Last night, I took part in the Hastings Runnners Spring club 5k. After being unsure about how my speed training was going, in windy conditions I bagged 2nd place in my 2nd fastest time of 18:46, losing to a superb PB performance from Bob Russell who stormed home in 18:41. Great work Bob.
Keeping up the chase on Bob. He was just too quick.
Anyway, after the race, I spoke to friend, triathlete and all-round good guy Ewan Carradine, who took an extraordinary 16 seconds off his PB to finish in around 20:25 seconds. His dialogue was generally one of delighted surprise as he said "I've just been doing marathon training, I haven't done a 5k for 5 months!"
The secret ingredient-half an omelette with brown sauce, apparently.
Hello, what's happening here then?
Anyone who knows even the smallest bit about running will know and tell you that in order to run faster, you have to, well, RUN FASTER. This is a reflection of the importance of track intervals, mile reps, that sort of session. These sessions increase your maximum speed because they maximally stress your aerobic system (oxygen), forcing your anaerobic system (sugar) to become more efficient.
Typically, fast training sessions also develop something called VO2 max. In simple terms, VO2 max is the amount of oxygen your body can use at any one time. Higher is better. There are also other benefits to interval training, as it helps to develop the co-ordination between brain and muscles, increase your top running speed (vVO2 max) and generally, make you quicker.
So why on earth did Ewan do so well at the 5k after months of no speed work?
He hadn't lost any weight since his last 5k of 20:41. So, if you go all Sherlock Holmes (take away the impossible, and whatever's left, however unlikely, must be true), he's got faster because of his marathon training! Digging in to the science a bit, this might actually make sense. Longer, slower runs cause two physiological changes at the microscopic level.
Firstly, they stimulate capillary growth. Capillaries are the small 'B road' blood vessels that lead off from our main arteries to supply our cells with oxygen. During a long run, they literally grow like tree branches, spreading out and lengthening. This means more oxygen can be delivered to the muscles at any one time. And the better you can use oxygen, the less you rely on sugar, making you more tolerant to high speed running.
The second change is to increase size and density of something called mitochondria. These are basically cellular power stations, or batteries. It's these little things that allow the cell to convert oxygen and sugar into energy. During long runs, they multiply to compensate for the sustained respiratory load of the pace we're using.
So what happened to Ewan? Simply put, his marathon training has made him better at using oxygen, so the pace at which he has to use sugar for fuel has increased. This means he can sustain the onset of blood lactate slightly more effectively, making him faster over 5k distance. Fantastic.
This was also demonstrated during Hastings Half Marathon. My running coach Otto has a running coach wife, Jacqui. Meet her. She's an incredible human being. And she has been doing monstrous distances lately. Think ultra marathon, 30, 35, 40 mile runs. Whole days of running. But very little speed work. And guess what? She set a Hastings Half PB! 1:37 and change, and all without really hitting the fast running in training!
What to take from this? Two things, I think.
First, make your long run your priority number one run per week. Use whatever guide you want, but generally, Otto's rule of thumb that a long run should be at least ten miles, or 90 minutes, is about right. But try not to skip it. Elite athletes do less than 20% of their weekly mileage at 'faster' paces. Do the same. Get your long run in. Every week.
Second, despite the content of this post, speed work is important. In 5k especially, your top speed is will determine the maximum pace you can reach during the race. Your long runs will help you SUSTAIN that pace. So do track intervals, kilometre and mile reps. Once a week is probably fine.
Well done to all the Hastings Runners who competed at the 5k.
Taking a break from tackling Gotham City's underworld.
Now go and do a long run. You'll be glad you did. Just ask Ewan.
Keeping up the chase on Bob. He was just too quick.
Anyway, after the race, I spoke to friend, triathlete and all-round good guy Ewan Carradine, who took an extraordinary 16 seconds off his PB to finish in around 20:25 seconds. His dialogue was generally one of delighted surprise as he said "I've just been doing marathon training, I haven't done a 5k for 5 months!"
The secret ingredient-half an omelette with brown sauce, apparently.
Hello, what's happening here then?
Anyone who knows even the smallest bit about running will know and tell you that in order to run faster, you have to, well, RUN FASTER. This is a reflection of the importance of track intervals, mile reps, that sort of session. These sessions increase your maximum speed because they maximally stress your aerobic system (oxygen), forcing your anaerobic system (sugar) to become more efficient.
Typically, fast training sessions also develop something called VO2 max. In simple terms, VO2 max is the amount of oxygen your body can use at any one time. Higher is better. There are also other benefits to interval training, as it helps to develop the co-ordination between brain and muscles, increase your top running speed (vVO2 max) and generally, make you quicker.
So why on earth did Ewan do so well at the 5k after months of no speed work?
He hadn't lost any weight since his last 5k of 20:41. So, if you go all Sherlock Holmes (take away the impossible, and whatever's left, however unlikely, must be true), he's got faster because of his marathon training! Digging in to the science a bit, this might actually make sense. Longer, slower runs cause two physiological changes at the microscopic level.
Firstly, they stimulate capillary growth. Capillaries are the small 'B road' blood vessels that lead off from our main arteries to supply our cells with oxygen. During a long run, they literally grow like tree branches, spreading out and lengthening. This means more oxygen can be delivered to the muscles at any one time. And the better you can use oxygen, the less you rely on sugar, making you more tolerant to high speed running.
The second change is to increase size and density of something called mitochondria. These are basically cellular power stations, or batteries. It's these little things that allow the cell to convert oxygen and sugar into energy. During long runs, they multiply to compensate for the sustained respiratory load of the pace we're using.
So what happened to Ewan? Simply put, his marathon training has made him better at using oxygen, so the pace at which he has to use sugar for fuel has increased. This means he can sustain the onset of blood lactate slightly more effectively, making him faster over 5k distance. Fantastic.
This was also demonstrated during Hastings Half Marathon. My running coach Otto has a running coach wife, Jacqui. Meet her. She's an incredible human being. And she has been doing monstrous distances lately. Think ultra marathon, 30, 35, 40 mile runs. Whole days of running. But very little speed work. And guess what? She set a Hastings Half PB! 1:37 and change, and all without really hitting the fast running in training!
What to take from this? Two things, I think.
First, make your long run your priority number one run per week. Use whatever guide you want, but generally, Otto's rule of thumb that a long run should be at least ten miles, or 90 minutes, is about right. But try not to skip it. Elite athletes do less than 20% of their weekly mileage at 'faster' paces. Do the same. Get your long run in. Every week.
Second, despite the content of this post, speed work is important. In 5k especially, your top speed is will determine the maximum pace you can reach during the race. Your long runs will help you SUSTAIN that pace. So do track intervals, kilometre and mile reps. Once a week is probably fine.
Well done to all the Hastings Runners who competed at the 5k.
Taking a break from tackling Gotham City's underworld.
Now go and do a long run. You'll be glad you did. Just ask Ewan.
Cheers Jake, but next time, please write about knocking 13 minutes off my marathon time instead :-))) (half marathon pb still stands at 1.35 in Maidstone about 8 years ago). Still, you're right, NO speedwork whatsoever since Dec 19th. It's bizarre - remarkable to me actually. Your scientific explanation v interesting, but now I need to take it up to the next level and inject some speed. Cute suit today by the way :-)
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