There will be times throughout your training year where you may want to substitute a workout for what is planned on your schedule. Let’s say your local running group is doing a set of mile repeats but you have a Tempo Run scheduled. You may wonder if this is okay or not. Here is my…
TWEAK TRAINING FOR BETTER RESULTS SIMPLY BY KNOWING YOUR RUNNER TYPE Runners can usually be divided into three general types — Speedsters, Endurance Monsters and Combo Runners – based on how they respond to training and racing. Think about your training and racing history and see which description sounds most like you. Speedsters The Speedster…
A KINDER, GENTLER TRANSITION TO EARLY SUMMER SPEED WORK In 2004, I helped a very talented runner build a solid aerobic base for the U.S. Olympic trials marathon, only to fail her during the race preparation phase of her training. I didn’t take into account her drive and tenacity, and when I put her on…
MARATHON SUCCESS MEANS DIALING IN THE DETAILS When you work with marathoners as fast as 2:10 and as slow as 6 hours, you learn a thing or two about what makes for a successful race. The training might be different depending on the goal, but every runner needs to consider three crucial factors. #1: NUTRITION…
As a runner and with most things in life when I do something I go all in, 100%, and I don’t like to break my routine. I think that most runners feel the same way and would agree that taking a day off from running can sometimes feel like a punishment. I didn’t do a…
A SIMPLE TOOL TO DIAGNOSE BAD RACES Recently, an athlete I coach had a bad race. To him, the poor performance seemed to come from out of nowhere. Like all of us do, he began to doubt himself. He began to doubt his training. He began to doubt his coach. How could he be so…
RAISE THE BAR ON YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE Coach Joe Vigil is a master motivator. He’s also a tough task-master when it comes to running well. He continually forces runners to raise the bar on their own performances. As with Yoda, the sage Jedi Master, “there is no try, only do.” Following the advice Vigil gives…
SETTING A’s AND B’s FOR A WINNING RACE GRADE At a past coaching conference put on by the High Performance Division of USA Track & Field, a panel of expert coaches that included Joe Vigil, Bob Larson, and Brooks Johnson discussed goal setting and race planning. These top coaches suggested that our traditional method of…
You need a method to your madness I love the word “hodgepodge” and take great delight any time it’s used in conversation. Except when talking about a training plan. Far too often, I hear of runners who take a little from this plan, a bit from that plan, something from the training of a race…
3 multi-zone efforts to get you race-ready Most workouts focus on one training zone — endurance, stamina, speed or sprint. While these workouts make sense physiologically, many of the best coaches also incorporate “combo” workouts into their training. Combo workouts focus on more than one training zone and are often designed to mimic the demands…