Mar/Apr 2012 - Level Renner

Lane 1: Performance
Multisystems, Overload, Adaptation Oh My!
Get Faster with a Plan
by Kevin Balance
Last issue we talked about periodization
and the need for a plan. This
month’s article builds upon that concept
and takes a deeper look into the
contents of our mesocycle’s (4-6 week
period) design. Let’s start with the
different body systems we need to
train.
The Energy System. Ever hear of
ATP? How about adenosine triphosphate?
Don’t worry about that. All
you need to know is that ATP is the
energy source that allows muscles to
both work and recover. For long distance
runners, the more efficient our
energy system is the better.
The Neuromuscular System. If
you’re a car, this is your battery.
We’re talking about the nerve firing
system. One of the main functions of
the nervous system is to send messages
to the muscles and surrounding
tissues. Better have that trained well,
especially when it comes to developing
speed and power because it’s the
most important system for sprinting in
your finishing kick.
The Musculoskeletal System. This
system is responsible for producing
force via muscle tissues. Those muscle
tissues transmit force to bones and
other such things that propel your
body forward. Skeletal muscles, fascia,
bones, joints, connective tissues:
all these make up the musculoskeletal
system.
Even though the Energy System is the
most important of the three for us runners,
all of them are important and
interdependent on one another. We
have to train all of them—not just the
Energy System—whether we like it or
not. If we ignore one for the other,
then that system of focus will hit a
glass ceiling. Your progress will be
stymied because the other two components
will be holding you back.
Running is supposed to be simple,
right? Just put one foot in front of the
other and go for as long and fast as
you can. Having just reread over my
first few paragraphs ( I’m the damn
editor of this rag; I better proofread—
still pisses me off how many “typos” I
miss), I think things are getting a little
too complicated. Let’s look at it another
way. I think most of us get that
If we just do the same runs
and workouts week after
week, our bodies will cease
to adapt, cease to improve.
we can’t do the same workout every
day. Some days we go easy, some
days we’re at the track, others still we
practice at lactate threshold pace, and
every weekend we go long. We’re
training various biomotor components.
Let’s put a name to each one.
Endurance. We’re talking work capacity.
Our ability to hold off fatigue.
Progression runs, threshold runs,
longer intervals (Kara Molloy Haas
does 5 x 5K!) are just a couple of ways
to improve endurance. We all need a
high work capacity because that is
what allows us to train harder and better
for longer amounts of time. Somebody
who can only run for 30 minutes
doesn’t have nearly as much endurance
as someone who can trek for 60.
Strength. That’s your ability to produce
force. For example, many runners
do hill workouts as a means to
improve strength.
Speed. Yes, we all know: moving with
celerity, as quickly as we can. Sprinting.
We do short intervals (400s,
200s, 100s) on the track or other such
place to improve our speed.
Now that we have put names to some
of the different physiological components
that we need to train, we can
concentrate on how to improve them.
The chief way to improve a particular
facet of your training is to overload it.
You have to fatigue your body to improve
it. We must create training scenarios
that push our bodies beyond
their accustomed limits if we want to
lower our PRs. Of course, it is nonsensical
to train this way in every session,
but you certainly need to overload
your body once or twice every microcycle
(7-10 day period).
We achieve overload through increases
in either intensity or volume, but I
wouldn’t recommending both at the
same time. Most traditional training
programs call for a buildup in volume
first then intensity once your body is
used to the higher mileage. As we
near our goal race/championship season,
those lines crisscross: volume
goes down and intensity goes up.
Edge city people!
To be clear: overload days—6 x 1
mile @ goal 10K pace with one minute
recovery or a long run 2-3 miles beyond
the norm—are hard days. By
now, we know The Level philosophy.
Say it with me: Hard Days Hard…Then
we rest. We must rest (go on easy
runs) because if we don’t, the training
done in an overload session will be
for naught. The body will never get a
chance to adapt to the new stimulus
you just created.
So let’s define adaptation and how it
works. Our bodies are marvelous
organisms; they will evolve and adapt
to the stresses of our overload days in
order to better handle them the next
time around. That’s what getting in
shape is.
Continued on page 33
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