My favorite "secret" is that consistency over time is usually more effective than one big block of hard/voluminous training that takes one a long time to recover from. Your turn!
My favorite "secret" is that consistency over time is usually more effective than one big block of hard/voluminous training that takes one a long time to recover from. Your turn!
Just Run Baby. Thats the only secret there is.
I agree heavily with the first 2 post - lots of consistent training and miles- staying healthy and injury free sure helps. I have worked with a wide age range of runners and have always tried to stress to them to run lightly. No pounding - after many weeks of hearing this many catch on. I try to catch them out on the roads and remind the as well as when they are tired toward the middle or end of a tough track work out. Interesting post - I hope more coaches and runners respond
I'm gonna go with a couple things that aren't secrets by any means, but are some key elements I see missing from most training plans.
-Train twice a day. Not a secret, but amazingly underrated in the American high school and college systems.
-Vary your pace. If you feel like hell, do a morning run at 8 minute pace. If you feel good, drop your last couple miles in 6 minutes or so. Changing pace is necessary for most to do high mileage successfully. Too fast and you burn out, too slow and you go flat.
-Do neuromuscular work, no matter what your event is. Full recovery, all-out sprints once a week.
two things:
Agreed on the two a days. It seems to trigger something in my body - as if my body gets a strong message that this is serious and it better get working better. I immediately get hungrier, faster, stronger mentally and even seem to be more of a forefoot striker. And I feel like a bada$$ and little.
I would add variety as a 'secret' - I think serious masters runners need to mix things up a lot more. Dedicate a season to XC, or to running a few track meets, or a trail race. It brings freshness and makes you a stronger all around runner. After running for 30 years, I am convinced that much of training should be to get an athlete's head in the right place - desire trumps fitness. I see too many guys get all fired up for turning 40, then just fade as they get bored of doing the same old 10ks.
1. Try to hit as many different paces in your workouts as possible.
2. Do your long runs on different surfaces (e.g. muddy trail, grass and asphalt in one session) and add fartlek sections to it.
3. Do at least one session per week at your event's goal-pace.
4. Do technical exercises before/after a run at least 3x per week for about 10-15 minutes.
Sorry for breaking the "one secret rule". ;-)
My secret: there are no secrets.
A hot bath the night before a race - covering upper body too - makes me feel light and loose for the race - works everytime.
Yoga. Damn right skippy!
I hope not to start an argument here as just is this my opinion here but I would stay away from is heavily cushioned shoes. Too many people I know wear kayano's and expect to be injury free. Thats not true however as it inhibits the natural motion of running making your feet weaker. I suggest doing some barefoot strides in a grass field. That is something I strongly recommend. It will do wonders.
Live by the clock.
Early on I would time myself at a distance. The next time I ran it I was confident I would go faster just because I had already experienced it and could find a way to make positive adjustments.
Took the same attidue towards interval workouts and making distance runs longer.
Just keep breaking mental barriers while doing physical conditioning.
Never worry about anyone else.
consistent training that you can handle
For us oldies.Distance running
Run every second day but try to maintain good mileage.
Do weight training (light weights,plenty of repetitions).
The bike is your friend.
Don't be afraid of speedwork.
Hills are your friend.
Try to run once a week with the young ones.
Share your knowledge with your kids and grandkids.
cheetos
Allow for rest & recovery
Don't do all your easy runs slow. If you feel recovered enough from your last hard workout/run don't mess around too much. You have to train hard to get better. When you need to recover, recover but you don't need to recover 5 days a week.
KISS: keep it simple stupid
if you feel good run a little harder. if you feel bad run a little slower. the best training "tools" are shorts, shoes, and a watch. when 6 miles doesn't have the same effect it used to, start running 8 miles.
oh, apply body glide liberally.
Whenever I take time off and I am getting back into it I go the track or grass field and do repeat 100's, 200's and 300's at 800-1500 meter race pace.
I used to ease into it with slow jogs and find that after all these years of running I do better going from top(sprinting) down(jogging/Running) than I do starting with slow slugs and slowly dreading strides,reps and intervals.
Speed must be your friend.
Run on grass and trails as often as possible.