In my last article, I discussed beginner bike workouts for triathletes and cyclists. In this article, I am going to provide you with beginner running workouts. It is certainly the off-season for most athletes so the majority of workouts for the next month or so are going to be fairly light but you can do a couple of workouts each week that will assure that you are a stronger and more efficient runner heading into the 2009 season.
The workouts I will describe involve two key components to running faster, strength and efficiency. In order to build running specific strength it is important to spend time running in the hills. During the winter months it is a great time to hit the trails and log some time running uphill. Uphill running builds leg strength and good form (as long as you maintain good posture with your upper body remaining stable and you drive from your hips). This strength and form work will prove valuable as you tackle harder workouts later in the season. In order to build running economy and efficiency you want to do strides, which are brief efforts in which you gradually build up your speed and turnover so that you finish each effort in a sprint. Each effort will only last 10-20 seconds but will greatly improve your running efficiency because, when done correctly, it forces you to maintain good form and a high turnover (the goal being 180 foot strikes per minute).
Workouts:
1. Hilly long run—on the day that you do your long run make sure to find a hilly route. When running you don’t need to run uphill hard, just keep it nice and steady; focus on maintaining good form/posture, driving from your hips, and generating a good push-off from your calf muscles and balls of your feet. During this time of year (when your races are still months away) you want to build a good aerobic base so the pace shouldn’t be hard or challenging but your heart rate will naturally climb when you hit the hills. You don’t want to push your heart rate too far into the red but seeing a slight rise is fine, just keep it under control. I recommend that my athletes spend as much time as possible running on trails in the hills because it builds fitness, strength and also helps with your coordination. You shouldn’t be doing hill repeats or anything with that much structure, just run a hilly route and focus on each hill. Aim to get in a good mix of longer, gradual hills and short, steeper ones. If you’re new to running in the hills take it easy on the downhills. Downhill running can build functional strength as well but make sure to ease into it to prevent injury.
2. Strides—strides can be done at the end of your run once or twice a week. I suggest that athletes complete their scheduled run (say 30 minutes) and then spend 5-10 minutes running strides on a flat and preferably soft surface like grass. To run a stride you start jogging and with every couple seconds you build the pace until you reach a full sprint. It should take 15-20 seconds to complete one stride. Rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute and repeat. Start with 5 strides and build up to 10. Maintain good form/posture throughout and keep “fast feet” (a.k.a. a high turnover). You don’t want to over-stride on these…keep your stride compact and efficient. These efforts will keep your form in check and will help with your turnover so that when you do harder workouts later in the season you have “fast feet” and the efficiency to prevent a break-down in form and a loss of speed.
I hope you find these workouts beneficial during the winter months. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to send me an email at coaching@tri-us.com
Happy holidays and happy training!
–Trevor Glavin is a professional Xterra triathlete, coach and owner of Skinfit USA.
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