How To Race for Optimal Performance
Simulating race conditions for optimal performance.
Training programs should be designed to optimize your race performance. Training errors often result from not following the Principle of Specificity of Training, which simply holds that your body adapts very specifically to the types of training that you do. If you do not prepare your body for the demands of racing, then you cannot expect it to be ready to handle those demands. Therefore, the more specific you can make your training to the terrain, pace, environmental conditions, etc. of your key competitions, the more effective your race preparation will be.
Beginning runners will improve by doing almost any type of running, and they benefit from the general aerobic fitness provided by cross-training activities. Specificity of training becomes increasingly important as you become more fit because the potential incremental gains from training are so much smaller. Here 6 strategies for applying the Principle of Specificity of Training.
1) Simulate the course: Although it should be an obvious training strategy, many runners do not bother to prepare for the idiosyncrasies of the courses they race. If you train exclusively on flat terrain, then you will not be ready to handle up hills in a race, and you will be even less prepared to handle the muscle soreness and damage caused by fast downhill running. In preparing for the dead-flat World Cup Marathon in Hiroshima, Ai made a similar training error, finding that hilly training in New Zealand did not prepare my hamstrings and quadriceps for 26.2 miles of flat monotony.
One of the brilliant philosophies of Bill Squires, who coached the Greater Boston Track Club in the 70’s and 80’s, was his focus on developing specific workouts to simulate racing conditions. Squires’s simulation workouts prepared Bill Rodgers, Bob Hodge, and many others perfectly for the demands of the Boston Marathon—and led to many victories and top-10 finishes in major races. With a bit of creativity, you can design workouts to mimic almost any race course.
2) Prepare for heat and humidity: Heat acclimation is crucial for successful racing. That is why 80 degrees in April is brutal but the same conditions feel relatively pleasant during August. Studies have found that two weeks is enough time to adapt to moderately hot conditions. The ability to perform well in the heat is specific to the level of humidity, however, so if you have trained in hot and dry conditions, you will not be prepared to handle the stress caused by high humidity. One way to simulate humidity is to train wearing extra clothing, reducing evaporative cooling. This was reportedly part of Meb Keflezighi’s preparation for the Athens Olympics, when he was training in relatively dry conditions in California and was also used successfully by Benji Durden two decades earlier.
3) Simulate the pace and distance: Many runners focus their training around long, slow distance and short, fast intervals, neither of which simulate the sustained pace of road races and cross country. Running long and slow has some transfer to the marathon, particularly for novice runners, but provides little benefit in preparing for a 5K or 10K race. Likewise, those fast 400s on the track have little relevance to the physiology of running a marathon. Of course, your running training should include a variety of paces and distances, but it is useful to step back and check that you are focusing your hard workouts on sessions that will prepare you specifically for your goal race.
4) Get used to running the time of day you will race: Your body gets used to running at a specific time of the day. Athletes who train in the morning tend to perform better in the morning, and athletes who train in the evening tend to perform better in the evening. If you train after work every day, then your body will not be optimally prepared for an 8 am race. Getting used to running at approximately the same time of day as your goal race can give you a slight but worthwhile competitive edge.
5) Train on your race surface: If you will be running a marathon on 26.2 miles of paved road, it is wise to do a significant portion of your training on the road to prepare your legs and back for the repetitive forces. Similarly, if you are training for cross country, you should include a heavy dose of running on soft surfaces to prepare your legs for the specific demands of trails, grass and mud. There are a variety of biomechanical differences between running on hard regular surfaces and soft uneven surfaces, such as how your Achilles tendon and foot work together to return stored elastic energy into your next stride. Training specifically for the surface you will race on will prepare your body to handle the biomechanical demands of your goal race.
6) Use tune-up races to prepare for your goal race: A tune-up race is a race of lesser importance that you use to help prepare for your goal race. Tune-up races make you go through the “nerves” of racing, which helps reduce your anxiety before your goal race, and also toughen you mentally and physically by taking you to your limit. Even the toughest workout does not demand the same level of commitment as a race. When you are wondering whether you can hang on during your goal race, recent experience in tune-up races is invaluable for your self-confidence.
Training programs should be designed to optimize your race performance. Training errors often result from not following the Principle of Specificity of Training, which simply holds that your body adapts very specifically to the types of training that you do. If you do not prepare your body for the demands of racing, then you cannot expect it to be ready to handle those demands. Therefore, the more specific you can make your training to the terrain, pace, environmental conditions, etc. of your key competitions, the more effective your race preparation will be.
Beginning runners will improve by doing almost any type of running, and they benefit from the general aerobic fitness provided by cross-training activities. Specificity of training becomes increasingly important as you become more fit because the potential incremental gains from training are so much smaller. Here 6 strategies for applying the Principle of Specificity of Training.
1) Simulate the course: Although it should be an obvious training strategy, many runners do not bother to prepare for the idiosyncrasies of the courses they race. If you train exclusively on flat terrain, then you will not be ready to handle up hills in a race, and you will be even less prepared to handle the muscle soreness and damage caused by fast downhill running. In preparing for the dead-flat World Cup Marathon in Hiroshima, Ai made a similar training error, finding that hilly training in New Zealand did not prepare my hamstrings and quadriceps for 26.2 miles of flat monotony.
One of the brilliant philosophies of Bill Squires, who coached the Greater Boston Track Club in the 70’s and 80’s, was his focus on developing specific workouts to simulate racing conditions. Squires’s simulation workouts prepared Bill Rodgers, Bob Hodge, and many others perfectly for the demands of the Boston Marathon—and led to many victories and top-10 finishes in major races. With a bit of creativity, you can design workouts to mimic almost any race course.
2) Prepare for heat and humidity: Heat acclimation is crucial for successful racing. That is why 80 degrees in April is brutal but the same conditions feel relatively pleasant during August. Studies have found that two weeks is enough time to adapt to moderately hot conditions. The ability to perform well in the heat is specific to the level of humidity, however, so if you have trained in hot and dry conditions, you will not be prepared to handle the stress caused by high humidity. One way to simulate humidity is to train wearing extra clothing, reducing evaporative cooling. This was reportedly part of Meb Keflezighi’s preparation for the Athens Olympics, when he was training in relatively dry conditions in California and was also used successfully by Benji Durden two decades earlier.
3) Simulate the pace and distance: Many runners focus their training around long, slow distance and short, fast intervals, neither of which simulate the sustained pace of road races and cross country. Running long and slow has some transfer to the marathon, particularly for novice runners, but provides little benefit in preparing for a 5K or 10K race. Likewise, those fast 400s on the track have little relevance to the physiology of running a marathon. Of course, your running training should include a variety of paces and distances, but it is useful to step back and check that you are focusing your hard workouts on sessions that will prepare you specifically for your goal race.
4) Get used to running the time of day you will race: Your body gets used to running at a specific time of the day. Athletes who train in the morning tend to perform better in the morning, and athletes who train in the evening tend to perform better in the evening. If you train after work every day, then your body will not be optimally prepared for an 8 am race. Getting used to running at approximately the same time of day as your goal race can give you a slight but worthwhile competitive edge.
5) Train on your race surface: If you will be running a marathon on 26.2 miles of paved road, it is wise to do a significant portion of your training on the road to prepare your legs and back for the repetitive forces. Similarly, if you are training for cross country, you should include a heavy dose of running on soft surfaces to prepare your legs for the specific demands of trails, grass and mud. There are a variety of biomechanical differences between running on hard regular surfaces and soft uneven surfaces, such as how your Achilles tendon and foot work together to return stored elastic energy into your next stride. Training specifically for the surface you will race on will prepare your body to handle the biomechanical demands of your goal race.
6) Use tune-up races to prepare for your goal race: A tune-up race is a race of lesser importance that you use to help prepare for your goal race. Tune-up races make you go through the “nerves” of racing, which helps reduce your anxiety before your goal race, and also toughen you mentally and physically by taking you to your limit. Even the toughest workout does not demand the same level of commitment as a race. When you are wondering whether you can hang on during your goal race, recent experience in tune-up races is invaluable for your self-confidence.
