Top Seven Lessons For Coaching Runners
Coach Jason Karp gives some solid science-based advice for training middle and long distance runners.

By Dr. Jason R. Karp, Ph.D.

    When I was in high school, my electronics teacher had a silly, fortune cookie-type saying to remind his students of how to handle electrical wires: "One hand in pockey, no get shockey." Like touching wires with both hands, there's a wrong way to do almost everything. For example, going down a park slide head first, throwing a paper airplane at your high school teacher, and not buying your twin brother a birthday present (claiming you forgot his birthday), could all be considered errors in judgment. (Okay, so I don't always make the best decisions.)
As a physiologist and coach, I see runners doing the wrong things much too often. Although imperfect training and racing won't have as severe a consequence for your ath­letes as electrocuting themselves, not training and racing correctly will prevent them from meeting their potential. In honor of my electron­ics teacher, here are my top seven lessons for coaching runners.

1. HAVE YOUR ATHLETES RUN FOR GOLD BY TRAINING THE LACTATE THRESHOLD

    From the time of the classic study by Farrell, et al. (1979), re­search has shown that the lactate threshold (LT) is the best physio­logical predictor of distance running performance. The LT is an important physiological variable that demar­cates the transition between running that is almost purely aerobic and running that includes significant oxygen-independent (anaerobic) metabolism. It represents the fastest speed your athletes can sustain aerobically. (All running speeds have an anaerobic contribution, although at speeds slower than the LT, that contribution is negligible.) LT runs raise LT to a faster speed, allowing your athletes to run faster before they fatigue because they can run faster before anaerobic metabolism begins to playa significant role.
    The longer the race, the more important LT training becomes. For recreational runners, LT pace is approximately 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace (about 80 to 85% maximum heart rate). For those more highly trained, it's about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace (about 90% maximum heart rate).
    Subjectively, these workouts should feel "comfortably hard." Examples of workouts are: 1) LT Run: 2 to 4 miles (or 10-20 minutes) at LT pace; 2) LT Cruise Intervals: 4 x 1 mile (or 5-7 minutes) at LT pace with 1 minute rest; 3) LT + Cruise Intervals: 2 sets of 3 x 1,000 meters (or 3-4 minutes) at 5 to 10 seconds per mile faster than LT pace with 45 seconds rest and two minutes rest between sets; and 4) LT /Long Slow Distance (LSD) Combo: 12 to 16 miles with last 2 to 4 miles at LT pace or 2 miles easy + 3 miles at LT  pace + 6 miles easy + 3 miles at LT pace (for advanced marathoners).

2. TO PREVENT YOUR ATHLETES' FITNESS LEVELS FROM WANING, RAMP UP THE INTENSITY WITH VO2MAX TRAINING

    The maximum volume of oxy­gen your muscles can consume per minute, VO2max is the second major
player of running performance. While increasing your athletes' weekly running mileage will in­crease their VO2max if they cur­rently run less than 40 to 50 miles per week, as the increased volume attends to the many biochemical characteristics that influence oxygen extraction and use by the muscles, high-intensity interval training at or near VO2max is the most effective stimulus, especially for trained runners (Billat, 2001; Midgley, et al., 2006; Midgley, et al., 2007). While long intervals (2-5 minutes) provide a greater load on the cardiovascular system, short intervals «1 minute)
can also increase VO2max, as long as they include short, active recovery periods to keep VO2 elevated throughout the workout (Billat, 2001).
    In lieu of a laboratory test to tell you the velocity that elicits VO2max (vVO2max), you can use current race performances or heart rate. vVO2max is close to 1-mile race pace for recreational runners and 2-mile race pace (10 to 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K race pace) for highly-trained runners. Your athletes should be within a few beats of their maximum heart rates by the end of each interval.

    Examples of workouts are: 1) 3 x 1,000 meters (or 4 minutes) at vVO2max with a 1:≤1 work-to-rest ratio,2)4x800meters (or 3 minutes) at vVO2max with a 1:≤1 work-to-rest ratio, and 3) 20 x 200 meters (or 30 seconds) at vVO2max with a 1:≤1 work-to-rest ratio.

3. TO MEET YOUR ATHLETES' PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS, RUN WORKOUTS AT THE CORRECT SPEEDS

    One of the biggest mistakes runners make is running workouts at incorrect speeds. If your athletes run their workouts too fast, they won't meet the purpose of the workout. At the very least, they'll add unnecessary fatigue to their legs without extra benefit.
    For example, say you want to improve your athlete's VO2max, so you plan to have him or her run mile repeats at vVO2max (near 100% max heart rate). If running each mile in 7:00 elicits VO2max (and max heart rate), running each one in 6:30 will certainly also elicit VO2max. But why run each mile in 6:30 when he or she can run it in 7:00 and still get the same benefit? Running faster is not always better.
    On the other hand, if your athletes run their workouts too slow, they may not improve the physiological variable you're trying to train. To determine your athletes' correct paces, you must know the purpose of each workout. The goal of training is to obtain the greatest benefit while incurring the least amount of stress, so you want your athletes to run as slow as they can while still obtaining the desired result.
 

4. BEFORE PICKING UP THE PACE, HAVE A SOLID AEROBIC BASE

    While faster training will improve fitness faster than simply running more easy miles, any short-term gains will likely occur to the detriment of long-term develop­ment. Lots of aerobic running forms the basis of any runner's training program.
    Whether your athletes are training for a local 5K or the New York City Marathon, it all starts with mileage. That's because aerobic running develops many physiological and biochemical traits needed for good endurance. For example, it increases the number of red blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin contained within them, giving blood vessels a greater oxygen-carrying capability. It also increases muscle capillary volume, providing more oxygen to the muscles, and increases mitochondrial volume and the num­ber of aerobic enzymes, allowing for a greater use of oxygen (Brooks et al.,2000).
    The more you attend to these qualities of aerobic metabolism, the more your athletes will ultimately get from their subsequent interval training, as they will recover faster during the rest periods of their interval workouts (which allows them to run more repetitions in each workout) and between workouts (which allows them to do interval workouts more often).

5. REFUEL IMMEDIATELY, MAXIMIZE RECOVERY

    Endurance training is strongly influenced by the amount of pre-exercise muscle glycogen (the stored form of carbohydrates), with intense endurance exercise decreasing muscle glycogen content (Ahlborg et al., 1967; Bergstrom et al., 1967; Jen*ns & Jeukendrup, 2003). Recovery is closely linked to the replenishment of carbohydrates. The synthesis of glycogen between training sessions occurs most rap­idly if carbohydrates are consumed immediately after exercise (Ivy, 2004; Jen*ns & Jeukendrup, 2003). Indeed, delaying carbohydrate in­gestion for just two hours after a workout significantly reduces the rate at which muscle glycogen is resynthesized and stored (Ivy, et al., 1988).
    To maximize the rate of gly­cogen synthesis, tell your athletes to consume 0.7 gram of simple carbohydrates (preferably glucose) per pound of body weight within 30 minutes after they run and every two hours for four to six hours. It would be even better if they can eat or drink more often, since a more frequent ingestion of smaller amounts of carbohydrates has an even greater effect on glycogen synthesis (Doyle, et al., 1993; van Loon, et al., 2000).
    Despite the many highly-advertised commercial sports drinks, any drink that contains a large amount of carbohydrates is great for recovery. For example, my research has shown that chocolate milk is a great post-workout recovery drink (Karp, et al., 2006).
    While some studies have found that consuming carbohydrates and protein together also speeds muscle glycogen storage (Ivy, et al., 2002; van Loon, et al., 2000; Zawadzki, et al., 1992), others have not found this to be the case (Carrithers, et al., 2000; Tamopolsky, et al., 1997; Van Hall, et al., 2000). The total amount of calories consumed seems to be more important for recovery than the carbohydrate-protein mix. Since consuming protein helps rebuild skeletal muscle fibers that are damaged during intense exercise, pro­tein has its own merit for optimal recovery.
 

6. RUN THROUGH TOWN, PUT DUMBBELLS DOWN

    Unlike most sports, which require strength, speed, and power, distance running is primarily limited by the delivery and use of oxygen, neither of which are improved by weight training. There is little scientific evidence that weight training improves distance running performance or two of its main physiological determinants-LT and VO2max (Jung, 2003).
    If your athletes still want to lift weights, the best type of weight training for distance runners is ironically similar to what football players do. Power training, either with very heavy weights or plyometrics, which focuses on the neural component of muscle force development, may improve endurance performance by improving its third physiological determinant-run­ning economy (Jung, 2003; Paavolainen, et al., 1999), the amount of oxygen used to maintain a given submaximal speed.
    However, weight training is not necessary unless your athletes have either already maximized their running training by increasing both mileage and intensity, they cannot handle the physical stress of running more miles, or they have reached their genetic limit for adaptation to their running training. A 25-minute 5K runner is better served by improving the cardiovascular and
metabolic parameters associated with endurance than by weight training.
 

7. TO RUN YOUR BEST RACE, RUN EVEN OR NEGATIVE PACE

    I used to coach a talented runner who ran the first mile of every race too fast, only to slow down dramati­cally during the latter segments and end up disappointed with the result. He thought he was better than his workouts and let his competitive spirit and pre-race adrenaline obscure his knowledge of his true fitness level. It was frustrating to watch him start off so well and get slower with each successive lap of the track.
    The faster your athletes run the first mile of a race, the more their muscles rely on anaerobic metabolism, which is accompanied by muscle and blood acidosis and the accumulation of metabolites that cause fatigue. Your athletes can't put running time in the bank. They will end up losing more time in the end than what they gained by being "ahead of schedule" in the beginning.
    The best way for your athletes to run their races is by starting out at the pace they can maintain the entire race. Ideally, the second half of their races should be equal to or slightly faster than the first half (called "negative splits").
    Your athletes' workouts are invaluable for providing you with knowledge of their fitness levels and for predicting their average race paces. For example, LT pace is about 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace (or about 10K race pace) for recreational runners and about 25 to 30 seconds
per mile slower than 5K race pace (or about 15 to 20 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace) for those more talented and highly-trained.
    If you want your athletes to get the most from their training and racing, use these lessons. Not only will they be rewarded with higher levels of fitness and new personal records, you'll have some memorable quips to impress your fellow coaches with at your next clinic.
 

FROM: TRACK COACH 192