Train to Strengths or Weaknesses

[runner39]

Hi Joe,

What is your views on training to your strengths or weaknesses, do you agree that all runners are different (5k-10k) and should not all train the same, I know you have given me great advice on training the right energy systems but would emphasize a certain system for individual based on their strengths or weaknesses,

example:

runner A:
1500m - 4:27
5000m - 17:00
10k - 36:00
1/2 - 1:21:00

runner B
1500m - 4:40
5000m - 17:00
10k - 35:40
1/2 - 1:18

would these runners train the same in regards to emphasis on certain energy systems or tweak there training individually

please discuss your views on fast twitch and slow twitch distance runners

Thanks,
Ken

[Joe Rubio]

Ken,

Kinda depends. In many cases you have an athlete who under performs in the event because they rarely race it, so by having them focus on it and improve it, they actually end up improving significant in their better events.

Example: Ryan Hall. He focused on the 1500 in HS and college and obviously he's having great success in the marathon currently. I'm not sure the 1500 focus in his early years was necessarily a negative thing, do you?

In many cases you have athletes stereotype themselves in terms of what they can and can't do, so from that perspective having them spend time focused on speed and strength limits that "I can't do that" aspect of running that limits development.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the matter.

Joe

[runner39]

Joe,

I seem to recall Ryan Hall mentioning he did alot of 10 mile tempo runs while training in HS and was doing at 5min pace, this has to have laid some sort of groundwork for his marathon acheivements.

Would you agree that training at different paces has the most bang for your buck in terms of improvement, ie. multi pace training

One thing that I can never seem to figure out in my own training is what pace to run tempo runs (20 min), do you use a % of 5k pace or % of max HR, what is your views on longer tempo runs for 5k-10k runner, ie. 40-60 min, and what %'s do you use for longer tempo's

thanks,
Ken

[Joe Rubio]

For everyone I've been involved w/, multi paced training seems to do the best job. If you want a rough guide for appropriate paces, try this. It's all based on % of current 5k.

100%: 5k (ie 16:40 = 80 pace)
95%: 10k (84 pace)
90%: 20 min tempo (89 pace)
85%: MP/30-40 min tempo (94 pace)
80%: 40-60 min tempo (100 pace)

Make sense?

Joe

ps. Yes Hall did lots of 10 mile tempo runs in HS, but he was still a miler, which means he did lots of 10 mile tempos, plus short, fast stuff and everything in between - multi paced training.

[runner39]

thanks Joe,

this seems to be a ongoing problem for me, knowing what pace to run in workouts, for example my last 2 races were:

3000m indoor (Feb. 25) - 9:30
5k road race (March 21) - 17:00

according to my calculations the 3k is the equivilent of around 16:25 if run in the same conditions, obviously different race situations, indoors was perfect conditions, the road race was flat but cold weather w/ some wind, I tend to do my workouts on the track to get a good idea of pace because if I try to run by feel I almost always run too fast, so where should I base my workout paces off

[Joe Rubio]

Base your workout paces off the 5k. It will seem slow, but that's the point, to slow down the workouts to the appropriate effort so you have something in the tank for the races. Most people do it the opposite, spend proportionally too much energy in workouts, essentially racing them leaving less mental and physical strength available for the races where it counts.

Nobody around here understands how it works, but it does.

Joe