisen regarding VO2max. For elite cyclists this figure is very high, how can we achieve greater oxygen consumption? Are there any special workouts for developing VO2max? After all, the more oxygen I can consume, the faster I will go.
The topic of the IPC is very interesting and not so extensively described on this blog, I will correct it. The title of this post is very embellished, in the sense that I know very superficially about oxygen consumption to delve too deeply into this issue. I will now share this superficial knowledge with you.
To begin with, for those who don’t know - VO2max = IPC = Maximum oxygen consumption. From now on I will use the term IPC. MIC refers to the maximum amount of oxygen that the human body can use per unit of time. You can calculate the volume of MOC in ml/min; an ordinary healthy person, not an athlete, is able to consume 3 - 3.5 liters/min, while in athletes the MOC sometimes reaches 6 liters/min. It would be more correct to consider the MOC not in ml/min, but in ml/min/kg; in this calculation, the person’s weight will be taken into account, which can be very important, because if a 50-kilogram athlete has a MOC of X liters/min and he will be a high-class athlete, then for a 100-kilogram athlete X liters/min will no longer be enough to achieve the same results in his weight category. This is explained by the fact that the main consumer of oxygen in physical work is muscles. Of course, a “central” person has more muscles than his lightweight counterpart.
How does a person consume oxygen? Of course, the main source of oxygen is the air we inhale. The air contains about 21% oxygen, the value may vary. For example, the MIC in the mountains will be lower than in the lowlands. With each breath, oxygen enters the lungs, where it binds to the protein hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body through the bloodstream. Traveling throughout the body, hemoglobin brings oxygen to where it is needed - to the muscle fiber. The final consumer of oxygen is mitochondria; in the presence of fats or glucose nearby, the mitochondria destroys them (this process is impossible without the participation of oxygen) producing energy.
Now that we more or less understand what oxygen is needed for and how it is used in the body, we can ask the question: do we have enough oxygen, is oxygen the limiting factor in achieving the best athletic results? There is no definite answer for any person. If there are a lot of mitochondria, at the same time, the number of muscles simultaneously involved in the work is also large, and if these muscles are also large, then we can imagine a situation where there will not be enough oxygen. What to do in such a situation to increase MPC? There are two ways to increase BMD - increase hemoglobin, then it will be able to bind more oxygen to itself in one breath; the second option is to stretch the heart, increasing blood flow. In other words, either increase the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood, or the speed of its transportation.
Now, as for the IPC problems. For most, it is simply far-fetched; the average body provides itself with oxygen with a reserve. And here lies one gigantic misconception inherent in many athletes and amateurs. They believe that during intense work, when an athlete begins to breathe heavily, the heart is to blame, which is supposedly no longer able to provide his oxygen needs and they call this moment the moment of the onset of MPC, which is another deep misconception. The moment when an athlete begins to breathe heavily and his muscles begin to acidify is called the anaerobic threshold. This means that all the mitochondria of the working muscles are already included in the work, there are no more “free” ones, at this moment the second method of energy generation is activated - anaerobic. The anaerobic method of energy generation does not require oxygen, however, a “side effect,” if you can call it that, during anaerobic energy generation is hydrogen ions. It is because of hydrogen ions that a person begins to breathe heavily, and not at all because he lacks oxygen or his heart cannot cope. The heart really starts to work like crazy, it can contract up to 200 beats/min. and more, but only because it tries to remove hydrogen ions, in the meantime the calcium pumps are blocked and the power quickly drops.
There are people with hearts: outstanding, ordinary and bad. An outstanding heart is a heart with a huge stroke volume, a poor heart is one with a very small stroke volume. A bad and outstanding heart is extremely rare. A person with an outstanding heart should choose a sport that works many muscles at once; its advantages lie in this niche: running, swimming, cross-country skiing, speed skating. Cycling is not one of those sports that requires an outstanding heart to achieve high results. Therefore, for runners, swimmers and others, if their MPC begins to limit them, it makes sense to change their sport to cycling, or some other sport where few muscles work at the same time.
Have I answered all the questions? In order not to miss anything, once again briefly: how to achieve greater IPC? - Stretch your heart, but if it does not limit you, then the activity is pointless, for the long term, you first get closer to it. Special training for MPC? - Again, stretching the heart. You can also train in the mountains to increase your hemoglobin levels. However, VO2max is just a bar, your limit of ability, up to which you need to work long and painstakingly on muscles and mitochondrial accumulation in order to achieve VO2 max at the anaerobic threshold.
