If you’ve had a significant amount of base training and want to run faster, this article is for you. This excellent excerpt reprinted with permission from Human Kinetics of Triathlon Workout Planner by John Mora
“Intervals (also known as repeats) are short bursts of speed repeated over a measured distance with recovery periods between each interval. As I discussed in the previous chapter, intervals are a key component of training for swimming and running. In this chapter, we’ll further explore 80/20 running workouts and also learn how to apply interval training to cycling.
Elite runner and author Jeff Galloway once wrote, “Intervals are based on a simple principle: The only way to run faster is to run faster” (Galloway 1984). Although that premise is true, there are some specific guidelines to interval training that can help you prevent injury and get the most out of your hard work.
* Base training first. Never begin any kind of speed work without a year’s solid base of consistent distance running. Intervals are demanding and can be very rough on your body, so it’s important that you’ve developed the muscle strength and joint integrity to support the effort.
* Set a baseline with a time trial. It’s a good idea to start off your interval training with a performance benchmark that tells you Read more… »
Having spent many years training for fitness, it wasn’t until the last few years I became aware of how delicate a balancing act it can be of knowing how and when to push yourself toward greater fitness and avoiding injury.
I have had many injuries and hope I’ve learned how to approach training with the long tern goal of staying healthy and injury free. I would often push myself too hard when I did not need to or it was not the right time to push. Maybe I did not give myself enough of a rest, either between intervals, sets, or laps. It absolutely is a science and the more I read and study, the more I am able to understand when and WHY I do the things I do.
With the idea of sharing that, I posed several questions to my physical therapy group that helps heal me, Elite Physical Therapy in Charlotte, NC. Kelly Floyd started this the group and Joe and Lesley have joined in the last year. They are immensely qualified and have vast sports experience themselves as well as treating patients of all ages and ailments.
I treasure their input and advice. Here’s some advice I hope you can learn from as well.
What are the training rules of thumb and why are they important to follow?
Always break a sweat before stretching. Think of your cold muscle as a piece of bacon out of the freezer. You bend it and it breaks! Heat it up and it bends much easier!
It all starts with the core, the area of your body from your diaphragm to your groin. When running, jumping, cycling, swimming, or weight training, sitting, standing, bending, you name it, keep your spinal alignment perfect. Your spine is made to be stabilized, not twisted and bent. That’s what our other joints are for. Read more… »
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