Smart, proven training trends that will help you get faster and stay injury-free
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It's a new year, and while you probably don't care if you're still wearing last year's microfiber tights, there's no reason to be caught training the "old" way if there's a better way to achieve your running goals. Thankfully, sports scientists, coaches, and elite runners continually experiment with training methods, and we've tapped into their strategies to discover what works. The five following training trends have proven so effective that--dare we say it?--they're here to stay.
OUT: Running every day IN: Running every other day
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It used to be that "real" runners didn't skip a day unless they were sick or injured. Then the idea of a weekly rest day caught on. Finally, older runners and triathletes started experimenting by taking two or three days off each week. To their surprise, their running performances didn't take a swan dive--plus, they didn't get injured as often. "As long as you fit in one long run and one fast workout each week, you can stay in decent shape," says Steve Scott, the U.S. mile legend who now coaches runners at California State University-San Marcos.
Alternate-day running makes perfect physiological sense because it's a pure application of the hard/easy principle: You run one day, rest the next. Your body responds well because it's fully recovered by the time the next workout rolls around. This schedule doesn't mean you have to run fewer miles. You can do alternate-day eight-milers instead of daily four-milers.
In the old days, if you weren't a speedy track runner, you were a roadie--logging all your miles and racing exclusively on the roads. Now, trails have replaced blacktop as the training ground of choice. Why? Because running off-road protects you from impact injuries. "The harder the running surface, the higher your risk for injury due to the increased shock to the body," says podiatrist Patrick Nunan, past president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine.
Many elite runners have taken the off-road concept to the next level by training on the even softer surfaces of grass and sand. That's because these forgiving surfaces do more than protect against injury--they make you a stronger runner. When you run on a soft surface such as grass, much of the energy you exert goes right into the earth instead of rebounding back into your feet and lower legs. So your body has to work harder with every push-off, giving you a better muscular and cardiovascular workout.
Runners have trained by time over measured distances for more than a century. The problem with timing yourself as you run is that it doesn't take into account hills, wind, and myriad other factors. Running with a heart-rate monitor addresses all that by literally measuring how much effort you're putting into a workout--and not just at the end of each lap or mile, but cumulatively and at any point in the run.
"A heart-rate monitor gives you instant feedback to help you assess and track your level of fitness," says Ed Eyestone, RW columnist and men's cross-country coach at Brigham Young University. Not that you have to strap on a monitor every time you head out the door. Heart-rate monitors are most useful on your easiest and hardest runs, since those are the runs where achieving the optimal intensity level is most critical. Use a monitor to ensure that your recovery runs are easy enough (65 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate) and your speed-interval workouts are hard enough (90 to 100 percent of your maximum heart rate).
There's no reason to cut all fartlek workouts out of your training plan. But if you want to be a faster road racer, this improvisational approach to speedwork, where you randomly vary your pace from bursts of hard running to easy jogging, isn't as effective as a tempo run.
"You need to periodically train at close to your anaerobic threshold in order to advance that threshold and teach the body to run faster before fatiguing," says Shannon Sena, a New Jersey corporate fitness manager, marathoner, and coach (athlete-on.com). After about a two-mile warmup, traditional tempo runs last for at least 20 minutes and usually max out at about 35 minutes. Run them on a smooth, flat course to ensure an evenly paced effort, and shoot for a pace that is about 20 seconds slower than your 10-K race pace or 30 seconds slower than your 5-K race pace.
More runners than ever are being coached because there are more options available. "My runners can e-mail or call me anytime with a question," says online marathon/triathlon coach Anne Jones Thompson (triadventure.com). "It doesn't matter if they live out of state. If they don't like the local coaches, they have their pick of online trainers, including some of the best in the world."
A running-savvy personal trainer can give you one-on-one attention. A running-club or charity-team coach can place you in a training group compatible with your ability. An online coach can monitor your progress anytime and anywhere. And then there are "virtual" coaches: interactive, online programs such as RW Personal Trainer (runnersworld.com) that create customized training and diet recommendations based on your data. These days, no runner has to go it alone. Unless you want to start a trend.