OLYMPIC-DISTANCE RUN TRAINING


By Michael Gross, USA Triathlon Level I Certi fi ed Coach


main set/intervals can be adjusted based on run ability and experience of the athlete. One of the most important parts of this


T


workout is the dynamic warm-up drills. These drills help properly acti vate the glute muscles, loosen up the hips and sti mulate a quick and light ground strike. These drills will help improve an athlete’s running technique and performance. When it’s ti me for the main set, the athlete’s running economy is great to nail those target paces. The main set intervals challenge the


athlete’s ability to meet target paces while the recovery intervals increase as the run pace and eff ort increases to allow the athlete to fi ght off fati gue and be “fresh” for the target paces. This workout can be done on the treadmill, on the road or off the bike.


his run workout is designed for Olympic-distance triathletes of all levels. The numbers of sets for the


Warm Up 15-20 minutes to include a few dynamic


run warm-up drills. These can be high skips, butt kicks, strides, lunge with twist, carioca/ lateral shuffl es, high knees, glute bridges, etc.


Main Set • 3 minutes @ 10k goal race pace (GRP) + 5 seconds (the pace should be 5 seconds slower than the athlete’s goal race pace for a 10k)


• 1 minute easy • 2 minutes @ 10k GRP • 2 minutes easy • 1 minute @ 5 seconds faster than 10k GRP


• 3 minutes easy Athletes can repeat this set 2-3 ti mes;


a more experienced, elite or non-injured runner can repeat this workout more than a beginner athlete.


page 10 | PERFORMANCECOACHING


Cool down 10-15 minutes at a very aerobic pace/


eff ort, while maintaining a high cadence (90+ RPMs). Running easy post-intervals should feel eff ortless aft er a great warm-up and fast-twitch muscle fi ber recruitment. Aft er cooling down, athletes can also


do some light stretching and foam rolling. Other opti ons include ice baths, Epsom salt baths and the use of compression gear.


Michael Gross is a USA Triathlon Level I Certi fi ed Coach and ASCA Level I Swimming Coach. He is a two-ti me Ironman athlete and swam at the University of Tennessee. He and his wife Nicole co-own One2Tri Multi sport Coaching LLC, an endurance sports coaching business in Charlott e, N.C. For more informati on about One2Tri, visit www.one2tri.net.


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