The Elite Program: Hansons-Brooks Distance Project
When Kevin and Keith Hanson took their experience and expertise to the elite running world in 1999, there was a significant shift at hand within the sport, with several competitive training groups springing up across the country with a shared mission of supporting American postcollegiate runners. Over the years, the African nations had begun to dominate distance running, leaving other countries, such as the United States, to step back and reevaluate how they trained their Olympic hopefuls. Accomplished and successful coaches, the Hansons knew they had the necessary tools and training methods to assist elite runners in their pursuit of international success. Thus the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project came to fruition.
Performances in the half-marathon of current and former Hansons-Brooks runners rival those of any elite program in the country. In the years since first forming, the squad has had 12 top 10 finishes in the USA Half Marathon Championships, including one champion with Brian Sell. Even more impressive, the team can boast 11 members of the IAAF World Half Marathon Championship squads. And yet, when you consider the project’s roster of athletes, they have something interesting in common: Only a few of them were truly great runners in college. The lesson here is that development and success take time. While the majority of the runners recruited by the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project were only average to good collegiate athletes, many have gone on to achieve great success under the same training principles on which our programs in this book are based.
For another perspective on the building blocks upon which your training will rest, you may find it interesting to explore the related elements that are important to the elite runners we train. This not only dispels myths about how high-level runners actually train but also reveals the similarities between your own training and that of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls.
Just as we stress long-term development in this book’s three training plans, so too do we focus on the long term in our Elite Program. Setting our sights on success far down the road is our goal when runners join the team. Indeed, Kevin and Keith seek to develop a runner over months and years, not cultivate a one-hit wonder who is prone to overtraining and burnout. The key to a runner’s development, regardless of level, is patience. Allowing the body time to adapt to its current level before jumping to the next level is crucial. Appropriate work coupled with patience will yield the desired outcome and best results.
Because the half-marathon is a unique event of strength and speed, many of our postcollegiate runners simply need time to adjust from college-style workouts and seasons and develop into road racers. Taking time to build mileage and strength while maintaining their “college legs” (most college programs focus on 5K and 10K speed, since that’s what they compete at) means that it may be a few years before they really become lethal at the half distance. For many of our elites, the half will ultimately serve as a stepping-stone between their 5K and 10K days and the full marathon.
While the underlying principle of long-term development underscores all our half-marathon training programs, there are some outward differences between the training programs in this book and the Elite Program. For starters, the lives of most readers vary greatly from the existence of elite athletes, and our training plans appropriately reflect those differences. Despite the distinctions, however, you may be surprised to discover that your training isn’t as different from that of an elite runner as you may have thought.
In the early days of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, the weekly training cycle was similar to the plans within these pages. Elites ran a track workout on Tuesday, a tempo-type workout on Thursday, and then a long run on Sunday. Along the way, we switched to a 9-day training cycle that looks something like this:
SUNDAY // long 16–20 miles
MONDAY // easy 10–12 (a.m.); easy 4 (p.m.)
TUESDAY // same as Monday
WEDNESDAY // tempo run 8–10 miles (or some variation)
THURSDAY // same as Monday
FRIDAY // same as Monday
SATURDAY // track 5 miles’ worth of speed about 10K pace
SUNDAY // same as Monday
MONDAY // same as previous Monday
The training mileage for an Elite Program runner remains fairly steady all year. For example, when I train for a marathon, my weekly volume ranges from 110 to 140 miles per week; when I am preparing for shorter races, my volume is still 100–120 miles per week. Within this mileage, traditional long runs every week are not always necessary. Because the volume of the easy days is 10 to 12 miles, or 1:10–1:24 in terms of time, runners gain many of the same desired aerobic adaptations as they would from a regular long run. This high mileage makes the 9-day cycle particularly advantageous because it allows for adequate rest while still working all the systems that are important to half-marathon development.
In looking at the example of a 9-day training stint in the Elite Program, you may have noted that the mileage is significantly higher than in the training plans in this book. While the Advanced Program peaks at around 50 miles per week, male elites will reach 120 miles per week, and female elites will hit 100–110 miles per week. When it comes to the elite training, there are a number of factors built into the plan that make such high mileage tolerable and productive.
The first factor is time. We aren’t referring to 24 hours in a day or 7 days in a week, but rather the years of previous training that have slowly allowed for an increased volume of mileage. While most runners entering the development program aren’t running more than 100 miles per week, the majority of them are logging 80–100 miles. The increased mileage makes the 9-day cycle especially important because instead of asking a 22-year-old runner to jump into 120-mile weeks with three hard workouts per week, the frequency of SOS workouts is cut to every third day, giving that runner the chance to increase volume through easy days. Sometimes the extra mileage hurts a runner’s performances initially, but over time, adaptations occur, leading to steady improvements.
The second factor concerns recovery. In addition to fitting in more mileage at easier paces, the 9-day cycle allows for steady recovery between SOS workouts. Even with these extra recovery days, cumulative fatigue plays an important role in the Elite Program, but it is also balanced with injury prevention. When the volume of an easy day reaches between 16 and 20 miles, that extra day between SOS workouts is necessary to provide added recovery. Although these days are classified as “easy” in the Elite Program, they are often run at approximately marathon pace. For example, during peak mileage of training, easy runs are typically completed at a pace of 6:00–6:30 per mile, and long runs at about 5:30–6:30 per mile. The majority of runs are 1:45 to 2:00 minutes per mile slower than goal race pace. The other factors that make this higher-volume program manageable are the inherent benefits that go along with being part of a structured training group, like the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. While all the runners in the program have another job in some capacity (besides running), their schedules allow them to take naps throughout the week, in addition to getting 8–10 hours of sleep a night. Let’s face it, if you had the opportunity to take a 2-hour nap a couple of times per week, you’d probably be able to handle more weekly mileage too. The high mileage is also made easier by having running shoes from Brooks, keeping us outfitted through the miles. Additionally, our athletes have the advantage of access to chiropractors, physical therapists, and other medical professionals who understand runners and the unique injuries and issues related to the sport.
Along with a higher overall volume of mileage, the mileage contained within SOS workouts is higher. This means that the volume of SOS mileage is proportionate to the overall training plan, whether you’re looking at the plans in this book or at the Elite Program. By breaking down each SOS workout, you’ll see how similar the Elite Program is to the ones we recommend here.
THE LONG RUN // Runners in the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project complete 20-plus-mile long runs, even during a half-marathon training segment. This is because mileage is based on percentage of weekly volume and the time it actually takes to complete the long run. In a typical 120-mile week, a 20-miler represents about 16–17 percent of the weekly volume. For me, a 20-mile long run takes between 1:55 and 2:10, which falls well within the guidelines we have described. On the other hand, a 16-mile long run completed by someone running 70 miles per week will account for approximately 23 percent of the total weekly volume. Typically, that 16-mile long run will take around the same 2:00-hour duration, eliciting virtually identical metabolic and physiological adaptations, despite the difference in actual miles.
SPEED SESSIONS // In the Beginner and Advanced Programs, the speed sessions total 3 miles of fast running. Generally you’ll be running around 30–50 miles per week when you do these workouts, which means that speed will account for roughly 7.5 percent of the weekly volume. Meanwhile, the absolute volume of a speed session in the Elite Program is typically around 6 miles. With a weekly volume of 120 miles, that represents 5 percent of the total weekly volume. Again, the principle is the same: Speed represents a small percentage of weekly training while we focus on developing aerobic capabilities through sub–lactate threshold work.
STRENGTH SESSIONS // Strength sessions are a vital part of half-marathon development, regardless of the level of training. In the Beginner and Advanced Programs, these sessions include 6 miles of hard running to be completed during 40- to 50-mile weeks, accounting for 10–13 percent of weekly volume. In the Elite Program, strength workouts are usually between 9 and 12 miles, which is 10–11 percent of total weekly volume within a 120-mile week. Once again, absolute volume is greater, but the percentage of SOS mileage completed during the training week is proportionate across programs.
TEMPO RUNS // At its peak, the 7-mile tempo run is about 15 percent of weekly volume in the Beginner and Advanced Programs. The Elite Program also includes 7-mile tempo runs, meaning that this work makes up 12 percent of the weekly volume. The percentage here is slightly lower as a result of the variations in the tempo runs that the elite runners complete, to be discussed later. For the half-marathon, this is where the elite program differs the most. The elite program focuses more on longer intervals at race pace with short recovery, but total volume may be higher than doing a traditional tempo run.
Some signature workouts in our elite marathon program have gained national attention, such as the Simulator (26K tempo run) and the infamous 2 × 6-mile workout. However, with the half-marathon program, what we ask runners following the Beginner Program and the Advanced Program to do doesn’t look that different from what the elites do, except for total volume. A few workouts that are staples in the Hansons training arsenal are worth mentioning here. Whatever we are training for, you’ll see these workouts somewhere along the way in the elite program!
THE STEADY-STATE EFFORT // This is one of my personal favorites because it involves a high level of concentration, reduces boredom associated with repetitive training, and also stimulates important aerobic adaptations. I use this with runners who are experienced but can’t feasibly increase their mileage because of other obligations and constraints. Scheduled well into training, when a runner’s fitness is established, this workout begins like any other long run. Gradually the intensity increases until the athlete is running about 30 seconds slower than goal marathon pace, or about 1 minute per mile slower than half-marathon pace. That speed is then held for 50–75 percent of the run. By forcing the body to run at a significant effort, nearing the tipping point between using mostly fat and drawing upon those highly coveted carbohydrates, the aerobic threshold is stimulated. Because the body wants to conserve carbohydrates, it begins to adapt to that pace and maximize its fat-burning capabilities. Pacing precision is important here because if runners go too hard, they hit the wall prematurely, but if they run too slow, they miss out on some of the desired effects. This workout is also a good mental exercise because it is a long, tough effort that requires an athlete to maintain focus for an extended period.
THE CUTDOWN // Between 10 and 12 miles in length, this workout starts at a pace of 6:00 minutes per mile for the elite men in the program, which is within our easy range, and decreases by 10-second increments to half-marathon pace. A typical cutdown workout looks like this: 6:00, 6:00, 5:50, 5:40, 5:30, 5:20, 5:10, 5:00, 4:50. From experience, I can tell you that this workout often feels easy at the beginning, but it becomes increasingly challenging with each passing mile.
4 AND GO! // This is an 8-mile tempo run during which we run the first half at marathon pace and the second half either at a designated faster pace, usually half-marathon pace, or simply as fast as we can go. The goal is to start comfortable and finish fast!
2 MILES, 8 × 800, 2 MILES // This is a combination workout, where we run 2 miles at half-marathon pace. After a ½-mile jog, we then engage in 8 × ½ mile at a 10K pace with a short recovery. Then we will finish the workouts with another 2 miles at half-marathon pace. The goal is to stay at or above that lactate threshold point for much of the workout while changing turnover in the legs a little bit. It’s a great workout, since the half-marathon is a blend of speed and strength, and this really teaches a runner to deal with discomfort.
The following program (Table A.1) is a log of my training for October 2010 to February 2011, as I prepared for the Rock ’n’ Roll Mardi Gras Half-Marathon. While this is tailored to my individual needs, it is a typical half-marathon training program for a veteran runner who is part of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. The only real difference in what our elite women runners do relates to pace, as they also run 100 or more miles per week during part of their half-marathon training. You’ll notice that there are no big secrets when it comes to training an elite runner. In fact, the principles used are the same for everyone.
