I gave myself four days off post Lighthorse 24 Ultra before lacing up again for the weekly Yelo run 5:30am Thursday morning. Five weeks later and I’m very tired, which is what you expect when you train for marathons. Week one post Lighthorse I managed 60km, then 126km ( 9 runs) for week 2, 125km (8 runs) week 3, 141km (9 runs) week four and finally 160km (9 runs) last week. As you can see from the Strava extra below ( You use Strava right ? http://www.strava.com ) it has been a busy few weeks with plenty of long runs, elevation and double days. I’m a big believer in all of these to improve fitness. There’s a reason professional runners run double or even triple days and also run a lot. Sprinkle in some pace and you’re away, while of course avoiding injury at all cost.
When you run twice a day, you’re reducing the time between sessions, which teaches your body to run on tired legs and to work through fatigue. Improving your total recovery time is part of this process as you also focus on what you do post run from the stretches to the nutrition!
At first since your body is not used to the extra effort it may feel difficult. Which is why like everything else in running, this is a slow and gradual process.
However, the good news is that your body will learn to utilize its mitochondria more effectively, resulting in less muscle fatigue. Now we’re talking!
Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells. They make most of the chemical energy needed to start and fuel the biochemical reactions that happen inside our cells.
Apart from this, when you run more than once every day, your enzyme activity increases. These enzyme activities are important for a lot of things in our bodies, like building muscles, digesting food, and getting rid of waste and toxins.
Benefits of Running Twice a Day
Running twice a day comes with a bunch of benefits, which shows why it’s so popular amongst elite athletes. Here are the advantages of running doubles:
1. Helps Increase Mileage
If you want to increase your weekly mileage, adding a second run one or two days a week will allow you to do so without needing to extend your long runs.
If you want to build up your endurance, it’s tempting to look for shortcuts, but there’s no better way than to run a lot of miles. Double runs let you do this without giving up a rest day.
2. Gives You an Opportunity to Run at a Faster Pace
Running twice a day allows you to have an opportunity to change your running pace and style between runs. This is particularly useful when you want to try doing a speed workout but can’t seem to set a particular day for it.
You do then try to do some speed work such as a fartlek or interval training in the morning, and go for your long run in the evening or vice versa.
3. Enhances Training Adaptation
If you double your runs you will burn more glycogen, and your body will need to adjust to this new state. You’ll also burn more fat, and your body will become better at using your glycogen stores.
Running in this glycogen depleted state, in turn, enhances and improves training adaption.
You will be able to recover more quickly, and over time, your tolerance for fatigue will improve. As you increase your frequency of aerobic exercise, your lungs and heart will grow stronger, improving your overall fitness level.
4. Allows for More Efficient Recovery
Running twice a day gives you an opportunity to go for an easy run, which is meant to facilitate recovery. The less demanding runs will aid in increasing blood flow to your muscles, giving your cells the oxygen, they want to recover.
By increasing the frequency at which your muscles get more oxygen, blood flow, and nutrients, you’ll recovery faster and more efficiently.
For me increasing distance is the key to improvement and double days help you get more distance, simple really. Pace isn’t as important when you’re building weekly distance totals. It’s all about getting more kilometres weekly. As you start to adapt to the twice a day running strategy you can add pace with the caveat of avoiding fatigue which will lead to injury. Week by week you will get stronger, as a runner , as distance increases. There is no such thing as junk miles, remember that, they are all good.
Right, benefits of a down week are explained in this article below from Runners World.
When training for a marathon or other target race, you may assume–as Ryan Hall once did–that it’s best to reach peak mileage and hold it steady for many weeks. Doing so will ensure that you maximize your fitness and prepare optimally for your goal race, right? Perhaps not.
During a marathon buildup Hall used to train all the way through without taking a day off or significantly reducing his mileage. Recently Hall began incorporating weeks of planned lower volume and intensity into his training, and has found these “down weeks” leave him restored and able to tackle tougher training in the weeks preceding and following.
“Since I began my training this fall I have seen big improvements,” Hall says. “While my 62:20 [at January’s Houston Half Marathon] was nowhere near my personal best, it actually was a huge improvement from my half marathon in Philadelphia last fall.” After that race, Hall decided to skip the Chicago Marathon and coach himself. “I believe that incorporating rest and down weeks into my training will get me to the shape I hope to be in,” he says.
WHY CUT BACK?
Pete Rea, coach at ZAP Fitness in Blowing Rock, N.C., believes that regularly incorporating down weeks allows an athlete to complete successfully a full four-to five-month training cycle, avoid injury and ultimately make fitness leaps and achieve a higher level of performance. He cites as an example David Jankowski (right), a ZAP athlete initially resistant to the idea of down weeks, who has seen improvement and reaped benefits since implementing them into his training. Jankowski used to experience staleness and sometimes struggled to race his best at the ideal time. Last year, however, after dialing back his mileage every third week, Jankowski finished fifth in the 10,000m at outdoor nationals and set personal bests at 1500m, 3,000m and 5,000m.
Rea finds that his athletes’ workouts reach a higher level post-down-week, and he believes the planned rest helps his runners avoid unforeseen longer breaks due to injury, fatigue or overtraining. Robert Chapman, coach of Team Indiana Elite, agrees and uses down weeks for athletes who are slightly more injury-prone or who might get run down and overly fatigued with more weeks at high volume and/or intensity.
“Training is a progression,” he says, “essentially a stair-step pattern where after each block they are more fit and performing at a higher level. So the down week is a very important part of the overall training plan. It allows them to absorb the training they did during each block and prepare for even better training in the next block.”
WHAT EXACTLY IS A DOWN WEEK?
A down week is a planned rest week, with mileage reduced to a certain percentage of your peak mileage. The majority of runners find it most beneficial to drop mileage to somewhere between 50 and 90 percent of highest mileage, typically varying depending upon the frequency with which down weeks are taken. Rea’s athletes work in three-week cycles and run 15 to 20 percent fewer miles during their down week. For example, if they’d been running 100-mile weeks, they would run 80 miles during a down week. Chapman’s runners also cut back by 15 to 20 percent. Hall reduces mileage even further and runs approximately half the total volume of his highest week.
The frequency of down weeks varies among athletes but most reduce mileage once every three to eight weeks. Rea’s athletes take a down week every third week; he uses them as a means to increase mileage gently without overburdening the runner. Specifically, Rea’s runners’ mileage progresses slowly through repeating three-week cycles. The second week of their cycle is approximately 10 to 20 percent higher than the first week and the third week (the down week) is 15 to 20 percent lower than the first week. When the cycle begins anew a runner’s mileage in week one is about 10 percent higher than the previous week one. Chapman has the Team Indiana Elite athletes who use down weeks take them every fourth or fifth week.
Hall uses down weeks less frequently but has a steeper drop in mileage when he does take a down week. Every seventh week is a down week for Hall, an idea he adapted from the Bible. Hall explains, “In the Old Testament God commanded that every seventh year was to be a year of rest for the field where no crop was to be harvested. There is a reason why a field can produce more fruit when it has a year to just chill out, and I believe the principle is not only good for the field trying to produce optimum crop but also for the runner trying to produce optimal results.”Expect to feel bad sometimes during a down week says Pete Rea, head coach of ZAP Fitness. “Athletes often feel sluggish and have lower energy during this week,” he says. “Nonetheless I find the level of workouts is elevated thereafter, that workouts are more effective and staleness prevented.”
On the flip side, what happens if you find yourself feeling so refreshed at the end of the down week that you begin picking up the pace? While inadvisable to hammer easy runs and make them so taxing that they defeat the purpose of a down week, don’t be overly concerned if you find yourself running a bit faster than normal by the end of a down week. Hall finds that this often happens to him. “Our athletes typically do easy days on feel,” says Robert Chapman, coach of Team Indiana Elite. “So they might end up running a little faster on the easy day by the end of the down week. I am less concerned about that than dropping mileage 20 percent. Usually, even if the easy runs are a little quicker, they will still end up with fresh legs for the next week.”
Hall says, “How one feels during a down week is going to differ from athlete to athlete and also within each athlete. Each time you do a down week you are probably going to feel a little different than previous down weeks. Stick to your plan and see how you feel coming out of it. In the middle of one down week I was so wired with extra energy that I had to call a buddy of mine to have him reinforce to me the importance of resting even if my body feels good. He reminded me of all the hard training to come and how I just needed to bottle all my energy.”
WHERE TO CUT BACK?
During down weeks, cut out or shorten maintenance runs. Maintain quality, albeit at a reduced volume. This strategy helps to lessen the sluggish feeling that’s common during down weeks.
For example, during a typical week Rea’s athletes run a long run and two speed workouts. In contrast, when taking a down week they shorten the long run significantly and do only one workout. In addition, they remove a second run from one of their double days to achieve the total desired reduction. In the same manner, Hall cuts out all afternoon runs during this week and also reduces the volume of his workouts. Yet his workouts, while shorter, are sometimes at a slightly faster pace. For example, instead of the 12-mile tempo run he might typically do, he may run two 4-mile segments at a faster clip.
Chapman’s down week looks slightly different than most, as both workouts are removed. Quality is maintained in some form, though, as his athletes continue to do 100m strides once or twice a week for a neuromuscular stimulus. Mileage is reduced equally over all days with a bit more taken from the long run, in a fashion similar to prototypical down weeks.
YOU NEED A REST
Sometimes the most difficult part of taking a down week is having the discipline to back off when you feel yourself getting stronger and fitter. It seems counterintuitive to cut back when things are going well and progressing in the right direction. Hall suggests reminding yourself of all the hard training to come and that the rest week will enable you to get the most out of those important workouts that lie ahead.
“Resting takes confidence, courage and above all trust in your coach,” Hall says. (The last part is especially important if “your coach” means “you.”) Chapman adds, “I always remind the athlete that the primary goal of the down week is to have ‘fresh legs’ at the end. The volume and workouts we do often leave the legs heavy after two to three weeks of solid work. At the end of the down week, I want their legs fresh, so they can go right into another threeweek solid block.”
Finally, Hall cautions that “just because a down week is on the schedule for the following week, it does not give you permission to totally smash yourself in training in the week prior. If you go into a down week super-tired it is going to take the first three days just to get back to normal, and then you will only have the second half of the week to allow your body to absorb all the weeks-on-end training you have been doing. Find the balance of training hard but smart.”
So what type of runs have I been running I hear you ask ? I have been avoiding outright speed because at 57 years old the hamstrings and calf muscles are way past their best and I’m not interested in replicating my 5/10/21k best times, they are a distant memory. Instead I have concentrated on running at marathon pace or slightly quicker for as long as possible while keeping the heart rate under control. My long runs are either on trails or footpaths with the trail run being more time on feet while the footpath it’s more about a good pace, closer to marathon pace but not too close to be counter productive.
Over the last few weeks my pace has increased and it’s getting easier to maintain marathon pace, so whatever I’m doing it’s working. I also spend a large part of my training week in Bold Park, which is a mix of trails and footpath but lots of elevation, which is another good way to improve without running the risk of injury.
From https://marathonhandbook.com/ Hill repeats are classic bread-and-butter workouts for distance runners and sprinters alike.
Running uphill benefits your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems, making it an effective and efficient way to combine speed work and strength training into one workout.
Runners can reap unique benefits from running workouts that involve hill repeat sprints and long uphill climbs at an endurance training pace. For example, hill sprints develop strength, speed, and turnover,while longer hills develop strength, endurance, and mental toughness.
So, if you need some support to turn your dread of running hills into motivation and excitement, keep reading for a list of 12 running uphill benefits.
12 Running Uphill Benefits
Running uphill has physical and mental benefits, and hill workouts can be one of the most effective components of your training program, particularly if you struggle on hills during your runs and races.
#1: Running Uphill Improves Your Cardiovascular Capacity
Running uphill strengthens your heart and lungs, boosting your cardiovascular fitness. If you take on long endurance uphill climbs, either up a long mountain run or on a treadmill set at a gradient, you can also boost your endurance by running uphill.
The oxygen demand from your muscles is higher when you run uphill, so your heart rate naturally rises1 and you have to breathe deeper and faster than when you run on flat ground. Therefore, hill workouts can strengthen your heart and lungs over time and increase your stroke and tidal volumes.
#2: Running Uphill Will Build Strength
Most runners know that strength training is essential to our training, but sometimes, we lack the motivation to hit the gym for squats, lunges, and deadlifts.
Running uphill repetitions can almost be equated to strength training leg muscles in disguise. It builds strength and power in the glutes, calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip flexors. Increases in leg strength from hill running can translate to a more powerful running stride.
#3: Running Uphill Develops Core and Arm Strength
In addition to building leg strength, running uphill benefits your upper body and core. Proper uphill running form requires a strong arm drive. Also, to drive your knees up, you engage your core even more when running uphill than on a flat surface.
Runners don’t often consider the importance of strong arms, but your arm swing dictates the power and pace of your turnover, so be sure to pump those arms with power and conviction.
#4: Running Uphill Can Help Improve Your Running Speed
Hill repeats are one of the best speed workouts for runners of all distances, whether you are a sprinter or training for a long-distance race like a half marathon or marathon.
Attacking each hill rep at top speed is a great way to train your body to run faster without doing intervals on the track.
Moreover, the muscles used for running uphill are the same ones recruited for sprinting, so hill repeats can help condition your body for faster paces.
To boost your speed by running uphill, do high-intensity short hill repeats (100-200m) at near-maximal speed.
#5: Running Uphill Can Improve Your Running Form
One of the best benefits of running uphill is that it’s a more natural way to work on your running form than trying to consciously do a bunch of form drills.
Running uphill forces a strong knee drive, good posture, quick turnover, and a shorter stride, so you land more on the balls of your feet or midfoot rather than your heel.
Be sure to keep your chest up, back straight, core tight, and shoulders back as you run uphill. Don’t hunch over.
#6: Running Uphill Improves Your Running Economy
Studies show2that running uphill can improve running economy and make you a more efficient runner by increasing your cardio capacity and aerobic energy production.
The better your running economy, the faster and longer you can run before being overcome by fatigue.
#7: Running Uphill Can Increase Your Turnover
Your turnover refers to how quickly your feet land when you run, so it’s another way to look at running cadence. Running uphill requires you to shorten your stride and take shorter quicker steps.
This can help you increase your running cadence, one of two factors determining your running pace (the other being stride length).
However, unlike increasing your stride length, which has been shown to increase the risk of injuries, increasing your running cadence3 makes you faster and reduces the risk of injury. Win-win.
#8: Running Uphill Can Improve Your Race Performance
Who doesn’t want to run faster or set a new PR?
Studies show that incorporating hill training into your workout program can improve 4and overall race performance.
#9: Running Uphill Can Reduce Your Risk of Musculoskeletal Injury
One of the risks of repetitive high-impact running is the development of overuse injuries. Your bones, joints, cartilage, and connective tissues are subjected to lots of pounding on flat roads, mile after mile.
Running uphill can reduce the risk of certain common running injuries, such as shin splints and knee pain, because it recruits large muscles like the glutes and hamstrings and reduces the pounding impact and load on your bones and joints.
#10: Running Uphill Burns a Lot of Calories
If you want to lose weight or boost your metabolism, here’s some good news: Running uphill torches calories and can
#11: Running Uphill Adds Variety to Your Training Plan
Flat running every day can become a bit dull for some.
Hill workouts break up the monotony of a regular run. For example, running uphill on the treadmill with repeats at an incline is one of the best ways to pass the time and bust boredom.
#12: Running Uphill Makes You Mentally Strong
Let’s face it: hills are hard for any runner. However, running uphill benefits your mental game nearly as much as your physical body.
Running uphill builds grit and can help you develop the determination and formidable attitude you need to succeed as the runner you want to be.
Focusing on the many benefits of running hills can give you a much-needed willpower boost to give your hill workout your best effort. Remember, hills feel hard for a reason: they work!
First sub3 marathon August 2019. City to Surf. Can I get my 33rd in a few weeks. ?
So the first block of marathon training is done and dusted. Very happy with progress and the icing on the cake was picking up a pair of Saucony Endorphin Elites for $266 from Pace Athletics , who have a great sale on right now. ( https://www.paceathletic.com/ ) Everything is falling into place nicely….
If you want to follow my journey hop onto Strava and search on Big Kev in Perth WA or use the link at the bottom of this post. Same goes for Instagram and/or facebook.
Fisiocrem is a must have in your ultra box of tricks…
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
