People do endurance events such as Ironman triathlons, local 10K runs, or swim events for many reasons (personal achievement, fun, competitiveness, to get a date). Whatever the mixture of overlapping motivations may be, finishing as fast as possible is always a priority. Transforming an event into a race begins with building a base of aerobic fitness (as covered in a previous article,
"Ace Your Base"). This article discusses the other main component in race preparation and triathlon training: the higher-intensity work that will help make you speedy.
Words like tempo, hard, strength, build, breakthrough, quality, intensity, and threshold are all familiar descriptors of the kind of training I'm talking about. Hairs can be split all day long differentiating these terms, but to keep this simple, I'm placing them all in a category labeled speed workouts. I'm referring to workouts that build towards the goal of finishing an event as quickly as possible — rather than simply finishing. This article will cover nonspecific principles around the investment in becoming faster. Do your homework or consult a coach for specific guidance on tailoring these workouts to your individual goals.
Is speed right for you?
Answering this question is the first step towards speed. Only go for speed if racing (distinct from finishing) is a clear goal, you have the capacity to recover from additional workout stress, and your body is sufficiently trained through base workouts. If you don't meet all three of those requirements, speed work is a bad idea. If you do, then charge ahead!
But first, more caution: I can't emphasize the need for a sufficient base of endurance training enough. Speed training is definitely not for untrained exercisers. Recklessly performing speed work is inviting disappointment into your race season. If your body is not ready for speed work, you will likely suffer injury and perform poorly. Strong tendons, ligaments, and muscles borne of many weeks of base training are absolutely necessary. Okay, back to the charge!
Timing is everything
Well-considered scheduling of speed workouts is critical. Plan these sessions when the next day (or two) can be taken off, or will consist of lighter-intensity base training. Don't force these workouts into a week when there is no hope of taking it easy, mentally and physically, immediately afterwards. This isn't being soft; it's being smart.
The most experienced and successful athletes can tolerate this type of work for around eight weeks, maximum, in preparation for a race. Within any one of those eight weeks, a serious athlete can safely perform perhaps two serious efforts. Space them as far apart in the week as possible: for example, on Saturday and Wednesday. If this sounds underwhelming, then you are lucky to have avoided injury at this point. Aside from seasoned veterans, athletes should strongly consider erring on the conservative side of these guidelines.
Ideally, endurance will be built along with speed during these weeks. Speed workouts should be integrated within — but not completely replace — the week's endurance workouts. You can achieve this by gradually ratcheting up speed workout stress and recovering in a day or two, rather than totally shattering the week with an inappropriately excessive effort. Doing too much speed can needlessly wreck one’s ability to maintain hard-earned endurance.
Speed shouldn’t kill
Deciding how long and intense the speed work should be is too individualized for this article. As a general rule, longer-distance events require longer and less-intense speed work. The inverse applies for shorter events. For example, a marathoner may choose to run for 20 minutes — a bit quicker than his or her goal race pace — rather than several all-out sprints for 200 meters. The latter could be more appropriate when that same athlete is training for a 5K running race. Speed training should generally match or only just exceed what paces the race will bring.
This type of training is building structural, neuromuscular, respiratory, enzymatic, and lactate-clearing capabilities that allow the body, for a limited time, to do something it normally could not do. This creates an ability to "peak," or have temporary ultra-fitness. The body is being taught to perform extraordinarily under the extraordinary stresses of a race. Appreciate the amazing ability of your body to do something so cool!
Again, speed invites injury. If injury strikes, accept it and attend to it without delay. Endurance athletes are famous for ignoring injuries; but injuries ignore recovery when athletes ignore injuries.
Mental toughness
Speed workouts are hard — just like racing. These workouts are a perfect opportunity to toughen your capacity to physically suffer; however, the suffering endured in training makes the pain in races less of an unknown. Embrace this and take advantage of it — because many of your competitors won't.
People don't like to suffer, and this is especially true when you're just finishing a hard 56-mile bike ride and you're about to run 13 more! Get to know suffering in training by making hard workouts appropriately hard. At the same time, make the easy workouts, well, easy. This means staying out of the mushy middle ground of insufficiently beneficial workouts from which it's difficult to recover. Be purposeful in every workout: not just now, but all year.
Recovering from speed
Speed training adds additional stress to the body that requires additional recovery. These brutal workouts aren't making you fitter; it's the recovery afterward that does that. As life continually gets faster and fuller, be prepared to protect the extra time needed to recover. Your post-workout downtime needs will increase. Adjust life around this fact to fully reap the fruits of speed labor.
Since this extra stress takes more out of the body than usual, it requires that more be put back in. Water, protein, carbohydrates, and micronutrients are the major repair elements the body needs to come back stronger and faster. The timing and amount of your carbohydrate intake is of utmost importance, as it will help replenish depleted glycogen stores for your next workout. This need is made clear by the American College of Sports Medicine’s latest 2009 position stand, "Nutrition and Athletic Performance."
In ACSM’s words, "Consumption of carbohydrates within 30 minutes after exercise results in higher glycogen levels after exercise than when ingestion is delayed for two hours." They also note that it is not necessary for athletes to consume a specific amount of recovery carbs immediately after exercise if they are resting for 1–2 days between training sessions, as long as their dietary intake over the next 24 hours provides adequate carbohydrates. To optimize the 30-minute window, aim for about 0.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight (1.1 g per kg) within 30 minutes, and repeat this every hour for three hours, or until you resume meals.
Endurance events — such as an Ironman competition — offer a great opportunity to discover your personal limits. Turning an event into a race against what you once thought impossible can be a truly rewarding experience. Wisely applying speed workouts into base training is key to making racing a reality. Prepare well — then go for it!
References:
American College of Sports Medicine, 2009. Nutrition and Athletic Performance. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise 0195–9131/09/4103-0709/0
Joe Friel. 2009. The Triathlete's Training Bible 3rd Edition. Boulder: Velopress
Topics:
During, Post-Workout, Recovery, Carbs, Stamina, Skills, Speed, Shape
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