Marathon, Triathlon and Duathlon Training Tips
June 24, 2010
Here are some tips for running and duathlon training.
1) Don’t let your running routine get interrupted all the time . Things come up and get in the way – sickness, vacation/holidays, injuries, family and work, but if you can manage to get a run in every 48-72 hours then your muscle memory will retain the work that you’ve put into your running.
- Try sleeping in your running clothes, so that you’re ready to go when you wake up in the morning .
- Always toss your running shoes in your bag or backpack before leaving for work .
- A 15-20 minute run is better than none at all, so when you’re really busy, still get a short run in. And always pack your running gear when you go on holidays or away for a while .
2) Having to lift an extra 5 or 10 poundsover a 26 mile run,( or even an extra pound over 3 mile run ) makes a big difference – so lose weight. Your body must lift the extra weight with each step, and if you take 10,000 steps and weigh 3 extra pounds, that’s 30,000 extra foot pounds you need to lift – a huge metabolic requirement. If you’re hammering your running , but not focusing on proper timing and content of nutrition to achieve weight loss, you’re basically getting about half the benefit of your training. Lose a handful of pounds and you can honestly feel light as a feather – there is a huge difference, in both speed and joint impact.
3) Until a running cadence of 86-90bpm becomes second nature, you need to focus the entire time . Try these things – count your steps as you run, or play hot potato and try to keep your feet off the ground as much as possible; take time spans of 20 seconds and work on getting 30 running-steps in with either your right or left foot.
It’s far harder to increase your stride cadence than it is to increase your stride length. Once you dialed in a cadence close to 90, it will become much easier for you to increase pace by striding out just a little longer when you need that extra burst of speed. You might initially feel like you’re just bouncing up and down as you try to achieve the high cadence, but eventually, it will feel smooth, steady and relaxed.
4) Treadmills are a great help to increasing run cadence because the belt keeps moving underneath you no matter what, so your feet have to keep going. Like an indoor trainer, there are fewer interruptions like stoplights and street crossings on a treadmill, so it can really help you focus on the cadence.
At least every once in a while, run on a treadmill, setting the treadmill at a slightly faster speed than you are comfortable with, and allowing your legs to experience and memorize the rapid leg turnover.
5) Hills: The beauty of hills is that you can reach higher physiological intensities without the pounding of running. This is because your feet are much closer to the ground running up a hill, so there’s less body momentum on impact. Using hills regularly in your training, will reduce your risk of injury and increase your achievable intensity. For long runs, attempt to regularly include some hilly routes , and at least once every two weeks, attempt to include a hill repeat or rolling hill course workout, at a pace close to your ventilatory threshold.
6) Plyometric exercise, where you work on producing fast, powerful movements, and improving your nervous system, teach the elastic muscles of the lower leg to quickly absorb your body weight and re-contract after your foot touches the ground while running .
As a result, you minimize your ground contact time and maximize your recoil with each step. Over thousands of steps, this can be a huge speed boost. Plyometrics do not need to be a daily routine, and just once a week can provide enormous benefits. Good plyometric exercises include hopping with one foot or both feet onto a raised surface like a step bench, performing explosive jumps from a lunge or squat position, or standing under a basketball hoop and repetitively tossing a ball against the backboard while jumping to retrieve it. Your body can genuinely learn how to “rebound” far more efficiently. Typical plyometric workouts include 2-3 sets of 10-20 jumps for 2-3 different exercises.
There’s more running info at this Wordpress blog about duathlon training.
