TRAINING
New Pacing for New PB’ s
If you’ re getting older and think your days of posting new PB’ s are behind you, a simple change to your training pace can set you back on the road to new PB’ s.
– BY RAY ORCHISON
hen we first start running, we normally notice huge improvements in performance quite quickly, but as we age in running terms, most runners begin to find that improvements become smaller, and a
Wmuch greater effort is required to better previous times. In most cases this is not because our training deteriorates, but rather because as we improve, we move closer and closer to our own personal maximum performance level.
So what do we need to do to push new levels of performance once we reach this stage of our running career? The answer may lie in‘ polarised training,’ which means to train at either a low or a high intensity, with very little training time spent in-between. This is by no means a new concept, but one that is often ignored by veteran runners, because as we become more experienced, we often fall into the trap of thinking that to get faster we need to train faster... all the time. While the first part of that statement is true, the second part,“ all the time,” is not.
When the gap between our easy run pace and speed work pace is small, we find ourselves in no-man’ s land, where we don’ t run slowly and we don’ t run fast, and end up with poor, sub-potential performances. The way to correct this is with polarised training: On easy days you run slower and on quality days you run faster. In other words, you need to get slower( on easy days) in order to get faster during races.
FOLLOW YOUR HEART
The easiest way to do this is to train with a heart rate monitor to keep your training primarily in two zones. Zone 1 is the easy zone, where you should do the bulk of your training, between 70-80 % of your weekly mileage at between 60-70 % of max heart rate. The second is zone 3, between 15-20 % of your weekly mileage at between 80-100 % of max heart rate. Zone 2 is no-man’ s land, which is run between 5-15 % of your weekly total and at a heart rate between 70-80 %.( If you don’ t own or use a heart rate monitor, run on perceived effort: Easy runs should feel easy and you should be able to have a conversation, while zone 3 is the anaerobic zone and should feel very hard.)
If you’ ve never done hard, fast training sessions, then gradually start by introducing one session per week. I suggest that you start with four to eight short, fast hill repeats, as they help to strengthen your body to better handle the stress of a track session. Once you’ re stronger, then gradually introduce a track session, like 4 x 200m at 3km race pace with a 200m slow recovery jog between repeats. As you get stronger and faster, start to increase the number of repetitions and pace.
About the Author Ray is a Johannesburg-based USATF and NAASFP certified coach. Find him at www. runetics. com or ray @ runetics. com.
People don’ t realise that the body already has multiple systems in place, including the liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract, that do a perfectly good job of eliminating toxins from the body within hours of consumption. By just adopting a healthy eating plan, one actually causes a natural detox, but in a much safer way. Now let’ s explore some commonly asked detoxing questions.
1 Is it healthy to detox? It all depends what you call a detox. A healthy eating plan, cutting out stimulants like caffeine and sugar, and things like salt, artificial products and heavy fatty foods, but not eliminating entire food groups, would be a very positive change. Extreme changes in diet, like just eating one food group, can be very limited in essential nutrients, which could be damaging.
2 Does fasting clean the body of toxins? Your liver and kidneys detox your body constantly. Fasting doesn’ t do that; on the contrary, ketones build up when carbohydrates aren’ t available for energy.
3 Do enemas,‘ flushing’ and detoxing help with losing weight? There is no credible scientific evidence proving enemas,‘ flushing’ and detoxing the liver and lymphatic system result in weight-loss. There is also no scientific evidence that there is even a need to‘ flush’ the liver, much less any benefit from doing so.
4 Why do some people say they feel better when detoxing? Detox dieters may report a variety of benefits, but none can be traced to the idea of detoxification. Fewer headaches can be traced to other lifestyle changes such as reduction in alcohol and caffeine intake. Clearer skin can result from improved hydration, and less bloating could be a result of eating less food. Some detox dieters even report a sense of euphoria, but this is actually a physical reaction to starvation.
LAST WORD
So is there anything positive about detoxing? Well, there is something to be gained from avoiding large quantities of alcohol or junk food, but always remember that moderation is best, and these detox regimens are anything but moderate. You can achieve the same beneficial effect by following a healthy eating plan, exercising and drinking plenty of water!
About the Author Christene is a registered dietician based in the Johannesburg area.
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