Coach Sage Canaday discusses how speed and high-intensity training can improve your running form.
Why Does Faster Running Improve Form?
Let me start off with an example: You can’t typically sprint 100 meters or 400 meters with poor form. When sprinting 100 meters quickly, you’re not heel striking; you’re running with a fast turnover, probably over 200 steps a minute. This isn’t distance running form but involves high knees and straight arm drive forward and back. Inefficiencies get ironed out, and the same happens when you scale down.
Even if you’re not a sprinter, the purpose of high intensity work as a marathon or ultra-marathon runner has similar principles and benefits. It trains you at the neuromuscular level, helping your muscle fibers coordinate better, and improves your stride rate and turnover. It also gives you power in your stride, enabling a longer stride length, which is key to speed (however, you need the aerobic system to support that!).
For marathon, ultra-marathon, or half-marathon runners, once you build your base mileage and improve your aerobic efficiency, the next step is to refine your form and build leg strength to enhance speed and progress. Part of this involves lowering the lactate threshold and increasing the speed at which you run at VO2 max (maximum aerobic capacity). While your heart and lungs will limit you at VO2 max, good running form not only improves speed and efficiency but also reduces the risk of injury.
It’s A Balance
Overuse injuries can result from heel striking or running with too slow of a cadence or stride rate, which increases impact force. Running at 160 steps per minute or less results in more impact force, especially on downhills. As you increase mileage, for example from 30 miles (50k) a week to 50 miles (80k) a week, the risk of injury rises, and this is especially true if you have poor form or muscle and tendon imbalances.
Minimizing the risk of injury involves running efficiently with the best possible form. While not everyone will look like Kipchoge, it’s important to understand that different muscle mass distributions affect running mechanics. For instance, I have much thicker legs than many elite East African marathon runners who have very thin legs, and my arm strength differs as well. These differences change how form and mechanics look.
What This Means For You
It’s not necessary (or recommended) to run on your toes or forefoot, but it is important to avoid a large heel strike, which acts as a braking force. Maintaining a stride rate over 160 steps per minute is generally effective, because the faster you run, the easier it is to increase your stride rate. For paces from 5k to marathon, aim for at least 165, ideally closer to 180 steps per minute. Speed work helps to improve your form by addressing and correcting inefficiencies.
Track workouts and hill sprints benefit distance runners by not only elevating heart rate and enhancing the aerobic system but also by developing muscle tension, extending the stride, and refining neuromuscular coordination. This leads to improved efficiency and form. Ultimately, faster 400-meter and kilometer repeats should translate into faster 5k, 10k, marathon, and ultramarathon times.
In summary, integrating speed work and high-intensity training into your running routine is crucial for enhancing form, efficiency, and overall performance. By focusing on stride rate, muscle coordination, and aerobic capacity, runners can achieve faster times and reduce the risk of injury. Remember, the key to success lies in consistent training, proper form, and listening to your body’s needs.
I hope this helps you as you look towards your next speed or interval session.
While pre-race anxiety is considered “normal” I actually don’t believe it has to be, though I’ve admittedly not overcome that feat just yet. So for now, we can say that pre-race anxiety can be greatly reduced.
✅ Mindset- Nervousness vs. excitement; threat vs opportunity for growth:
Viewing how you see pre-race anxiety can absolutely change the effects of it. When you label the feeling as excitement or a sign that you simply care about the race, this thought (in the brain) signals to the body that it’s safe, and therefore your muscles and mind can relax a little.
Same as viewing a race as threat (“I’ll be a failure if I don’t meet my goal”) vs. an opportunity for growth (“I’d really like to hit my goal, but even if I don’t, it will be a beautiful opportunity to see how well my physical and mental training is going. Plus, my family and friends love me no matter what.”)
These thoughts can actually change what hormones the brain releases, whether they be stress or motivating and feel-good hormones.
Marathon training isn’t rocket science, but there’s a few things to keep in mind.
Today, Coach Sage Canaday is discussing key components for marathon training!
Aerobic Base:
I see significant improvements in athletes who start running 30-40 miles (50-60 km) per week and gradually increase to 50-60 miles (80-100 km) per week without injury. This involves mainly easy pace mileage, about 80%, which is manageable but depends on several factors such as age, training history, and background in the sport.
Consistent, gradual mileage increase, proper nutrition, and lifestyle balance are also crucial. Most people benefit from running more frequently, transitioning from four days a week to five or six, and sometimes even seven days a week or twice a day. However, running twice a day usually applies to those running over 70 miles per week.
More Isn’t Always Better
I ran a marathon in 2:16, with a PR of 2:16:52. One lesson I learned is that more training isn’t always better. I ran 130-140 miles a week for years, but sometimes I overtrained, which actually left me tired and slower! I ran several minutes faster with less mileage, more targeted workouts, and by not overextending myself.
Effective marathon training involves several key components. After building your aerobic base with consistent, high mileage over months, you need variations in your long run workouts. It’s not just about hitting mileage numbers like an 18-mile long run, but about incorporating different intensities.
In our Higher Running Boston Qualifying Marathon Plan or BQ plan, available at Higher Running, long run workouts include segments at marathon goal race pace or even faster in the second half. These runs teach you to speed up when tired, mimicking race conditions where you enter with tired legs and low glycogen stores, even on a high-carb diet. It also helps with adaptations in fat burning and practicing your hydration and nutrition strategy during the run. Long runs aren’t just to “get in the miles”, there are times when they become demanding workouts that involve speeding up or running steady paces close to your marathon race pace when tired to mimic race-day.
The 80/20 Rule:
An 80-20 split between easy and hard runs has been recommended by coaches for decades. While recovery runs and easy pace runs are essential, incorporating quality workouts is crucial to reaching your marathon potential. Additionally, having a good nutrition and hydration strategy during the race optimizes performance and speed.
Intensity should be included in small amounts. From my experience running professionally post-college and training with an Olympic development group, it’s clear that interval workouts and faster workouts than your goal marathon pace are necessary. Many runners come from 5k, 10k, and half marathon backgrounds, which helps in preparing for the marathon.
Workouts around 10k and 5k pace should be used sparingly. For example, if your marathon goal is to break three hours (6:52 per mile pace), you should do some workouts closer to six-minute mile pace or threshold workouts faster than half marathon pace. These can include 800-meter repeats, kilometer repeats, or mile repeats at around 6:20 per mile pace.
These high-intensity workouts improve mechanical efficiency, increase aerobic capacity (VO2 max), and make marathon pace feel easier. They should be incorporated mainly in the last eight weeks before the marathon but can also be included early in the training cycle. Our training plans at Higher Running follow this approach, starting with shorter intervals to build efficiency, improve running form, and enhance aerobic capacity.
Race Day (and a quick note on nutrition)
A final note on marathon success is the importance of race day pacing. Conservatively pace yourself in the first 10K, relax, and warm up into the race. The goal is to maintain a steady pace in the last 10K. The key to a successful marathon is not falling apart in the final stretch. If you can speed up significantly in the last 10K, you likely paced yourself too conservatively. Most runners struggle in the last 10K, so it’s crucial to reach the 20-mile mark (32 kilometers) and maintain your pace.
Even if you slow down by 10-15 seconds per mile (or 8-10 seconds per kilometer), you can still run a good marathon. The real issue arises when you slow down by 30-40 seconds per mile (or 20 seconds per kilometer) in the last 10K, leading to significant time loss. Effective pacing involves running at a manageable, consistent pace with even splits. If you’ve raced a half marathon, use it as a benchmark. For example, to break three hours in a marathon, you should ideally have a half marathon time of at least 1:25-1:26 to aim for two 1:30 splits.
Nutrition is also crucial. Taking in carbs every 8K or 5 miles, either in gel or liquid form, helps maintain energy levels. Relying solely on fat burning without consuming calories during the race can hinder your performance. Hydration and regular intake of carbs can prevent hitting the wall and ensure you run to your potential.
In summary, successful marathon running involves balanced pacing, effective nutrition, and hydration strategies. Learning from past experiences, both successes, and failures, helps in achieving better results! I hope you find this helpful. Be sure to forward this email to a friend who you think would find these tips interesting!
To start, let’s define what is Five Pace Training Method is:
Imagine holding up all five of your fingers: your middle finger represents your race pace. The idea behind Five-Pace Training Theory is that you train at two paces slower than your goal race pace and two paces faster than your goal race pace. This means running at different paces or intensities during workouts, either faster or slower than your goal race pace. Let’s dive in:
“In today’s newsletter, I’ll provide more insight into this type of training and explain why it is beneficial for your own running. This theory mainly applies to races like the 1500 meters, mile, 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon, and even some ultramarathons. We’ll discuss these pace changes and the types of workouts that can improve your running.
The Two Faster Notches
The Five Pace Training Method might be a bit of an oversimplification, but let’s use an example: if you’re training for a sub-1:30 half marathon, your goal pace is 6:52 per mile (4:16/km). For the two paces faster than your race pace, you might want to train at your 5k or 10k pace during interval workouts like kilometer repeats or mile repeats. This would be slightly faster than the 6:52 pace, perhaps around 6:40 or 6:30 per mile (4:00/km) for these repeats and threshold tempo runs.
Going a notch faster, we could be talking about doing 400-meter repeats that are even faster than your 5k pace. This could include one-minute hill sprints or high-intensity reps to develop lactic acid tolerance. Mixing in these different types of workouts, maybe once in a 10-day cycle, contributes to a well-rounded training program. You might say, “Great, but Sage, I just want to do easy aerobic base miles.” We’ll address that shortly when I explain the slower paces.
But if you want to reach your full potential in the sport, you not only need consistent high mileage and a big aerobic base for distance running, but you also need some of these higher-intensity speed workouts. Part of it is for running mechanics and building muscle strength, leg strength, and increasing your stride length.
When you do one-minute hill sprints at high intensity or 400-meter repeats way faster than your half-marathon race pace of 6:52 per mile, like a sub-six-minute mile pace, you’re working on that premium speed. This will give you more muscle power and may increase your VO2 max, your maximum capacity at 100% maximum heart rate.
It’s going to help you minimize lactate clearance and lactate levels, allowing you to run with that extra throttle, that extra power in your engine. Alright, so we have those two notches, those two paces faster. You’re getting a lot of interval training, maybe a 20-minute tempo run closer to 10k pace.
The Two Slower Notches
Now, the two notches slower than your goal race pace of 6:52 per mile for that 1:30 half-marathon example would be an easy recovery pace. Maybe it’s 8:30 per mile or 9:00 per mile (over 5 min/km for a 1:30 half marathon). Your recovery jog could be the start of a long run, warming up, or cool-down pace. So very relaxed, easy, conversational running.
The next notch slower would be what we call “up tempo.” (BONUS: Click HERE to download our free Pace Intensity Spectrum Chart PDF.) For many people, it will be closer to marathon race pace, maybe a little slower. Some people call it aerobic threshold or ventilatory threshold—those are more scientific terms. But we call it “up tempo.” In college, we called it “feel good pace.” It could be a progression run, maybe you’re doing 8 miles or 12K, and you start off pretty easy and relaxed, and as you feel good, you push the pace down a little. It’s not a true tempo run, it’s not to improve lactate threshold, and it shouldn’t be over 80% maximum heart rate, basically. It’s harder running with a purpose, relaxed running.
As with most things, there are nuances…
This is a bit of an oversimplification, as there are nuances where you run different paces. Having said all of this, remember that the vast majority of your training mileage, around 80% on average, or maybe even higher, should be at an aerobic pace. This means building up slowly with consistent high mileage and high volume at very easy paces to avoid injury and achieve adaptations like increased mitochondrial density, improved blood flow, and enhanced capillary bed density. This process also gradually strengthens your tendons and muscles with progressively higher mileage at slow paces while incorporating faster pace work.
So, 80% of your mileage should focus on aerobic base-building running. The “icing on the cake” is the hard intervals, VO2 max work, and the training at race pace and faster, especially for 5k and 10k races. Be cautious with marathon and ultra training, as race pace becomes less defined. At the end of the day, the key idea is to vary your paces and intensity to provide new stress for the body to adapt to, making you extra fit while staying healthy.
I hope this helps! Happy running and have a great week.
If you’ve been following us long enough, you’ve probably heard us talk about why mindsetmatters.
Today, Coach Sandi Nypaver shares another mindset tip that can impact your physical performance, happiness, relationship with others, and so much more!
And it’s this simple:
How you talk to yourself matters. Have you ever taken the time to think about what you want your self-talk to look like and how you want to show up for yourself?
If you want to make athletic performance gains, research shows that positive self-talk matters. If you grew up in an atmosphere like I did around sports, you might be familiar with the mindset that “pain is weakness leaving the body”, or that you should just “get it done no matter what, embracing the pain.” That’s not positive self-talk.
Now let’s talk about what positive self-talk actually looks like: Positive self-talk can include things like telling yourself, “You’ve got this,” or “You’re so strong!” Encourage yourself to do your best at the moment. You can even say things like, “You look good. This is good.” The key is to be supportive and kind to yourself, fostering a mindset that builds confidence and resilience.
There was a fun study that found telling people they look good actually helped with their running form. Just think of anything that works for you! I’ve provided some typical examples, but you can personalize it based on what you want to focus on. Consider what areas you want to improve and tailor your self-talk to address those specific goals.
Remember, the goal of positive self-talk is not just to boost performance but also to improve your overall mental well-being. Being kind to yourself can reduce stress, increase motivation, and make your athletic journey more enjoyable. So, next time you train, pay attention to your inner dialogue and make it a positive one. When you take that time, you start allowing yourself to create the life you want and become who you were meant to be.
