Day 513: Sprinting and Strength-Training

I read an chapter in this book a couple of weeks ago talking about the pros and cons for sprint training for endurance athletes ('Relentless Forward Progress' by Bryon Powell, pages 37-47). The chapter gave two perspective on sprint training; one by Geoff Roes on how it's unnecessary, and one by Ian Torrence on how it's an integral part of any type of race training. I thought the contrasting opinions were really interesting, because the last time I was training for a marathon I did not do any sprint training. I just ran a lot and occasionally went on the elliptical or for a ride on my bike. I was a a bit of a running snob and thought that in order to train best, one should run only and run often. With that said, I ran that race extremely injured and it took me a really long time to finish. This time around I am mixing up my run workouts with bike rides, swimming, strength training/cross-fit, sprints, and hill workouts in hopes that this marathon (and my 50K) will be injury-free and much much faster.

Recently, I did a "ladder" sprint workout. The ladder is as follows: a 100m sprint, followed by a 100m false jog (a very Very slow jog), then another 100m sprint, followed by another 100m false jog, then you move up. Next is a 200m sprint followed by a 100m jog, then a 400m sprint followed by a 400m jog, then a 800m sprint followed by 400m jog. At this point you begin to descend the "ladder" while still keeping (or trying to keep) your times short. You move to a 400m sprint followed by a 400m jog, then a 200m sprint followed by a 200m jog, and lastly two 100m sprints broken up by a jog in-between. I should also probably mention that we ran just under 1.5 miles TO the track and then 1.5 back home on the tiredest of legs. Totalling out around 6+ miles for the morning. It was an immensely difficult workout, but I loved the challenge and pushing myself past what I thought I could do.

Plus, I learned some interesting things from the sprint workout, which of course I'll explain here:

1. Lesson #1: Sprinting makes you a better runner. Up until a little while ago, I wrote off sprinting because I felt stupid doing it and found it incredibly unpleasant. Well it turns out all you need to fix those two problems is a decent running buddy who knows what they're doing and a decent track. I will probably always hate sprinting, but since I've started training and incorporating sprinting into my workouts I have brought my minutes per mile down significantly. Sprint and interval training has also helped me set up a "cruising speed" at which I am able to keep moving even when my legs feel shot. That time per mile also is starting to decrease. It's exciting to see your average speed get faster as you feel your body getting stronger and stronger.


2. Lesson #2: Having someone to do the track or interval workout with you will motivate you more to push yourself as hard as you can and then past that point. I have noticed that my ability to push myself when I'm alone sometimes falls short of my actual capabilities, but with a partner there I feel the need to perform the best I can. So if you're concerned about a track workout, take a buddy. You'll end up motivating each other to push past your limits.


3. Lesson #3: I get stronger toward the end of a workout. This is something I have been trying to harness for more than a year now. It seems like the best part of a race is often the finish line; while there may be many parts of the race that challenge you and that you enjoy, the culmination of all of your efforts at the finish line makes the months of going to bed/waking up early, not going out with friends, and training hard worth it all. And then, if this is the case for you, shouldn't you give 110% at the finish line? Even if you're half dead, can't feel your legs, feel like your lungs have been ripped out? Yes. At least, yes for me. Sprint training will show you that you actually do have that extra "oomph" to push you through that last bit of your race and help you learn to kick some ass even with tired legs.

It has been about 2 months now that I have been doing sprint and strength training/cross-fit workouts and if you are looking for proof that this stuff helps you as a runner, look no further. As most of you know, I am not a fast runner. I am actually quite slow when it comes to averages of runner's across the country. I will not often or easily tell you my times for races, but I'll be sure to mention that I'm an endurance runner, one who is training for bigger and better things. I always just assumed that outside of the elites, you couldn't be both fast and go long. You couldn't run 30-50-100 miles and do it quickly. But in the past month , those assumptions have been changing. The weekend before I did the first leg of the North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay race. This race had everything against me; it'd be my first race since my tendon injury, it didn't start till 11am, it was during one of DC's hottest weeks on record, and I hadn't really trained. So needless to say I was worried. But at the starting line, I chose a different strategy than I ever had before. I chose to have fun, not pay attention to time, enjoy the trail, and thank every volunteer on the course. And I had a blast. It was by far one of the most fun races I've ever done.

Later that day I checked the race leg times and I got quite the surprise. Despite the fact that I was just pretty much cruising, I ran 6.5 miles in 53 minutes and change. That is by far the fastest 6.5 miles I've ever run. I was mildly in shock. But there is your proof that training will yield amazing results. So debate it if you must, but adding sprints and strength training to your weekly workouts will make you a faster, stronger, better runner.