I RECENTLY HAD A conversation with one of our coaches regarding success. He asked me, “Is it considered a success when a runner does 50 percent of the work and achieves 70 percent of his goal?” The question arose when one of our online athletes spent an entire training segment struggling to find any semblance of consistency. Workouts were constantly being changed, moved, or abandoned. By the end of this athlete’s training block, we were wondering how well a runner could do when a training plan was so drastically altered. Well, we got that answer. Unfortunately, for our athlete, it was not a good result.
In Chapter 2, we discussed the unique physiology of the half-marathon and how individual it can be. In this chapter, we will examine the components of training that will take that complex physiology and turn it into a formula that will get you to your half-marathon goal.
As you begin to dissect our training plans, consider the various elements that make up the Just Finish Program, the Beginner Program, and the Advanced Program. By varying your training from one day to the next, you train different systems, which all work in concert to optimize your running potential. Runs are organized in categories: easy days and something of substance (SOS) workouts. Figure 3.1 shows the breakdown of weekly mileage. The SOS workouts include long, tempo, strength, and speed runs. Long runs are included under SOS because, by definition, they require more effort than a regular easy day. However, their pace is slower than race pace and could be defined as easy. Specifically, long run pace in half-marathon training is 1:10–2:30 per mile slower than your race pace.
Often, we are asked about incorporating hills, or hill repeats, in training. As you may notice, the training program has no specific designation of hills. In part this is to simplify the program and make it easy to follow. Hills are a great aspect of training, but for the purposes of our book and our audience, they may be better dealt with on an individual basis. Additionally, training for any endurance event should involve training on a variety of surfaces. In particular, while speed workouts are usually done on a track or flat area, strength workouts should be done on more undulating terrain. For instance, the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project athletes do strength workouts on a 6-mile loop at a local park that includes rolling terrain. This allows them to experience hills during an SOS workout without having to devote specific workouts to hills.
The basis for the Hansons Method’s varied approach stems from the overload principle, which states that when the body engages in an activity that disrupts its present state of homeostasis (inner balance), certain recovery mechanisms are initiated. As discussed in Chapter 2, different stresses work to overload the system, stimulating physiological changes. These adaptations, in turn, better prepare the body for that particular stress the next time it is encountered. This is where the principle of cumulative fatigue comes in, which underscores our entire training philosophy. Cumulative fatigue is all about challenging the body without reaching the point of no return (overtraining). Over the course of training, you’ll notice that our workouts are designed to stress the different thresholds without maxing out any single one. By doing the various workouts at the prescribed pace and intensity, you will walk that line right to the edge for maximum benefits, but never cross over it.
Misconceptions abound when it comes to easy running. Such training is often thought of as unnecessary, filler mileage. Many new runners believe that these days can be considered optional because they don’t provide any real benefits. Don’t be fooled; easy mileage plays a vital role in a runner’s development. Every run doesn’t need to be—and should not be—a knock-down, drag-out experience. Easy runs dole out plenty of important advantages, without any of the pain, by providing a gentler overload that can be applied in a higher volume than in SOS workouts. This keeps the body in a constant state of slight disruption, protecting you from getting injured while simultaneously forcing your body to adapt to stress to increase fitness.
In the Advanced Program’s peak week, we prescribe a ceiling of 50 miles (give or take a couple miles). If we look closer, 30 of those miles, or 60 percent, are classified as easy. This figure includes the long run, because even though the distance of the run can make it an SOS day, the benefits you gain from the long run are the same as what you gain from easy runs. Figure 3.2 provides justification for why nearly half of the weekly mileage is devoted to this type of training.
To understand why easy running is important, you must consider the physiological adaptations that it stimulates in muscle fiber development, energy utilization, capillary development, cardiovascular strength, and structural fitness.
When considering reasons why easy running is important, look no further than what it does for the muscle fibers. As discussed in Chapter 2, even though the amount of slow-twitch fibers a runner is genetically endowed with will ultimately define his or her potential as a half-marathoner, training can make a difference. Easy running recruits a whole host of slow-twitch fibers because they have a lower “firing,” or contraction, threshold than the more powerful fast-twitch fibers. Like any other muscle, the more they are used, the more they develop. Along with improved resistance to fatigue, slow-twitch muscles can be relied upon for more miles, keeping the fast-twitch muscles from being fully engaged until farther down the road. In the end, easy running helps develop slow-twitch fibers that are more fatigue-resistant and fast-twitch fibers that take on many of the characteristics of the slow-twitch fibers.
What’s more, the more slow-twitch fibers you have, the better you’ll be prepared to use fats for energy. We now know this is a very good thing because the body contains copious amounts of fat to burn and only a limited supply of carbohydrates. The greater length of time you burn fat, rather than carbohydrate, the longer you put off encountering the dreaded “wall” as a result of glycogen (carbohydrate) depletion. When you run at lower intensities, you burn around 70 percent fat and 30 percent carbohydrate. With an increase in pace comes an increase in the percentage of carbohydrates you burn. Your easy running days serve as catalysts to develop those slow-twitch muscle fibers and, consequently, teach your body to burn fats over carbohydrates. Slow-twitch fibers are better than fast-twitch fibers at burning fat because they contain greater amounts of mitochondria, enzymes that burn fat, and capillaries.
In response to the need for fat to provide the lion’s share of the fuel for training, the mitochondria grow larger and are dispersed throughout the muscles. In fact, research has indicated that just six to seven months of training can spur the mitochondria to grow in size by as much as 35 percent and in number by 5 percent. This benefits you as a runner because the higher density of mitochondria works to break down fat more effectively. For instance, if you burned 60 percent fat at a certain pace a year ago, training may have increased that percentage to 70 percent.
Thanks to easy running, your body will also see an uptick in the enzymes that help to burn fat. Every cell in your body contains these enzymes, which sit waiting to be “turned on” by aerobic activity. No pills or special surgeries are needed; this is simply your body’s natural way of burning fat. The enzymes work to make it possible for fats to enter the bloodstream and then travel to the muscles to be used as fuel. With the help of the increased mitochondria and fat-burning enzymes, the body utilizes fat for a longer period, pushing back “the wall” and keeping you running longer.
Capillary development is another benefit of easy running. Because running requires a greater amount of blood to supply oxygen to your system, the number of capillaries within the exercising muscles increases with training. After just a few months of running, capillary beds can increase by as much as 40 percent. In addition, slow-twitch fibers contain a more extensive network of capillaries than do fast-twitch fibers, supplying those slower fibers with much more oxygen. As the density of capillaries increases throughout those muscles, a greater amount of oxygen is supplied in a more efficient manner.
Easy running also results in a number of adaptations that happen outside the exercising muscles. As you know, your body requires more oxygen as workload increases, and the way to deliver more oxygen to your system is to deliver more blood. With several months of training, much of which is easy running, a runner will experience an increase in hemoglobin, the “oxygen transporter,” in addition to a 35–40 percent increase in plasma volume. This increased volume not only helps deliver oxygen but also carries away the waste products that result from metabolism.
The best way to encourage these developments is through easy running. If a person were to eliminate the easy runs from a program, all these adaptations would be greatly reduced. On the one hand, think about the volume of running you can do in an interval workout; it might be just a few miles of hard work. On the other hand, think about the amount of easy running you can do—miles and miles per week. When you try to stress a system at the top (near 100 percent of capability), you can do only a limited amount of work. When you build a system from the bottom up, you can do a much larger volume. In other words, your daily easy runs provide the heart a much bigger opportunity to adapt to a moderate workload, rather than a limited volume of extremely hard work.
Easy running also leads to certain structural changes to your physiological system that are advantageous for good running of any distance. The main adaptation occurs within the tendons of the running muscles. During running, the body lands at a force several times that of the runner’s body weight; the faster the pace, the greater that force becomes. The resulting strain on tendons and joints, applied gradually through easy running, allows the body to slowly adapt to higher-impact forces so it can later handle the greater demands of fast-paced running.
Collectively, these adaptations stimulated by easy running prompt improvements in VO2max, anaerobic threshold, and running economy. Whereas fast anaerobic workouts provide little improvement in the muscles’ aerobic capacity and endurance, large amounts of easy running can bump aerobic development upward by leaps and bounds. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your heart, transport more oxygen to the working muscles, or simply be able to run longer at a certain pace, all signs point to the benefit of including a good deal of easy running in your training.
An easy run is usually defined as one that lasts anywhere between 20 minutes and 2.5 hours at an intensity of 55–75 percent of VO2max. Because most of us don’t have the means to get VO2max tested, the next best thing is to look at pace per mile. The Hansons Half-Marathon Method calls for easy runs to be paced 1:30–2:30 minutes slower than goal race pace. For example, if your goal half-marathon pace is 7:00 minutes per mile, your easy pace should be 8:30–9:30 minutes per mile. While easy running is a necessary part of training, and controlling your pace is key to its effectiveness, be sure not to run too easy. If your pace is excessively slow, you are simply breaking down tendon and bone without obtaining any aerobic benefits. Refer to Table 3.5 at the end of this chapter for your specific guidelines.
Keep in mind that there is a time for “fast” easy runs (1:30 minutes per mile slower than half-marathon pace) and also a time for “slow” easy runs (2:30 minutes per mile slower than half-marathon pace). “Fast” and “slow” easy runs are not denoted on the calendar, in order to allow for some flexibility depending on your experience and fitness levels. If you are a rookie runner, focus more on covering ground and less on running at a certain speed. Advanced runners, in contrast, should alternate between faster and slower paces for their easy runs, especially during long runs. Warm-ups and cooldowns are instances when you will want to run on the slower end of the spectrum. Here the idea is to simply bridge the gap between no running and fast running and vice versa. The day after an SOS workout is another time you may choose (depending on your experience) a pace on the slow side. For instance, if you have a long run on Sunday and a strength workout on Tuesday, then your Monday run should be easier to ensure you are recovered and ready for a good workout on Tuesday. By running the easy runs on the slower end of the range, beginning runners will safely make the transition to higher mileage. More advanced runners will likely find that they can handle the faster end of the easy range, even after SOS workouts. The day following a tempo run and the second easy day prior to a long run both provide good chances to run closer to 1:30 minutes per mile slower than half-marathon race pace.
Whether you are a novice or an experienced runner looking for a new approach, stick to the plan when it comes to easy running. Have fun with the easy days, allowing yourself to take in the scenery or enjoy a social run with friends. Meanwhile, you’ll be simultaneously racking up a laundry list of physiological benefits. What’s more, after a nice, relaxed run, your body will be clamoring for a challenge, ready to tackle the next SOS workout.
The schedule in Table 3.1 gives you a general idea of how easy runs fit into the overall training schedule. On Mondays, distances will range from 4 to 8 miles, followed by a speed session on Tuesday and then a longer run on Sunday. Also, note that the easy days that land on Fridays follow the Thursday tempo runs. This is where overtraining can occur, when easy runs are sandwiched between SOS workouts. It is common for this to happen during the first part of the training schedules when runners are still feeling fresh, causing them to run faster than prescribed. Remember, these are not the days to worry about how fast you are running; time on your feet is the focus, not pace.
For the Saturday easy run, you can be a little more flexible with pace. If you feel good, run on the faster end of your easy running spectrum. The metabolic adaptations will happen throughout the pace range, but injury can occur if you make a habit of always running faster, so be sure to moderate your pace. Table 3.1 also shows that you get to a point where it is not logical to keep adding workouts to your training week; if progression is to take place, it must come from adding another easy day (Wednesday) and/or adding mileage to the easy days, not from simply running harder. You will notice in the Hansons Half-Marathon Method that once the workouts peak in mileage, the easy days are what add to the weekly mileage.
Crosstraining as supplemental training will be discussed in Chapter 7. However, here I would like to address crosstraining serving as replacement training. The Hansons Method is designed to get you to your goal, and that means following the programs as written, as closely as possible. The more you become familiar with our training methods, the more you realize that our programs ask for more running than some other popular training plans. Why? Because to get better at running, you need to run. This is called “specificity.” Exchanging easy runs for crosstraining workouts takes away a vital component of running development and the concomitant physiological developments and benefits discussed in this chapter. It also sets the runner up for a potential downfall in races. Why? Programs that specify less running and fewer running days per week tend to produce runners who are always fresh for workouts; thus, these athletes tend to run the workouts too hard yet feel good doing it. This can lead to overconfidence and poor strategy on race day. One of the primary arguments I get from the runners I coach is “But, Luke, I can’t run mileage. I always get hurt.” Instead, they prefer a 3-day-a-week program, adding in crosstraining on other days of the week. This is not going to get you to your best half-marathon. You do not need to be afraid of mileage; most people can handle increases in mileage when they are done in a gradual manner. But you do need to add mileage the right way:
// Don’t go from all crosstraining to all running. Phase out crosstraining gradually. Try replacing a crosstraining session with a run each week, prior to beginning our training program.
// Consider adding mileage to your shorter runs little by little, such as simply adding a mile to each of your easy runs during the week.
// Run your appropriate paces, even if it means slowing down, especially for your easy days.
When it comes to training for distance races, nothing gets more press—good and bad—than the long run. It has become a status symbol among runners in training, a measure by which one compares oneself with one’s running counterparts. For many, the long run is like a big question mark, hovering in your training plan, something you aren’t sure you’ll survive, but you subject yourself to the suffering nonetheless. Although the long run doesn’t cast as large a shadow in half-marathon training as it does in marathon training, it remains a focal point for most good half-marathon programs. It is surprising, then, to discover that much of the existing advice on running long is misguided. After relatively low-mileage weeks, some plans suggest grueling long runs that end up more akin to running misadventures than productive training. For example, a 16-mile long run at the end of a 3-day-a-week half-marathon training program can be both demoralizing and injurious.
Our approach to the half-marathon is thoughtful and methodical, with long run mileage chosen in line with the overall goal of achieving cumulative fatigue. For reasons discussed in Chapter 1, cumulative fatigue is key to the Hansons Method’s success. However, the long run should successfully stimulate this effect without completely zapping your legs. This way, rather than spending the entire week recovering from the previous long run, you continue to build your base for the forthcoming long effort.
Take a look at a week in the program that includes a Sunday long run (see Table 4.3). Leading up to it, you will do a tempo run on Thursday and easier short runs on Friday and Saturday. We don’t give you a day completely off before a long run because recovery occurs on the easy running days. Because no single workout has totally diminished your energy stores and left your legs feeling wrecked, fatigue accumulates over time. The plan allows for partial recovery, but it is designed to keep you from feeling completely fresh going into a long run. Following the Sunday long run, you will have an easy day on Monday and a strength workout on Tuesday. This may initially appear to be too much, but because your long run’s pace and mileage are tailored to your ability and experience, less recovery time is needed.
Long runs provide a number of benefits, many of which correlate with the gains from easy running. Mentally, long runs help you build confidence as you increase your mileage from one week to the next. They help you develop the coping skills necessary to complete any endurance event. They teach you how to persist even when you are not feeling 100 percent. Because you never know what is going to happen on race day, this can be a real asset. Most notable, however, are the physiological adaptations that occur as a result of long runs. Improved VO2max, increased capillary growth, a stronger heart, and the ability to utilize fat on a cellular level are among the benefits. When your body is trained to run long, it adapts and learns to store more glycogen, thereby allowing you to go farther before becoming exhausted.
In addition to increasing the energy stores in your muscles, long runs increase muscle strength. Although your body first exploits the slow-twitch muscle fibers during a long run, it eventually begins to recruit the fast-twitch fibers as the slow-twitch fibers fatigue. The only way to train those fast-twitch fibers is to run long enough to tire the slow-twitch fibers first; by strengthening all of these fibers, you’ll avoid bonking on race day. By now the majority of these adaptations are probably starting to sound familiar.
The benefits of long runs include:
//greater confidence as you increase mileage across weeks
//improved VO2max
//ability to utilize fat on a cellular level
//increased muscle strength
//increased energy stores in muscles
Advice from renowned running researcher and coach Dr. Jack Daniels provides a basis for our long run philosophy. He instructs runners never to exceed 25–30 percent of their weekly mileage in a long run, whether they are training for a 5K, a half-marathon, or a full marathon. He adds that a 2:30-hour to 3:00-hour time limit should be enforced, suggesting that exceeding those guidelines offers no physiological benefit and may lead to overtraining, injuries, and burnout. Dr. Dave Martin, running researcher at Georgia State University and a consultant to Team USA, recommends that long runs be between 90 minutes and 2 hours long.
According to legendary South African researcher and author Tim Noakes, a continual easy to moderate run at 70–85 percent VO2max that is sustained for 2 hours or more will lead to the greatest glycogen depletion. Exercise physiologist Dr. David Costill has also noted that a 2-hour bout of running reduces muscle glycogen by as much as 50 percent. While this rate of glycogen depletion is acceptable on race day, it is counterproductive in the middle of a training cycle because it takes up to 72 hours to replenish these stores. When you diminish your energy stores too dramatically, you can be benched by fatigue, missing out on important training, or you do the training on overly tired legs and end up hurting yourself. Instead of flirting with the point of diminishing returns and prescribing an arbitrary 20-mile run, the Hansons Method looks at percentage of weekly mileage and total time spent running. We determine your long run based on your weekly total mileage and your pace for that long run. It may sound unconventional, but you’ll find that nothing we suggest is random; it is firmly based in science, with proven results. Table 3.2 indicates how far your long run should be based on your total mileage for the week.
Pace is a significant part of the equation. In addition to completing the optimal number of miles on each long run, you must adhere to a certain pace to get the most benefit. If you are new to running, or new to running longer distances, the first goal is to simply build your endurance. In that case, running slow enough to be able to cover the distance is the objective. As you become more fit, faster, and more experienced, pace begins to play its role in the body’s overall adaptations achieved from long runs. As your endurance builds, your pace will probably increase naturally.
Because we don’t all cover the same distance in the same amount of time, it only makes sense to adjust a long run depending on how fast you will be traveling. Research tells us that 2–3 hours is the optimal window for metabolic adaptation in terms of long runs. Beyond that window, muscle breakdown begins to occur. Table 3.3 shows how long it takes to complete long runs of 10, 12, and 14 miles, respectively. Making an assumption that slower runners are more likely to be running fewer weekly miles, we can see that these distances are great examples of how mileage, time, and percentage of weekly mileage are all intertwined.
Of course you must first determine the pace you will be running before deciding exactly how long your long runs should be. We generally coach runners to hold an easy to moderate pace throughout a long run. Instead of viewing it as a high-volume easy day, think of it as a long workout. If you are new to the half-marathon, err on the easy side of pacing as you become accustomed to the longer distances. More advanced runners should maintain a moderate pace because their muscles have already adapted to the stress of such feats of endurance. In the big picture of training, when you avoid overdoing these lengthy workouts, you reap more benefits and avoid the potential downfalls of overtraining. Refer to Table 3.5 for exact paces.
With speed workouts, half-marathon training begins to get more interesting. When we refer to speed training, we are talking about interval sessions, also called repeat workouts. Speed workouts require you to run multiple bouts of certain distances at high intensities with recovery between the fast segments. This type of training not only plays a role in prompting some of the important physiological changes we already discussed but also teaches your mind to handle harder work. While easy days are typically low-pressure, speed workouts require you to put your game face on, and discipline is one of many benefits garnered. While you may be able to complete an easy run the morning after a late night out on the town, if you want to get the most out of your speed work, you will need to eat a hearty dinner and hit the hay at a decent hour. For whatever you give up to optimally execute these workouts, the training will give back to you tenfold. Every speed workout you complete is like money in the bank when it comes to resources on which you can draw during the most difficult moments of the race.
Surprisingly, advanced runners often make the same mistakes that novices do in terms of speed training, namely, they neglect it. For instance, we have had runners come to us feeling stale after running several races in a year. Digging into these runners’ histories, we often find that they are running so many races that they have completely forgone speed training, spending all their time on long runs, tempo runs, and recovery. Along with flat workouts tend to come stagnated finishing times. That’s where we set them straight by guiding them through the Hansons Half-Marathon Method. Like the other types of workouts, speed training is an important part of constantly keeping your system on its toes, requiring it to adapt to workouts that vary in intensity and distance.
Many runners who train for the half-marathon distance have done speed work in the past. Therefore, convincing them that speed work is important is not as difficult as it can be with marathon runners, who tend to neglect it. That said, some folks go too far in the other direction, putting too much emphasis on speed work, which can result in injury. The lesson here is to remember that all training has a purpose and a place.
If you are new to half-marathoning and your past speed workouts have consisted of simply running some days slightly faster than others, you are in the majority. Luckily, the speed workouts we give you here can provide an introductory course on how to implement harder workouts. As you learn to properly implement speed workouts, your training will be transformed from perhaps a somewhat aimless approach to fitness to a guided plan of attack. These workouts can also help you predict what you might be capable of in your half-marathon. With the help of speed work, you can successfully run a shorter race, such as a 5K or 10K, and then plug that time into a race equivalency chart to determine your potential half-marathon time. Additionally, this work helps to highlight weak areas while there is still enough time to address and correct them.
The greatest beneficiaries of speed training are the working muscles. With speed sessions, not only the slow-twitch fibers but also the intermediate fibers become maximally activated to provide aerobic energy. This forces the slow-twitch fibers to maximize their aerobic capacities, but it also trains the intermediate fibers to step in when the slow-twitch fibers become fatigued. As a result of better muscle coordination, running economy improves. Stimulated by everything from speed workouts to easy running, running economy is all about how efficiently your body utilizes oxygen at a certain pace. The better we can use oxygen, the farther and faster we can run.
Another adaptation that occurs through speed work is the increased production of myoglobin. In fact, research tells us that the best way to develop myoglobin is through high-intensity running (above 80 percent VO2max). Similar to the way hemoglobin carries oxygen to the blood, myoglobin helps transport oxygen to the muscles and then to the mitochondria. With its help, the increased demand for oxygen is met to match capillary delivery and the needs of the mitochondria. Exercise at higher intensities can also increase anaerobic threshold. Basically, the speed intervals provide a two-for-one ticket by developing the anaerobic threshold and VO2max during the same workout. What’s more, because speed sessions include high-intensity running near 100 percent VO2max (but not over), glycogen stores provide upwards of 90 percent of the energy, thus rapidly depleting them. This, in turn, forces the muscles to adapt and store more glycogen to be used later in workouts.
The benefits of speed work include:
//maximal development of muscle fiber
//running economy improvement
//increased myoglobin
//improved anaerobic threshold
//triggering of increased glycogen storage
You’ll notice that the speed segments in our plans are located toward the beginning of the training block, while later portions are devoted to more half-marathon-specific workouts. This may seem counterintuitive when considering our emphasis on building fitness from the bottom up. However, if speed workouts are executed at the right speeds, it makes sense to include them closer to the beginning of your training cycle. As in other workouts, correct pacing is essential. You will notice that partway through the program, speed work transitions to strength workouts. While runners often worry they will lose the speed gains they have worked so hard to attain, endurance runners (specifically those racing for 90 minutes or more) need not fear. Recall that development of the elements we explain typically occurs at paces above 80 percent of VO2max. With that said, the speed workouts are shorter intervals ideally at 95–98 percent. The strength workouts are closer to 80 percent but are much longer in duration. We will discuss the strength workouts shortly, but it is important to note that the speed workouts produce the gains, whereas the strength workouts maintain the gains.
When many coaches discuss speed training, they are referring to work that is done at 100 percent VO2max. In reality, running at 100 percent VO2max pace can be maintained for only 3–8 minutes. If you are a beginner, 3 minutes is likely more realistic, while an elite miler may be able to continue for close to 8 minutes. Running your speed workouts at or above 100 percent VO2max, however, causes the structural muscles to begin to break down and forces your system to rely largely on anaerobic sources. This overstresses the anaerobic system and doesn’t allow for the positive aerobic adaptations you need to run a good half-marathon. Our program bases speed work on 5K and 10K goal times, races that both last much longer than 3–8 minutes. Rather than working at 100 percent VO2max, you probably run these distances at 80–95 percent VO2max. Unlike other plans, the Hansons Method instructs you to complete speed workouts at slightly less than 100 percent VO2max pace in order to spur maximum physiological adaptations. Go faster, and gains are nullified and injuries are probable.
In addition to pace, the duration of the speed intervals is important. Optimal duration lies between 2 and 8 minutes. If it is too short, the amount of time spent at optimal intensity is minimized, and precious workout time is wasted; if it is too long, lactic acid builds up, and you are too tired to complete the workout at the desired pace. As a result, the length of speed intervals should be adjusted to your ability and experience levels. For example, a 400-meter repeat workout, with each interval lasting around 2 minutes, may be the perfect fit for a beginner. In contrast, the same workout may take an advanced runner 25 percent less time to complete each 400-meter repeat, therefore resulting in fewer benefits.
Recovery is another important part of speed sessions, providing the rest you need to complete another interval. Guidelines for recovery generally state that it should be between 50 and 100 percent of the repeat duration time. For instance, if the repeat is 2 minutes in duration, the recovery should be between 1 and 2 minutes. However, we tend to give beginners longer recovery time at the start of the speed sessions to sustain them throughout the entire workout. We assign recoveries by distance (e.g., 6 × 800 with 400 jog recovery). This usually fits the guidelines for recovery time, especially as the repeat distance increases. With the 12 × 400 meter workout, the recovery time is a little longer. Because it is usually the first speed workout in the segment, we want to ensure it can be completed. Plus it just works better to keep runners moving forward, jogging during the recovery; otherwise there is a tendency to stand around for a few minutes before starting the next repeat.
With further training, recovery can be shortened as an athlete becomes able to handle more work. When doing intervals, one can adjust either the amount of work being done or the amount of recovery allowed. The amount of work is in line with the mileage of the program, however, so we don’t want to alter that. But as you become fit, the interval paces may begin to feel easier. In that case, shortening the recovery will provide the same stimulus as earlier in the program. Be aware, however, of running too hard. This session is meant to focus on accumulating time within the desired intensity range, not leave you so tired you can’t put in a quality effort. If you run your repeats so hard that you aren’t able to jog during your recovery time, you are unlikely to be able to run the next interval at the desired pace. In the end, these speed sessions should total 3 miles of running at that higher intensity, in addition to the warm-up, cooldown, and recovery periods. If you can’t get through the intervals to hit 3 miles total, you’re running too hard for your abilities and thereby missing out on developing the specific adaptations discussed. That said, if you are a novice runner and completely new to speed workouts, it’s better to run only some of the workouts at correct pace than to not run them at all. There’s no problem with building up to the scheduled mileage, as needed.
The speed sessions that are utilized throughout the Hansons Half-Marathon Method are provided below. Typically, the schedules start with the lower-duration repeats (10–12 × 400 m) and work up to the longer-duration repeats (4 × 1200 m and 3 × 1600 m). Once the top of the ladder is reached (from the shortest-duration workouts to the longest-duration workouts), you are then free to do the workouts that fit best with your optimal development. Most exercise physiologists agree that this optimal development occurs with intervals that are 2–6 minutes in duration. Anything shorter doesn’t stress VO2max enough, and anything longer tends to stress it too much, creating undue fatigue. So let that be your guide. If the 1600 workout is well above that 6-minute threshold, don’t use it. Keep your workouts in that 2–6 minute range per repeat.
For those new to speed work, we strongly encourage joining a local running group. Coaches and more experienced runners can take the guesswork and intimidation out of those first speed workouts by showing you the ropes. When a client tells me he or she has a running group that meets on a certain day during the week, I will do everything I can to schedule that into the training. Additionally, a local track will be your best friend during this phase because it is marked, consistent, and flat. If you are driven by numbers, you can even check your pace every 100 meters to give you nearly constant feedback. This means owning a watch is a must. While your pacing will likely require some trial and error at the beginning, the watch and marked track will help you keep your workouts at the right speeds until pacing becomes second nature.
Here is a chart showing how the speed workouts build on each other. To determine the correct pace for each speed workout, use the pace charts that follow. Find your goal pace for 5K or 10K and run the designated interval as close to that pace as possible. Remember, each session should include a 1- to 3-mile warm-up and cooldown.
SPEED PROGRESSION
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400 REPEATS12 × 400 with jog recovery for 50–100% of interval time Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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600 REPEATS8 × 600 with jog recovery for 50–100% of interval time Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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800 REPEATS6 × 800 with jog recovery for 50–100% of interval time Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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1K REPEATS5 × 1K with jog recovery for 50–100% of interval time Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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1200 REPEATS4 × 1200 with jog recovery for 50–100% of interval time Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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LADDER400-800-1200-1600-1200-800-400 with jog recovery for 50–100% of interval time Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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1600 REPEATS3 × 1600 with jog recovery for 50–100% of interval time Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
After spending a number of weeks performing periodic speed sessions, the muscle fibers and physiological systems will have adapted and will be ready for more endurance-specific adaptations. When strength workouts are added to the schedule, the goal of training shifts from improving the VO2max (along with anaerobic threshold) to maintaining the VO2max and preparing the body to handle the fatigue associated with endurance running. You’ll notice that at the same time the strength segment begins, the tempo runs and the long runs become more substantial. At this point in the plan, everything the runner is doing is focused solely on half-marathon preparation.
When we talk about strength workouts, we aren’t referring to intense sessions in the weight room, pumping iron and flexing muscles. Strength workouts are still runs, but ones that emphasize volume at a slightly lower intensity, with the goal of stressing the aerobic system at a high level. While the speed sessions are designed to be short enough to avoid lactate accumulation (even though intensity is very high), the strength sessions are meant to force the runner to adapt to running longer distances with moderate amounts of lactate accumulation.
Over time, strength sessions improve anaerobic capacities, meaning you will be able to tolerate higher levels of lactic acid and produce less of it at higher intensities. While your body may have shut down in response to the lactic acid buildup at the beginning of training, strength sessions help to train your muscles to work through the discomfort of lactic acid accumulation. Additionally, these workouts teach your exercising muscles to get better at removing lactic acid, as well as improving your running economy and allowing you to use less oxygen at the same effort. Strength workouts also spur development of something called fractional utilization of maximal capacity. In practical terms, this development allows a person to run at a faster pace for a longer time, which leads to an increase in anaerobic threshold. For the half-marathon, this means conserving glycogen for those running more than 90 minutes for the race. For faster runners, it means being able to tolerate moderate amounts of lactic acid and higher-intensity running for longer amounts of time.
These adaptations all begin with an increase in the size of the heart’s ventricle chamber. During a strength workout, the heart is required to pump faster and with more force than during easier runs. It is not being worked quite as hard as during a speed session, but it works at a fairly high intensity for significantly longer. The end result is a stronger heart muscle with a larger chamber area, which means an increased stroke volume. (The stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped from the left ventricle per beat.) This results in more blood being sent to the exercising muscles, hence delivering more oxygen. In addition, strength workouts help to involve the intermediate muscle fibers, increasing their oxidative capacities. Within the muscles, less lactate ends up being produced at faster speeds, and the lactate that is produced is recycled back into usable fuel. For practical reasons, strength workouts are important because running at faster paces, especially near anaerobic threshold, begins to feel easier, economy is improved, and stamina is increased. As you can see, the benefits of strength workouts are practically boundless.
The benefits of strength workouts include:
//improved lactate clearance
//improved lactate tolerance
//improved endurance at faster paces
//improved oxygen delivery (via stronger heart)
//improved running economy
For most runners, the strength repeats will fall somewhere between 60 and 80 percent of VO2max, which will be slower than the speed sessions. You can stretch that out to 85–90 percent of VO2max for faster runners. However, while the speed sessions are relatively short (e.g., 3 × 1600 m) with moderate recovery, the strength sessions are double the volume (e.g., 6 miles of higher-intensity running) with much shorter relative recovery. Strength workouts are designed to be run 10 seconds per mile faster than goal race pace. If your goal half-marathon pace is 8:00 minutes per mile, then your strength pace will be 7:50 per mile. The faster the runner, the closer this corresponds to 10K pace, but for the novice, it is between goal half-marathon pace and 10K pace, probably pretty close to 15K pace. Your pace is indicated in Table 3.5. Faster runners will already be near that 10-second number, and novice runners will likely be at a slightly slower pace. While you practice half-marathon pace with the tempo runs, the strength workouts are faster to get your body accustomed to the stress of lactic acid buildup, stressing the anaerobic threshold, which happens to coincide with the 10-second-faster pace (or half-marathon pace). This faster overall time will bring along with it a large increase in lactic acid. Even though the strength workout may not feel hard from an intensity standpoint, the volume, coupled with short recovery periods, is enough to stimulate lactic acid accumulation and make way for positive adaptations. Refer to Table 3.4 for a quick guide to strength sessions.
As mentioned earlier, recovery is key to the success of these strength sessions. To maintain a certain level of lactic acid, the recovery is kept to a fraction of the repeat duration. For instance, the 6 × 1-mile strength workout calls for a recovery jog of a quarter mile between each interval. If the repeats are to be done at 8:00-minute pace, the quarter-mile jog will end up being between 2:30 and 3:00 minutes of jogging, totaling less than 50 percent of the duration of the intervals. Because these are less intense intervals than the speed intervals, you may be tempted to exceed the prescribed pace, but keep in mind that the adaptations you’re looking for specifically occur at that speed, no faster.
These strength workouts cover a lot of ground, so try to locate a marked bike path or loop on which to execute them. While a track can be used, the workouts get monotonous and injury is more likely, due to the increased torque on the lower legs from turning so often. Remember to always add 1.5 to 3 miles for a warm-up and a cooldown.
Begin with 1 mile and progress each week to the next longer distance. Once all workouts have been completed, proceed back down the distances. Basically, you will begin with 1-mile intervals, progress to 3-mile intervals, then work back down to 1-mile intervals. To determine the correct pace for each strength workout, use the pace charts that follow. Find your goal half-marathon pace and run the designated interval as close to that pace as possible.
STRENGTH PROGRESSION
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1-MILE REPEATS3 × 1 miles with 800 jog recovery Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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1.5-MILE REPEATS4 × 1.5 miles with 800 jog recovery Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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2-MILE REPEATS3 × 2 miles with 800 jog recovery Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
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3-MILE REPEATS2 × 3 miles with 800 jog recovery Sessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
Tempo runs have long been a staple of all good endurance training plans, so most experienced runners have encountered them before. Tempo runs have been defined in numerous ways, but in the Hansons Half-Marathon Method, they are defined as race pace runs. Over the course of training, your tempo runs will span a number of months, requiring you to maintain race pace through an assortment of challenges and circumstances.
Internalizing pace is one of the most difficult training components for runners to master. If you feel great at the start line and go out 30 seconds per mile faster than you planned, you’ll likely hit the halfway point ready to throw in the towel. No significant half-marathon records have ever been set via a positive split (running the second half of the race slower than the first half). In fact, nearly every world record, regardless of distance, has been set using negative or even splits. The good news is that half-marathon tempo training runs are quite fast, making them harder to mistakenly hammer than, say, the relatively slower marathon tempo runs. However, remember this: If you want to have a successful half-marathon performance, you are better off maintaining a steady pace throughout the entire race rather than following the “fly and die” method. Tempo runs teach you an important skill: control. Even when the pace feels easy, these runs train you to hold back and maintain. Additionally, tempo runs provide a great staging ground for experimenting with different fluids, gels, and other nutritionals. Because tempo runs have you running at your intended half-marathon pace, you get a very good idea of what your body can and cannot handle. The same goes for your gear. Use the tempo runs as dress rehearsals to try various shoes and outfits to determine what is most comfortable. Regardless of training, these details can make or break your race; tempo runs provide perfect opportunities to fine-tune your race day plans.
In the same way that easy and long runs improve endurance, so do tempo runs. Specifically, tempo runs improve race-specific endurance. Although they are faster than easy runs, they are well under anaerobic threshold and thus provide many of the same adaptations. Too, the benefits of longer tempo runs mimic those of long runs, since the aerobic system is worked in similar ways. Specifically, from a physiological standpoint, the tempo run has a great positive impact on running economy at your goal race pace. One of the most visible benefits of this is increased endurance throughout a long race. Indeed, as during the long run, the ability to burn fat is highly specified during tempo runs. The run is just fast enough that the aerobic system is challenged to keep up with a high percentage of fat oxidation, but it’s slow enough that the mitochondria and supporting fibers can barely keep up.
Over time, it is the tempo run that will indicate whether or not you have selected the right half-marathon goal. We have always considered this workout more telling than any other. Because the tempo run offers no break between intervals or rest periods, if you continually struggle to hit the correct pace for long tempo runs, there will be some question as to whether you can hold that pace for an entire race.
The greatest benefit that these workouts offer is the opportunity to firmly learn your desired race pace through repetition. With time, your body figures out a way to internalize how that pace feels, eventually making it second nature. When runners cannot tell if they are close to pace, the tendency is to be off pace (usually too fast), setting them up for unavoidable doom. Learning your pace and knowing how it feels can make the difference between a good race and a bad race.
The benefits of tempo work include:
//helps you to internalize half-marathon goal pace
//teaches you to control and maintain pace
//chance to experiment with nutrition, hydration, gear
//improved running economy at goal pace
//improved endurance
In the Hansons Half-Marathon Method, the tempo run is completed at goal race pace. For many other coaches, a tempo run is much shorter, at paces closer to strength pace, but for our purposes, tempo and half-marathon paces are interchangeable. You should run at goal pace, even early on when it may feel easy. It will take a good number of tempo workouts before you fully internalize the pace and can regulate your runs based on feel. What does change throughout training is the distance of these workouts. Tempo runs are progressively longer, with an adjustment every few weeks; they increase from 3 miles for a beginner and 5 miles for an advanced runner to 7 miles over the last few weeks of training. As an advanced runner begins to reach the heaviest mileage, the total volume of a tempo run, along with a warm-up and a cooldown, can reach 12–14 miles and approach 90 minutes in length.
With the long run looming after a tempo run, that 12-miler might look a lot tougher than it did initially. Remember the principle of cumulative fatigue? This is a prime example of how the Hansons Method employs it. Suddenly that fairly easy longer run mimics the fatigue you will feel during the later portion of the half-marathon. Rather than sending you into the long run feeling fresh, we try to simulate those last miles of the half-marathon, and there’s nothing like a tempo run to put a little fatigue in your legs.
TEMPO PROGRESSION FOR BEGINNER RUNNERS
TEMPO PROGRESSION FOR ADVANCED RUNNERS
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5–10 MILESSessions should include a warm-up and cooldown (1–3 mi. each). |
To help you further understand the intensity at which you should be running during the various workouts in the training plan, check out Figure 3.3. The diagonal line represents a sample VO2max of a runner. The first line on the left is for the easy running days and represents everything under the aerobic threshold; it is the largest but also the slowest area. The next line is the long run and represents the fastest paces a person should run for the long run, but it could also represent the fastest of easy days for beginners. The middle line denotes ideal tempo pace and, therefore, half-marathon goal pace. It is above aerobic threshold but below anaerobic threshold. The strength line represents the high end of the “lactate” section, as strength runs should fall just below anaerobic threshold. Finally, there is the speed line, which represents where speed workouts should fall, which is just below VO2max.
As VO2max and running speed increase, thresholds and zones can be indicated.
1. Easy pace zone
2. Moderate pace zone
3. Marathon pace zone
4. Tempo pace zone (half-marathon pace)
5. Strength pace zone (10–15K pace)
6. Speed pace zone (5–10K pace)
With this continuum in mind, it becomes clear why running faster than you’re instructed to run compromises development. Not only do you miss out on the benefits the workout was meant to provide when you go too fast, but you also increase fatigue. The essential point is this: Paces are there for a specific reason. While some runners feel that paces hold them back, in reality proper pacing will propel you forward in the end. Fight the temptation to buy into the “If some is good, more is better” mentality, and keep in mind the specific goal of each particular workout.
While it may seem counterintuitive at best and like a waste of time at worst, believe me when I say that cutting mileage and intensity is an integral part of half-marathon training when done at the right times. When you reach the final stretch of training, your goal is to recover from all that work you have put in, while also maintaining the improvements you made over the past few months. Reducing your training at this point, called tapering, is one of the keys to successful racing.
The mistake many runners make with their taper is that they cut everything, including mileage, workouts, intensity, and easy days. In the same way we instruct you not to add these components too soon, we also suggest not abruptly cutting them out. When runners subtract too much training too quickly, they often feel sluggish and even more fatigued than they did when they were in their peak training days. By cutting the training back gradually, you’ll feel fresh and ready to race.
An SOS workout takes about 10 days to demonstrate the physiological improvement. That’s right, it takes more than a week before you reap any benefits from a hard run. Just as important to consider, the immediate effect of a hard workout is fatigue. So if you try to do something after a hard effort, you are just digging yourself a hole. Yet, if you wait too long, the benefits have come and gone. If you look at the training plans in the Hansons Method, you’ll notice that the last SOS workout is done 10 days prior to the half-marathon because after that point, SOS workouts will do nothing but make you tired for the big day. We also implement roughly a 50–55 percent reduction in overall volume (depending on which schedule you are following) during the last 7 days of the program. Despite this, you will still run the same number of days per week, with only the daily mileage reduced. For a parallel, consider how you would feel if you were accustomed to drinking a couple of cups of coffee in the morning and then suddenly gave it up cold turkey. Your body probably would react with a dull headache. If instead you cut back to one cup, you limit the effects of withdrawal and usually end up feeling better. This is the same idea—reduce the stress while keeping the body happy and in its preestablished routine. By continuing to run fewer miles, but still running the same number of days, you reduce the number of variables that are adjusted. Instead of reducing frequency, volume, and intensity, you are tinkering only with the last two. The problem with many training plans is that they cut too much out of the schedule and prescribe a lengthy taper, causing a runner to lose some of those hard-earned fitness gains. By subscribing to a 10-day gentle taper period, you cut down on the risk of losing any of those gains but still allow adequate time for rest and recovery.
From a physiological standpoint, the taper fits well with the principle of cumulative fatigue because the training program does not allow you to completely recover until you reach those final 10 days. Over the last couple of months of the program, some of the good hormones, enzymes, and functions in your body have been suppressed through incomplete recovery, while the by-products of fatigue have simultaneously been building. With reduced intensity and volume during the taper, these good functions flourish. Meanwhile, the by-products are allowed to completely break down, and the body is left in a state of readiness for your best performance. We always warn runners not to underestimate the power of the taper. If you are worried about your ability to run a complete half-marathon at the pace of your tempo runs, consider this: The taper can elicit improvements of up to 3 percent. That is the difference between a 2:00 half-marathon and a 1:58 half-marathon. It is a bit like getting something for nothing. And at this stage of my career, a nearly 2-minute improvement in my half-marathon best would be amazing.
To be utilized in determining how fast to run your workouts, Table 3.5 demonstrates pace per mile based on various goal half-marathon times. For easy runs, refer to the easy aerobic A and easy aerobic B columns. The faster end of the long run spectrum is indicated in the moderate aerobic column. The marathon column is useful for those who have marathon experience and are looking to come back down to the half-marathon. It’s really more for comparison purposes than anything. The half-marathon pace is the speed at which your tempo runs should be run. The strength column will be your reference for strength workouts, and the 10K and 5K columns for your speed workouts. Keep in mind that actual 5K and 10K race times will be more accurate than this chart. If you have raced those distances, use your finishing times to guide your speed workouts. Our goal here is to provide you with some guidance for your workouts, keeping you focused and making the correct physiological adaptations throughout training.
