Run to Win

This week last year I wrote one of my more popular articles, an FAQ about Interval Training. I broke down the 5 most frequent questions that I am asked about interval training and explained in detail what the answers were.

I also discovered the Vision 5k, a race where some of the runners run the race blind folded with the help of a seeing guide. I’ve never run blind folded, but I have run blind before when I have gotten a migraine during a workout or a race and begun hallucinating.

This week two years ago, I suggested that a regular sleep schedule is important and completed my weekend discussions on the New Rules of Lifting with the twentieth rule. It was also announced that Justin Gatlin didn’t break the world record because there was a timing error. (This was before his times were invalidated due to cheating.)

Once again, I seemed to miss a week for looking back. Last week last year was busy, with quite a few news notes, training tips, and discussions on research findings.

• I discussed some research on the merits of tempo workouts vs. interval workouts. Personally, I prefer a good mix of different types of workouts in my regimen.
• I recommended that you should watch for falling objects when you run, especially at this time of year. As ice melts in the trees or off of power lines, it can come crashing down quite forcefully. It also helps to spot any tree limbs that might be coming down or anything that the breeze picks up and throws towards you.
• After a close call in poor visibility, I reminded you to never play chicken with a car, mostly because a car is much more massive and will usually win. It just isn’t worth the bother. Having been hit by a car before, I actively take steps to avoid getting hit by car again.
• In response to an article at Complete Running, I disputed 7 sleeping myths and facts that were presented with my own thoughts on the matter. There were a few points that I agreed with up to a point, so they weren’t all wrong (from my point of view.)
• I pointed out an article at Free Money Finance that described how the author improved his life through exercise. Having never not exercised, one reason that I keep it up is to keep from degrading my life.
• In racing news, the men’s 8k championship was in Central Park, which had a few hitches but still provided some good entertainment for spectators. A couple of my college teammates were competing. I also began preparations for the Boston Marathon, spending the weekend shoveling snow and getting in a fast long run.
• In sports news, the Spanish doping raid’s charges against elite cyclists were dropped after they were deemed unlawful. At the time of the infractions, there was no Spanish law that made the specific practices at that clinic illegal. Just unethical
• Last week two years ago, I continued the animated lifting series with a demonstration of how to do a triceps extension using a pulleyand suggested that you flex at the lowest point of your pull. Running Dog Sports closed their doors for good, which was a shame. There was some research that pointed to the lack of brain benefits when running by yourself, but I think that that research was flawed. It did lead to pondering whether the time of day affects the clarity of your mind while running, though. I also continued the weekly series about the New Rules of Lifting, exploring the second and third rules.

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about timeless exercises in different disciplines throughout the month of May. This week I would like to talk about one of the most important types of workouts for any competitive runner.

What is interval training?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, fourth definition, an interval is “one of a series of fast-paced exercises interspersed with slower ones or brief rests for training (as of an athlete).” Intervals can be practiced across sports, but in running an interval workout is any workout where you run for a specified distance or time at a specified pace with a specified amount and type of rest.
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Which type of workout is going to produce better results, tempo training or intervals? According to research done by Peter Snell (Olympic sprinter of 1960 and 1964) at the University of Texas Southwestern Human Performance Center, priority should be given to interval training. His research consisted of comparing performance gains between two control groups of runners, one of which did tempo training twice a week and one group that did interval training.

[...] the interval-trained runners gained considerably more physiological and competitive fitness. A key lesson to be learned here is that intensity is always the most-potent producer of fitness; it is a much-stronger stimulus for improvement than training volume and workout frequency. When you conduct your intervals at 90 to 100 percent of VO2max (and at higher intensities, too), the amount of fitness gained per minute will always be greater, compared with the running capacity accrued at lower intensities. As you can see from Snell’s research, each minute of high-quality work can sometimes produce twice as much gain in fitness as double the amount of lower-quality exertion.

For myself, I strive for a good mix. When I am building an aerobic base towards the beginning of a season or after a marathon, I tend to stick to tempo training and easy runs. When I am aiming to peak for a specific race and to get into top-shape, I will mix interval and fartlek work in as well. It seems to work out fairly well. The priority certainly goes to the interval training, but tempo runs are easier to fit in. This is especially true at this time of year when it can be dark and the footing is less than favorable at the times that I run.

(Sources: Tom Ryan – Run Coach – Running Research News)

The full list of “How To” articles from the group writing project has been put up over at Darren Rowse’s site. There are 343 articles total, many of whom are really worth checking out. The top five exercise related guides (besides my article on how to tie your shoes) that I found in the list are:
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Yesterday morning, I ran the Bridgton Four Miler in 22:38. With a day and a half of rest, I ran a good quarter mile workout fartlek style at the Back Cover 5k Race Series this evening.
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Running 800s (or 880s, as my coach refers to them) can be satisfying.

We had a good 20 minute warm up, nice slow and easy. We got to the track before the high school meet had ended, so another 10 minute or so rewarmup was in order. The 800s were nothing fast (6:00 down to 5:00 pace) but it felt nice to get the legs moving again. It is high time I got my sense of pace back. On the third 800, I wanted to run the first 200 meters in 40 seconds, and I was spot on. Of course, I was four seconds under when I crossed 400 meters, though. The cool down was a good 25 minutes mostly along this weekend’s race course.

I have decided that starting next week, I am going to do the lifting on MTR and the swimming on WF. I will still limit my running to team workouts (or races) on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. Saturday will still be my day off. I am currently lifting MR and swimming on TF. The masters swim class meets on TR though so the pool is a little crowded even at 6 in the morning.