Don't only run easy and slow on your easy days!
Sure, there are moments where it makes sense to truly go easy and that's it. However, you're missing out on some mechanical and physiological gains if that's all you do.
WEEKLY WISDOM: SOMETIMES YA GOTTA ADD SOME SPICE TO GET SUMN NICE
SLOW AND EASY RUNNING: WHAT AND WHY
Slow and easy running makes up a large percentage of training and contributes toward a high percentage of one’s fitness, thus being essential to reaching your best. During these conversational-paced runs, your slow-twitch (ST) muscle fibers are what’s predominantly used. The key benefits to this type of training are, as stated by Dan Bergland, sport physiologist at Volt Sportlab in Flagstaff, Arizona, “You increase mitochondria and capillaries and blood flow to those muscles, so they’re better able to utilize oxygen.” By increasing your mitochondria content through this easy running, your body is able to produce more ATP, a key energy source that drives a variety of essential bodily processes (e.g., muscle contraction). Without the slow and easy running, you won’t have an appropriate aerobic foundation on which to add intensity (e.g., thresholds, fartleks, etc.). Because of this, it’s important that newer runners put a heavier emphasis on these slower and easy runs to develop a good base, but for more experienced runners, these easy runs serve more so to promote recovery between the harder days.
WHY YOU SHOULD ADD “STUFF” TO EASY RUNS
WHAT IS “STUFF?!”
First and foremost, you’re probably wondering what the heck “stuff” is in this context. “Stuff” is the rather silly term Steve Magness, top thinker in the coaching space, coined to encompass any injections of intensity to an easy run, whether that’s before, during, and/or after. This could be a variety of things including the following…
Mid-run surges - Surges are mid-run intervals where within each repetition, you are gradually ramping up the pace from a steady/marathon effort to 5k/10k effort. Alternatively, these could be run at a steady, constant pace within each repetition depending on what you want to work on. These surges should be in the 30-60 second range with plenty of jogging between reps (two to three minutes). The goal is NOT for these to be overly difficult. It should be a light aerobic stimulus that won't hinder recovery. These should be done no more than two times per week. You might progress these in the following way: 6x1’ at half marathon to 5k effort w/ 2:30 jog => 6x1’ at half marathon to 5k effort w/ 2:15 jog => 6x1’ at half marathon to 5k effort w/ 2’ jog => 6x1’ at 10k to 5k effort w/ 2’ jog => 6x1’ at 5k effort w/ 2:30 jog => 6x1’ at 5k effort w/ 2:15 jog => 6x1’ at 5k effort w/ 2’ jog.
Example: 6-mile easy run including 6x1’ surges at threshold to 5k pace w/ 2’ jog rest
End-of-run pickups - Pickups are end-of-run progressions where you gradually ramp up the pace to a steady/marathon effort (or even threshold). Typically, these should be in the 5-10 minute range and be done no more than two times per week. Going much above that 10-minute threshold means you’re more so running a moderate progression and consequently, less so treating the run as an easy run.
Example: 6-mile easy run ending in 5’ at steady => threshold pace
Post-run strides - Strides, usually 15-20 seconds in length with a progressive component, are great for before hard days/workouts. These can be done many times each week, although with the other components like hill sprints, pickups, and surges, they may be done one to two times per week (not counting strides done right before workouts). Effort-wise, you should be starting slow and building up until you're running at a near-maximal speed, extending your stride over time. These are meant to improve fast-twitch (FT) muscle fiber recruitment and prime the muscles for upcoming workouts. Given this purpose, there should be plenty of rest between strides such that we're predominantly utilizing FT muscle fibers, many of which could be more fatigue-resistant given you’ve induced some fatigue into your muscles with all the preceding easy miles.
Example: 6-mile easy run + 4x20” strides at 3k => 800m pace within each rep w/ walk-back recovery
Post-run hill sprints - Hill sprints, usually 6-12 seconds in length, are best done on a decent grade/incline of 6% or more. They should be run at a near-maximal effort with plenty of rest. The goal here is to strengthen and prime the muscles and improve FT muscle fiber recruitment. These can be done one to two times per week, although as the season progresses, they should be done closer to once every two weeks. Per The Science of Running by Steve Magness, it's logical to start with a few eight second reps and work up to 8x8” on 90” cycles before then working up to 8x10" (or 10x8”). At that point, you should consider entering maintenance mode and transitioning to bi-monthly (twice a month) flat sprints.
Example: 6-mile easy run + 6x8” uphill sprints all-out on 2’ cycles
Pre/mid/post-run flat sprints - Flat sprints are done on the track and should be run at a near all-out effort, although athletes often benefit more from hearing “95% effort” than “FULL SEND” to prevent tensing up, according to Magness. Another term thrown out there is “flys” which involve building up the pace for some amount of meters, say 10-15, before running all-out down a straightaway. These are essentially interchangeable. Generally, it’s best to start at 60-meter sprints and work up over time to upwards of 200 meters, although the longer you go the less reps you should do given the high neuromuscular demand. As mentioned above, these should only be introduced once you’ve reached a good spot with the hill sprints. In his book, Magness suggests that, at this point, you alternate one week hill sprints with one week flat sprints for a bit before potentially tipping the emphasis towards one side (flat sprints for FT runners and hill sprints for ST runners), working to extend the flat sprints and largely keeping the hill sprints where they’re at (or even backing off to more of a maintenance mode). Per The Science of Running, you might progress this in the following nature: 4x60m => 5x80m => 2x60m, 2x80m, 2x100m => 4x60m, 150m => 2x60m, 2x80m, 100m, 150m, 200m => 4x100m, 150m, 200m. You should give yourself PLENTY of rest for these, more so than you would for post-run strides or hill sprints. This might mean upwards of four to five minutes rest between reps.
Example: 6 miles w/ 2 miles easy, dynamics + light strides + 2x60m flys, 2x80m flys, 2x100m flys w/ 3’ rest between everything, 4 miles easy
Importantly, none of these easy run additions should be considered workouts for the competitive runner. They should not significantly hinder recoverability and thus, can (and should) be used throughout each training week in moderation. The only thing that should be considered with a bit more caution, particularly for those who are new to it, is the flat sprints because of the high neurological and mechanical stress.
WHY SHOULD I DO THIS STUFF?
There are several reasons to incorporate these easy run additions into your routine.
It spices up your easy days which can otherwise be somewhat monotonous and disengaging (especially if you run solo); the more you can enjoy your training, the better!
It provides an extra stimulus to your easy runs and has benefits beyond what a solely easy run achieves.
Specifically, for the mid-run surges and end-of-run pickups, we have more so an aerobic stimulus compared to the faster strides, hill sprints, and flat sprints which are heavily anaerobic. The former work exposes your body to a relatively small dose of lactate, giving your body an opportunity to improve upon its lactate tolerance1 and clearance2 to some degree. The latter work is highly beneficial as it can improve your reactivity/elasticity (ability to QUICKLY generate force on contact with the ground) and increase your pool of recruitable FT muscle fibers as well as their efficacy/quality, allowing you to run faster and finish stronger in races.
They’re great ways to prime the body for upcoming hard days such as workouts and long runs, especially when it comes to the faster, more anaerobic “stuff.”
EXAMPLE WEEK
Here is an example of a training week in the middle of the base phase:
Monday easy: 8 miles easy + 5x20” strides w/ walk-back recovery
Tuesday workout: 2-mile warmup, 4-mile threshold, cooldown to 10 miles
Wednesday easy: 7 miles easy
Thursday easy: 8 miles easy + 6x8” uphill sprints on 2’ cycles
Friday workout: 2-mile warmup, 3x(4x400 at 5k pace w/ 100m walk => jog) w/ 400m walk => jog between sets, cooldown to 10 miles
Saturday medium long run: 75’ w/ 6x1’ surges at 10k effort w/ 2’ jog
Sunday boolin’: Active recovery (yoga, biking, etc.) OR 25-30 minutes easy + (OPTIONAL) 4x20” lighter strides w/ walk-back recovery
WHEN IT MAKES SENSE TO SOLELY RUN EASY WITH NO “STUFF”
For the competitive runner, I believe that most days should have some injection of intensity, regardless of the type of run. However, there are scenarios where it makes sense to solely run easy without stuff. One such scenario is if running easy already feels kind of bad, whether you’re a newer runner looking to run your first 5k or a more experienced runner that hasn’t run in a while. For the newer runner, it’s all about running at an “easy” effort until it actually feels fairly easy and not an embarrassment to the system3 as Magness likes to say. This same concept can be applied to the experienced runner who’s been off for a while, too, albeit it’ll take them much less time to start feeling better again and they can probably sprinkle in post-run strides two to three times a week even when the easy runs aren’t fully clicking yet, say two to three weeks into solely easy running. Another scenario where solely easy running makes sense is if you’ve taken a solid break of two to four weeks after a training block, in which case you might just want the first week or two to be solely easy runs, focusing on working the mileage back up and feeling good mechanically.
If you have further questions, please ask me of course! See my contact information at the bottom of this post; I would love to help.
Next up on All Things Running… Asking the right questions to new athletes.
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Lactate tolerance is about how much lactate your body can tolerate without going deep into a well. Straight, continuous thresholds are a great way to test ones lactate tolerance as well as races.
Lactate clearance is about how much lactate your body can clear out to keep you afloat. If your lactate clearance ability is low relative to your competitors, you’ll (likely) be quicker to enter into a state of high acidosis—that burning feeling which comes with that dreadful heaviness and slowdown—come race day.
If something embarrasses your system, that means that it provides a big enough stimulus to your body to elicit a significant adaptation with sufficient rest. For a competitive runner who’s been competing for many years, an easy run does not embarrass the system in the least.