Running Further or Faster with Less Effort

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 · Mike Davis

Grab your coffee and pull up a chair. One of the most underappreciated things in life is chatting over a cup of coffee.

We all understand the cardiovascular system to some degree--a strong heart is a good thing. As runners, we tend to keep it simple. We run easy and that keeps us heart health. We run faster and that gets us faster. This is simple thinking and okay for the most part, but it is not necessarily ideal or the best way to approach training.

Aerobic is defined by “with oxygen,” while anaerobic is “without oxygen.” Endurance sports (such as running) are primarily aerobic, as they require oxygen to sustain performance for duration longer than roughly 2 minutes. For example, if you run faster than you can take in oxygen (O2) and push out carbon dioxide (CO2), you will last about a maximum of 2 minutes. As I have discussed before, your fuel anaerobically is glycogen and that is depleted pretty quickly.

When I hear, people tell me they struggle with their breathing or that they cannot seem to ever get to that elusive “runners high,” it is obvious that they spend very little time running anaerobically. Without any anaerobic training, our bodies are never pushed to improve efficiency of glycogen or C02 expression. This limit our bodies functioning when the distance or pace requires increased effort.

Balancing your running with a 90 percent aerobic with 10 percent anaerobic is all that is necessary to benefit overall improved running, efficiency and comfort. Simply stated, running 90 percent at conversational pace and 10 percent at a pace that is not comfortable will train your body to run more efficiently at your regular pace. When NFLR trains our runners (individuals and groups), we utilize the 90/10 rule by inserting intervals and hills into running plans, while the rest of our runs are at conversational pace (aerobic). This approach helps runners of all levels as well as various goals.

Next week, I will chat about why spending too much time running faster is not helpful.

Have a great finish to your week!

God Bless!

Mike

Opportunity

Tonight at 6pm from @ Henry Law Park, I will chat about Self-Myofascial Release, otherwise know as "foam rolling." I will demonstrate some helpful techniques that we all should be doing. Come on down and listen and even bring your foam roller if you have one! After NFLR will be doing a hill workout and you are welcome to join us.