Strong Like Bull Training
The goal with any block of training is to set up the athlete with the necessary background, experience and fitness such that they are able to attain the maximum amount of success possible for that given season. There really aren’t many races from XC Nationals in December until when the PA road series and track start up in March. This being the case, it makes sense to have a focus on establishing strength understanding the greater the aerobic strength built in the winter, the better the racing in the spring and summer. The winter is an ideal time to hunker down and get strong.
It helps to have daily goals to keep yourself on task during long bouts training with little else to keep your interest. This is a good time of the year to work on establishing the mindset that will lead you to your potential best race results, namely starting races controlled and finishing harder than heck. In general, an athlete races their best running fairly even splits. Yet if you look at the effort involved in trying to accomplish even splits, it goes something like this; the initial stages are stupid easy, the middle stages feel about right, the late stages are increasingly harder with the last mile or so being very difficult. Any dork can go out too hard and die, that doesn’t require mental toughness. Guts and mental toughness means finishing the last 25% of the race distance at the same pace as the first 75%. Solid gold guts is when the last 25% of the race is the fastest segment of the day. It’s no wonder that most WR’s, PR’s and personally satisfying races are run in this manner, because it’s fricken hard to do.
Mental toughness doesn’t happen by chance, it’s a skill like any other that can be learned and it’s best learned by repeating the same behavior over countless runs. The winter is the time to establish a consistent pattern of starting controlled and finishing strong, which you will see is a major theme with all efforts and workouts listed below,
After XC Nationals, there are 14 weeks until the Emerald Nuts 12k and 15 weeks until Stanford Invite. Great timeline for getting, as my Spanish Gigilo friends like to say, “Strong like Bull!” (Imagine a firm fist and forearm pointing at a 45 degree angle from the hip for added emphasis)
What exactly is “Strong like Bull” and how does one get there you ask? Most of you have heard the phrase “The Trials of Miles” that nose to the grindstone, perpetual state of fatigue, realization that all you seem to be doing each day is running and showering and not much else. The thing is once you complete a good 10-16 weeks of this type of training you tend to have some great races during the weeks following. It’s not necessarily hard, intense work per se. It’s more grinding the last half of your run after you work the previous day’s crud out of the legs. Those that know Nigel or Yeo or Linda have an idea of what the last half of most runs should involve because frankly, this is how these people train all the time, logging lots of moderate to harder paced efforts. Not much in the way of super fast interval work or super fast tempo work, but a lot of stuff just beneath these levels. Once you get this level of fitness, closing the last stages of the races is entirely possible. Without this type of background, finishing in the fashion isn’t much of a reality.
So how do we get it done? What are the components that should make up the week and what ancillary training should be added to round out the program? It’s pretty easy:
- A higher volume of overall weekly miles.
- Run like a Kenyan, meaning, start easy and slow and finish at a good clip.
- The most amount of double runs per week for the season.
- The longest long runs at the most solid efforts particularly during the last half of the run.
- Moderate paced fartleks w/ longer warm-ups and warmdowns.
- Longer, but moderate paced tempo work. Progressions, in/out miles, etc.
- Runs over hilly terrain as much as possible.
- Mid week long runs finishing the last 30-50 min at a good clip.
- Strides a few days a week are very important to maintain wheels.
- If you’re thinking core/hip work, now is the time but NOT at the expense of compromising 1-9 above.
- If you’re thinking drills, now’s the time but NOT at the expense of compromising 1-9 above.
- If you’re thinking weight work, now is the time but NOT at the expense of compromising 1-9 above. Weights I would generally vote no on, but some are going to want a bigger guns no matter what, just don’t tell me you cut your long run short because your arms were too sore from weights the previous day.
If this looks like you’ll be tired this winter by following the program, you’d be correct. You’ll be tired – a lot. But come the spring, you’ll probably have the scalps of lots of people you were looking at the backside of this past XC season.
A quick note about weights, core work and drills. These are nice to do’s, but they are meant as support for the above. You have only so much energy. If doing drills means you need to cut runs short, that is counter-productive. A modest amount of core/hip and drill work are fine particularly as it relates to injury prevention and overall strength, but let’s understand that you have 24 hours in a day. 8 for work, 8 for sleep and 8 for the rest like commuting, eating, family time and running.
Realistically, 90-120 minutes a day is about all you can devote to training and running related activities and keep some sense of balance without going out the backdoor from overtraining or being a lonely hermit without a date. If you look at the training schedules below, at the highest levels it comes out to that 90-120 minute range already, meaning if you add a 60 minute weight routine in there 2 days a week, you’re spending extra energy that should be better used elsewhere, like sitting on the couch relaxing after a hard 14 miler in the hills. You’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck running, keep your priorities straight.
How would the above look for a standard training week? Here’s 3 basic outlines based on weekly volumes. Remember, start slow, end at a solid, but controlled steady state and above all, be consistent:
90+ Mile Per Week
Sun: 1:45-2:00. Easy first hour, moderate last stages if coming easy.
Mon: AM: 50-60 min easy to moderate + 8 x 80-100 strides or 6 x 120 diagonals + light form drills. PM: 25-40 min easy to moderate + core work.
Tues: AM: 50-60 min easy to moderate. PM: 25-40 min easy to moderate + weight work.
Wed: AM: Fartlek. 20-30 min warm-up and cool-down. PM: 25-40 min easy to moderate + core work.
Thurs: 75-90 in hills if possible. Last 40-60 min at 80% (60 sec/mile slower than 5k). PM: 20-30 min easy + weights
Fri: AM: 30-40 min easy to moderate + 8 x 80-100 strides or 6 x 120 diagonals + light form drills. PM: 25-40 min easy to moderate.
Sat: AM: Tempo work. PM: 25-40 min easy to moderate + core.
70-90 Mile Per Week
Sun: 1:30-2:00. Easy first hour, moderate last stages if coming easy.
Mon: AM: 50-60 min easy to moderate + 8 x 80-100 strides or 6 x 120 diagonals + light form drills. PM: 25-30 min easy to moderate + core work.
Tues: AM: 50-60 min easy to moderate. PM: weights
Wed: AM: Fartlek. 20-30 min warm-up and cool-down. PM: 25-30 min easy to moderate + core work.
Thurs: 75-90 in hills if possible. Last 40-60 min at 80% (60 sec/mile slower than 5k). PM: weights
Fri: AM: 30 min easy to moderate + 8 x 80-100 strides or 6 x 120 diagonals + light form drills. PM: 30 min easy to moderate.
Sat: AM: Tempo work. PM: 25-30 min easy to moderate + core.
50-70 Mile Per Week
Sun: 1:30-2:00. Easy first hour, moderate last stages if coming easy.
Mon: AM: 50-60 min easy to moderate + 8 x 80-100 strides or 6 x 120 diagonals + light form drills. PM: core work.
Tues: AM: 50-60 min easy to moderate. PM: weights
Wed: AM: Fartlek. 20-30 min warm-up and cool-down. PM (optional run): 25-30 min easy to moderate + core work.
Thurs: 75-90 in hills if possible. Last 40-60 min at 80% (60 sec/mile slower than 5k). PM: weights
Fri: AM: 30 min easy to moderate + 8 x 80-100 strides or 6 x 120 diagonals + light form drills.
Sat: AM: Tempo work. PM (optional run): 25-30 min easy to moderate + core.
Fartleks: The idea is to keep the initial “On’s” moderate and controlled which is the reason the recoveries are so short, so you don’t go out too hard. Start all at a moderate tempo, meaning easier tempo effort and finish the last few at a decent, but not heroic effort.
Options #1: 4-6 x 5 min on/1 off. On’s at MP/80% effort
Option #2: 6-8 x 3 min on/1 off. On’s at tempo/MP effort.
Option #3: 12-16 x 60 sec on/off. On’s at 5k/10k effort.
Tempos: Same thing here, start modest, end decent, but very controlled.
Option #1: 7-9 x in/out miles. 1 mile at tempo, next mile 60 seconds slower – back and forth continuous run.
Option #2: 3-4 x 2 miles w/ 2-3 min. or 2 x 3-4 miles w/ 4-5 min at 80%/MP
Option #3: 6-8 mile progression run. Start at 60 sec/mile slower than 10k and run each successive mile 5-10 sec/mile faster than the previous.
Strides, core, drills, weights
Strides: Muy importante! With all of these moderate miles being done, getting strides in a few days a week after an easy run and w/ full recovery between each fast effort is as important as the weekly long run or tempo work, just keep you in touch w/ your wheels, works to improve efficiency. If they can be done barefoot, that’s as added bonus.
Core/hip: 10-20 minutes of core/hip work 3 days per week is a very nice addition. Any more than this is generally counterproductive.
Drills: 2 days a week in small doses is OK, usually in conjunction with strides or the other primary workouts of the week. To be most effective, drills really need to be specific to the act of running. Single leg drills that mimic actual running movements are key. 2 legs drills need not apply.
Weights: Weights and overall body conditioning can easily get out of hand. These take a lot of time, mental and physical energy with the payoff being marginal at best especially considering the amount of effort that goes into them. If you’re intent on doing them, they can be done in 5, maybe 10 minute max. No need to go beyond this really. They can, honestly.