Want to run faster, simple, run more.
I wrote this post last year and it’s worth reposting because , if I say so myself, it’s a bloody good one. If you want further proof subscribe to Run to Japan on You Tube. Incredible results from incredible training. ( https://www.youtube.com/@RanToJapan )
Over the Christmas break and into 2024 I have been putting in some serious trail time and double days and hitting some big weekly distances. In fact last week was my biggest weekly total (excluding races) since week 38 2016. I know this because I have been tracking my running totals using an excel spreadsheet since 2009.
I’m up to 65,662km’s now and 4,409 separate runs; of course with Strava I have a detailed record from about 2013 onwards but still manually log every run in my good old trusty spreadsheet.
Looking at the table you can see my big years were 2011, 2013 and 2016. These were when I raced often and regularly got PB’s (PR’s for the Americans among us) I feel 2013 was my time and I wish I had jumped onboard the TRC coaching program but instead waited until 2016 when I had a ‘second coming’ so to speak by amping up my training volume to 11.
Some context behind the figures above. In 2007 I started to get hooked on running and this culminated in my three Comrades runs in 2008, 2009 and 2010. After that is was on for young and old and I started to compete regularly moving from a middle of the pack runner towards the front. My marathon times dropped virtually every time I ran one, happy days. My Comrades training was what allowed me to ‘kick on’ in 2011 and have a stellar year, PB’s in all events over all distances.
2012 was looking to be similar but my Father passed in February and this together with a calf knot knocked me about and for a time I lost my running mojo. It wasn’t a complete disaster though as I managed to drop my marathon PB at Melbourne to 2 hours 43 minutes, also managed the biggest prize money of my career with a $6,000 cheque for first Australian at the Chevron City to Surf Marathon.
In 2014 I was running the best I have ever ran, adopting a new approach where I tried to keep the average pace of every run under 4min/k. I highlighted these runs in red in my spreadsheet and as you can see from the extract below I was doing a good job. Coming into Bunbury I had ran a course PB at the Darlington half and was ready to defend my crown after winning the previous year. Unfortunately the wheels fell off in the race as I pushed too hard and blew up when really I didn’t need to. I may not have won as a young Michael Ho ran an incredible time but I could have cruised to second and maybe even a PB. In the end I had to settle for fourth but this result affected the rest of the year.
In 2015 I hooked up with Raf Baugh from the Running Centre in Perth and then carried what he taught me through to 2016 where I went all out and started to hit some big weekly totals, with double days becoming the norm. This was my last hurrah, so to speak, at fifty years old I was still running good PB’s but I was putting in some serious kilometres. The highlight of the year was my 1 hour 15 minute half at Fremantle after a massive month of training, over 100 miles week in, week out. I remember sitting in the car before the event thinking I was about to embarrass myself as I felt so tired. In the end I decided to run with the front runners, ignoring pace, and see how long I could hang on. I managed to hang on and led for most of the race before being pipped at the post by two far superior runners.
Things were going well at the start of 2017 but a calf tear put an end to my year after the WAMC Bridges 10k in April albeit I did manage a win at the end of year 4k City Beach race, after three second places. In 2018 my running year was again cut short by injury, this time the dreaded Planar Fasciitis. This , together with my advancing years, was the end of my PB days in anything less than an ultra, my pace was gone. Thus in 2020, and beyond, I have been concentrating on ultra marathons as I am still able to race at the top end of the field.
So the point of this post is that when I look back at my training spreadsheet I can see a correlation between the distances I run in training and the PB’s . One small caveat , to supercharge the improvement race often, this together with the added distance makes a massive difference to your finishing times. Racing often makes you comfortable with being uncomfortable. This is incredibly important, the only person who can get you to the finish line quicker than you have ever got there before is you and there will be time in the ‘pain box’ , that’s just the way it is. You’ll never get use to it but familiarity, in this case, does not breed contempt, it breeds acceptance.
So to sum up this post, if you want to improve run more and if you really want to improve run more and race often, simples.
Benefits of Running for a Longer Period
1. It Increases Endurance
There are two types of endurance: cardiovascular (aka aerobic) endurance and muscular endurance. Cardiovascular endurance refers to how efficiently your cardiovascular and respiratory systems are at supplying oxygen to your muscles during sustained periods of exercise, whereas muscular endurance is your muscles’ ability to work over a long period of time without becoming fatigued.
Running for longer stretches increases both types of endurance, Mayla says. Over time, your cardiovascular system becomes more efficient at delivering oxygen to the muscles in need, while your muscles also adapt to produce more energy to support longer workouts.
2. It Builds Mental Toughness
You know the feeling: You’re 12 miles into your 16-mile long run and you want to quit so badly. You’re tired, it’s hot out, and you just want to be at home in a horizontal position on your couch. But you keep going anyway, knowing you need to finish what you started. Indeed, long runs build resilience, Mayla says.
That’s not just the stuff of bragging rights. Mental toughness is a key indicator for successful athletic performance, per a 2017 review in The Open Sports Sciences Journal—and this trait comes with a few other perks as well. For instance, a small 2018 study in the International Journal of Stress Management found a link between mental toughness and lower perceived stress, anxiety, and burnout, as well as fewer depressive symptoms and fewer sleep difficulties.
3. It’s Good for Your Heart
You typically run longer distances at slower paces—if you were to try and sprint all-out for six miles, for instance, you’d burn out almost immediately. And while experienced, faster runners may knock newbies for their reduced speeds, slower paces are actually beneficial to your heart health.
According to a 2014 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that analyzed over 50,000 people, running just five to 10 minutes per day at slow speeds (about six miles per hour, or the equivalent of a 10-minute mile) can reduce your risk of heart disease.
While a 5- or 10-minute run doesn’t qualify as a long run, it does go to show how the slower paces associated with longer runs benefit your heart. Not to mention, actually running for longer durations brings you closer to meeting the recommended amount of cardio activity that the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends to maintain heart health. According to the AHA, you should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. If you do a 90-minute long run one Saturday morning, for instance, you’re that much closer to hitting that 150-minute goal—you’d just need 60 more minutes of physical activity that week.
4. It Boosts Your Running Economy
Running for longer periods of time improves your running economy—how fast you can run using a given amount of oxygen at a certain pace—according to Melvan. Think of it this way: You’re looking at two cars to potentially buy. The one that can go farther on a gallon of gas has better fuel economy. The same can be said for runners; if you use less oxygen than your friend while running at the same pace, then you have a better running economy than they do.
Distance running helps with running economy by primarily using slow-twitch muscle fibers, Melvan explains. Slow-twitch muscle fibers are the muscle cells responsible for endurance movements. They use up their energy at a slower pace than fast-twitch muscle fibers (more on those soon), so they’re able to keep you going for longer periods of time.
Research suggests that a greater distribution of slow-twitch muscle fibers is associated with a better running economy. And the more long runs you do, the greater your chance is of changing your body’s distribution to favor this type of muscle fiber (as opposed to fast-twitch), according to a 2021 research paper in Sports (Basel).
Benefits of Running Fast
1. It Boosts Your VO2 Max
Running at faster speeds, like sprinting, improves your VO2 max—the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise—according to Melvan. This measurement is often referred to as the gold standard for aerobic fitness. The higher your VO2 max, the more cardiovascularly fit you are.
In fact, research has shown that sprint interval training can significantly enhance VO2max in athletes. This is especially true when sprint workouts are done at your max aerobic capacity (90 percent or more of your max heart rate), per a 2022 review in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Sports Science. The reason is quite simple: When you spend time training at your VO2 max, the workouts eventually become easier and you’re able to push harder, thus increasing the number.
2. It Builds Muscle to Enhance Athletic Power and Overall Performance
Speedy running increases both your power and performance, according to both Melvan and Mayla. Sprinting boosts the proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers—the muscle cells responsible for quick, powerful bursts of movement. The more you sprint, the bigger these muscle fibers will grow, thus the bigger (and stronger) your muscles will get.
The stronger your muscles are, the more power and speed you’ll have. For instance, a small 2017 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that when runners incorporated sprint interval training into their routines, their 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) run time was faster and their power output increased.
Additionally, a 2022 review in Motor Control found that people saw improvements in their vertical jump height after regular sprint training. This can come in handy if you participate in sports other than running, like basketball or volleyball.
4. It Reduces Injuries
While it may seem counterintuitive, there may be a connection between sprinting and lower injury risk. For instance, a small 2017 study in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport observed that soccer players who reached nearly 100 percent of their peak velocity in at least one sprint session per week were less likely to have muscle injuries than those who reached around 85 percent of their peak velocity.
“Incorporating sprint work into your training plan can definitely help prevent injuries,” Melvan says. “Sprinting helps build muscle by working on the fast-twitch fibers, but the main goal is to train your muscles to adapt quickly to a change in pace. If you don’t work on sprinting or running at different paces, then you set yourself up for the risk of injury when you go out too hard or increase your speed too quickly during a race when you haven’t trained for that.”
fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered. It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in. It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong, storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)
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About The Author
bigkevmatthews@gmail.com
A running tragic.