[Energetic Techno Music]
- How a pro triathlete trains is
a subject shrouded in mystery.
If you follow a pro on social media,
it's unlikely that they'll be divulging
all of their training secrets.
- And what works for one athlete doesn't
necessarily work for another,
but there will be some key similarities.
So we're gonna have a look at how a pro trains for running.
[Energetic Techno Music]
- Before aimlessly heading off for a run session,
it's important that you consider
the race distance that you're going for.
A pro athlete focusing on Ironman distance
won't do quite as many quick sessions
as a pro focusing on Olympic distance
or as at quick of pace, but they may do slightly
longer reps or longer sessions.
So working out your race pace or your threshold pace
should form the foundation of your running programme.
Pros will often get this accurately measured in a lab,
but a less a less scientific version
can be replicated on the road.
A 45 to 60 minute hard run can be used instead.
It needs to be your absolute best effort,
so some athletes will use a 10K race for this.
Whatever you use should be repeated for future retesting.
- A speed session focuses on race pace and above
and it's designed to help lift an athlete's top-end speed.
[Heather] They should be performed
on a track or a measured course.
Or failing that, a GPS watch to measure pace and distance.
These sessions can be quite damaging on the body,
so you should build them up with time
and stick to just one per week.
These speed sessions are broken into
relatively short reps to focus on the high-intensity.
And generally, they will increase in length,
but reduce recovery between each.
[Mark] At an easy pace, you're obviously
able to run for a longer time because your body
is able to clear lactic acid as quickly as it's produced.
But as you start to pick up the pace,
your muscles start dumping more and more
lactic acid into your blood.
And the faster you run, the more your body
becomes overwhelmed by lactic acid,
and eventually, you'll want to stop.
- The long run is often considered
the bread and butter of any endurance running programme.
There are many physiological benefits that
can help improve your running economy and overall speed.
[Heather] Long runs aren't just
limited to long-distance athletes either,
and you'll find top short-distance athletes
making their long run a staple session of their week.
And they can vary anything between
one and three hours in length.
[Mark] The key is to not run this too hard, though.
If you're doing some tougher sessions during the week,
you should run this relatively steady
to limit the amount of fatigue
that you're placing on your body.
That said, some pros will combine their
long run and their hard runs from time to time, though.
Running drills are designed to mimic
sound running form in short bursts.
It improves the communication between your
nervous system and muscles,
as well as increasing your range of movement.
[Heather] Many pros think running drills are so important,
they're actually happy to sacrifice
running a couple of extra miles in order to fit them in.
The benefits being improved running speed
and less chance of injury.
[Mark] Aim to fit in at least one drill session a week
or if you're short of time, you can always
just fit it into a normal running session.
[Energetic Techno Music]
- Recover is often the first thing to get neglected,
but it's something the pros are really good at.
Now, admittedly, they do have a lot of time on their hands,
but still, there's no denying the
importance of a good recovery.
Getting adequate rest and looking after your body
can really transform your performance.
[Mark] Now, it can be all too easy to rush
between training, work and your day-to-day stuff
without alloying yourself time to recover.
If you are limited on time, consider dropping
a session in place of some recovery rather than
continually cramming everything in.
If you keep going like that,
eventually something is going to crack.
- You may not have as much time on your hands as a pro,
but these tips can certainly help you train like one.
- And don't forget, you can subscribe to GTN for free
by clicking on the globe to see more videos like this
lamppost interval run below me.
- And for a video on swimming like a pro, click down here.