With each passing day we get just a little bit older, the miles pass by just a little bit slower and as we push on to finish out the run we start to realize that we really don’t have that much time. We don’t have nearly enough time to do all the training we want in order to get fitter, maybe we carve out a bit to stretch, to eat a bit better, get to bed early and so on. We definitely don’t have extra time to make mistakes with our training. We can’t have a bad half marathon, marathon, triathlon or whatever the race distance is and just hop into another one next week to right the wrong. Every passing season and successive year we get older and it gets that much harder to hold the pace, get that “Boston Qualifier” or whatever goal it is that still alludes us. So what do we do to decrease that margin of error? How do we rethink what we are doing with our training programs?

My solution is to go back to the drawing board and re-establish the first principles of training. If you ask any elite runner what were the most important workouts that they did to achieve their goals they will always answer the same. It was their interval training. Of course elite runners run a lot and put in plenty of easy miles, long runs, 2x a day and the like, but it is always the intervals that helps them reach their goal. More specifically it is the intervals done right around their goal race pace that gives them the confidence to carry it through from start to finish on race day.

What is special about interval training is that it allows us to set constraints and stick to them much easier then when just going for a run. With an interval workout we set a certain distance to run, pick how many reps to do in that session, come up with a goal time to hit, a heart rate zone to stay within, while also having a specific recovery time that lines up with the interval intensity. Interval training is a great way to insure that the quality of the work that we are doing remains high, but doesn’t push us too hard so that we can’t complete it. Training success and ultimately racing success is dependent on getting in your intervals and keeping your training quality at as high a level as possible. When an interval program is done correctly it allows you to train and not strain.

Where I think we as runners can be more creative is understanding the place of intervals within the broader spectrum of our training. All the rave in the fitness world for the past few years has been on “HIIT” workouts. Of course high intensity interval training can and should be in the program, but for most of us they are only a small piece of the puzzle. I think there are great benefits to be gained in “moderate intensity” interval training, aerobic threshold interval training and the like. If we focus on the quality of our running then we can make every run we do count that much more. Great training is about riding that line between over-training and under-training - even on those easy days. It is a hard one to navigate if you don’t have a plan and follow these first principles.

…… My goal in writing these blogs is to share with you what I have learned from my running journey.  I want to help you avoid the mistakes that I and so many of us have made in the past. Mistakes do not need to be a part of your running future. It is my goal to help you save time - on a daily basis and in your next race.

Yours in Running,

Terrence