5 Types of Runs You Need in Your Training Plan
Washington DC Eagles take on the Memorial Miles Monthly Mission in 2023.
The first thing I tell people who come to me for running advice is to set a plan and stick to it. As a professional athlete and Division 1 collegiate runner, I’ve learned that consistency is key to enhancing performance and staying injury free in any sport —but especially impact sports like running. When you run, the repetitive impact of each footstrike on the ground puts significant vertical and horizontal forces on the lower limbs and joints and requires your muscles, tendons and ligaments to absorb these forces. That’s why it is so important to gain running mileage, speed, and strength in a safe, systematic and progressive way.
So how do you build your running plan? Here are five different training run styles you can incorporate into your plan to progress, gain strength, and inch towards your goals:
Base Runs. Low intensity base running should make up the bulk of your run program. These are usual natural effort runs meant to build up your muscle, ligaments, joint and bones resilience to the impact forces of running. An example of a base run would be to jog 4 miles at an easy pace.
Build Runs. Build runs are similar to base runs at the start, but you get faster and faster as the workout progresses. These runs challenge you to finish strong and hold good form even when you are tired towards the end of a workout. An example of a build run is 20 min at an easy base pace followed by 20 min building each 5 minutes to end comfortably uncomfortable.
Interval Runs. Interval runs combine fast hard efforts with low-intensity jog recoveries. This challenges you to complete faster, harder runs which increase your tolerance to lactic acid, improve running economy, and increase your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to working muscles. An example of an interval workout (after a lengthy warmup) is 8x400s at your goal 5K pace with a 400 easy jog in between.
Hill Repeats. Hill running is one of the most effective ways to build strength and improve your running form. When you run uphill you have more engagement of motor units — the bundles of muscle fibers that ignite while running. Uphill running engages the muscles in the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes to work harder against gravity, promoting muscular development and endurance. An example of a hill repeat workout is 6 rounds of 30-45 seconds running uphill. Recover each time by jogging down the hill to the start. If you don’t have hills near where you live, use a 6% incline on a treadmill to mimic a steady hill.
Long Run. The long run should be a staple in any endurance runners program. Even though this run is done at an easy pace it is responsible for so many physiological benefits! Running for a long period of time increases the body’s capacity to use fat as fuel, improves cardiovascular health, and strengthens your muscles, joints, tendons and bones. Everyone’s “long run” will be a different distance, but a good rule of thumb is that it should not be longer than 30% of your total weekly mileage. For example, if you run thirty miles per week, your long run should not be longer than 9 miles.
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