Speed Development part II

Welcome back to All Things Running with Sonja & Jen

On Monday, Sonja shared with us some principles of speed development training. You can read that article here.

I’d like to take you through my personal experience with speed development over the past 10 years. Sharing my journey as I’ve made my way through my 40’s running. First I’ll explain the three different types of runners, then I’ll tell you what I am and finish off with details about my stubborn personality.

There are three types of runners (aka muscle fiber types)

Sprinters have FAST TWITCH B fibers which are high ATP, low oxidative and heavy reliance on anaerobic metabolism.

Middle Distance 400/800 have FAST TWITCH A fibers which are a mix of slow twitch and fast twitch. They are higher oxidative and slower to fatigue than fast twitch B.

Distance Runners have the majority of SLOW TWITCH but may also have some fast twitch fibers. They are smaller fibers, produce low force, fatigue very slowly, can sustain contractions for a long time and highly oxidative.

It took me a long long time to accept that I am FAST TWITCH A. I keep trying to master the 5k but my body will not let me do it no matter how aerobic (oxidative) I try to make my muscles. I have limitations. Not every middle distance runner is built this way. There are some mid-distance runners where training more improves their mile & 800 time. But for the Fast Twitch Type A runner, this may not be an effective strategy. There is a lot of other work that would be beneficial to improving their times than running more miles. I am speaking from personal experience. I’ve tried it many different ways. If you don’t know me, then you might not understand. I’ve recorded insanely high heart rates to try and master the 5k and then when it gets high enough, my body shuts down. It is not that I give up. That is not in my nature. YOU CAN NOT OUTSMART THE GOVERNOR (the brain). Yes, I still run a decent 5k but my athletic ability says that my 5k time should be much faster.

Everyone has a mixture of fiber types. It is important to know how to train your body and to communicate with your coach. I don’t think you need muscle testing to figure this out. Just look at your personal bests in events.

Having more time to train was not necessarily a game changer for me.

I remember when my kids were really little and still in pre-school. I would say “Once they are in elementary school, I’m going to have so much time to train. Well not only did this prediction not happen as far as having more time but dedicating more time or more miles wasn’t necessarily a game changer for me. It was great training don’t get me wrong but in having more time for miles, I let other things more crucial to my speed development go.

Alternative forms of training that were beneficial to my speed development.

Yoga - mobility and strength needed for yoga are so important. You don’t have to be super flexible to benefit from Yoga. It allows you to check in with different muscle groups and even identify tight areas before they become a problem.

Plyometrics - basement plyos as I would refer to them. They would happen when I wasn’t able to get outside due to weather or children who cramped my wanting to live a pro-athlete lifestyle. Ha ha. Sometimes I couldn’t muster the mental fortitude to hop on the treadmill. I would do jumping jacks, box jumps and step ups. Hopping or bouncing motions are my favorite plyos.

Strength Training at Home - I don’t have a fancy gym and I hate going to the gym with other people lifting around me. I would do it if my team were together but solo is a non-starter for me, I feel out of place. So in my basement gym, I have a 10 pound medicine ball and dumbbells of various weights.

Walking - I walked a ton when my kids were little. In the house, constantly picking up and doing laundry, there were times when I would walk 20 miles in a week. I don’t have to do this as much, as they are older and doing their own laundry and such. I do more sitting because I drive to work, drive the kids and here I am sitting writing a blog. While I spend time on my feet coaching in the morning. I spend even more time on my computer recruiting, writing programs and answering emails. So much changes. Embrace the walking.

Pool Running - this seems to happen more when I’m injured and I hate that its the case. I love water running but something in my head always down plays its importance to my training and fitness. It is a total body workout using muscle groups in the back, core & legs. We should be doing this at least two times a week. I’m committed to one day and I will continue to try to get in another.

What changes will I be making going forward?

I’m going to incorporate all of the above back into my training. I will keep my long run but instead of popping off 8 miles easy on a recovery day. I may opt for pool running or just a few miles of running instead of 8. I realize my mileage won’t look the same and that doesn’t mean I won’t be running 8-10 miles for a long run, I absolutely will but I’ll also be sure to take one full day off a week instead of being so focused on hitting 50-60 mile weeks.

Speed longevity.

Over the past 17 years, I’ve averaged a 5:09 mile on the NYRR 5th Avenue mile course. In 2006 I ran 5:09 and in 2023 I ran 5:08. I have during this time run under 5 minutes for mile on the track and at other races. Yes, there have been some ups and downs along the way but overall my speed has stayed the same. I do hope that next year my mile time on this course improves and I’m not giving up hope of getting faster. I see no reason why I have to believe that and maybe all the other things in my life have been obstacles to overcome. A chance for me to learn from my mistakes. Maybe I had to learn that mileage isn’t everything. Yes, my endurance has improved over the years and yes, I am grateful to accomplish distance challenges I never thought possible but at the end of the days I just want to be fast in the 800 and the mile.

I think it is so important to have the science and also to share real stories. I’m incredibly grateful for Sonja’s insight & wisdom. The two of us have a lot of work ahead of us. We’ve had our share of ups and downs but knowing that others are going through it too is so helpful.

Sonja and Jennifer are sharing their personal experiences. This is being provided for informational purposes only. We are not giving medical advice and you should always consult your own doctor for advice related to your own health.

Sonja Friend-Uhl on Speed Development

Welcome back to All Things Running with Sonja & Jen

We received a question about speed development. Sonja is a World Class athlete, coach & fitness professional. She has had incredible speed over the course of many years and well into masters running. With that being said, speed development can happen at any age. The principles behind speed development are important at every age. Specifically as an aging athlete, we are more likely to slow down as we age but there are ways to try and slow down the aging process and actually try to speed up your running. Recently a masters friend Sue McDonald set 8 world and American records in the span of 19 weeks. Absolutely amazing. So let’s get into this and see how you can make sure you are incorporating speed work into your weekly training program safely. Sonja explains all of this below.

Question “Best way to maintain speed after 50? I seem to have kept my endurance and lost my pace.”

Strategies for Developing Speed as Middle Distance or Distance Runner

 Speed Endurance vs Finishing Power

Speed can mean different things to different people. So the first task in speed development is determining which kind of speed you need most. True top end speed can only be sustained for 60m–80m by most runners. Unless you're racing the 100m, a much more viable asset is the ability to close hard on already tired legs. This finishing power, (otherwise known as a “kick”), requires a unique kind of development. Distance runners need to improve their base speed (intermediate fast twitch muscle fibers), enough to make the pace of longer races feel somewhat easier, but then be able to dip into that speed reserve (fast twitch muscle fibers), when it comes time to kick for the finish line.

Powering Up Your Finishing  Kick

Developing that second speed reserve requires a dual focus: First, training the body to recruit as many fibers as possible, then learning to utilize that recruitment when fatigued.

Building muscle recruitment and pure speed, starts with power-based workouts and explosive moves like all-out sprints of 20m–100m, fast hill repeats (short, steep hills approximately 25-50 meters long), and plyometrics. This kind of work is taxing muscularly and neuromuscularly, therefore it needs to be done in a refreshed state at the beginning of the workout and with full recoveries between each repeat. This isn't aerobic conditioning; you shouldn't be breathing hard before starting another sprint. Aim for one day a week dedicated solely to speed development.

A Plyometric routine can be done two or three times a week, after one of your hard workouts but not on your recovery day. You want to try to keep everything hard on one day so you can have true recovery days. Two excellent speed based plyometric exercises for runners are single-leg hops and the split-squat jump.  Simply jumping rope itself (while staying up on your toes), is also effective.  Any "reactive-response plyometrics," aimed at reducing the foot's contact time with the ground; (best examples are dynamic A-skips and pogo jumps).

 For structuring these types of exercises into your routine I would suggest a Tabata format of :10 on, :20 off, or the reverse, :20 on, :10 off, for up to 4 minutes per session. 

Another excellent drill for speed development and stride efficiency is running over Wickets. Wickets are the low banana hurdles which you space anywhere from 3-5+ feet apart depending on the athlete’s height, stride length, and ability. There are two schools of thought when it comes to running wicket drills. The first is best represented by renowned sprint coach, Vince Anderson (www.speedendurance.com). This format is top end speed and acceleration focused.  Vince includes a measurement chart on how to set up the wickets depending on the athlete and the goal.  The other technique for using Wickets is best explained by Steve Magness and Jon Marcus via their Scholar Program and podcast (www.scienceofrunning.com).  This method of using Wickets focuses more on developing a powerful, efficient stride for speed endurance and to help prevent overstriding, which is a common cause of hamstring injuries.  Generally, 8-12 wickets are used per rep for 8-10 reps or “Wicket Runs” depending on the athlete and what else is planned for the workout that day.  

Overhead A-Runs are challenging but so very effective for developing better core strength, posture, and hip/knee form for top end running speed.  Envision doing the high knees drill while holding a pvc pipe, broom handle, or something similar directly overhead with straight arms.  The idea is to not allow your torso or arms/shoulder girdle to twist back and forth as you run forward with high knees. Start with 5-6 reps of 20 yards or so and build that to 8-10 reps of up to 50 yards. When that becomes relatively easy to do with the light handle over head, switch to a medicine ball (weighted), and start the process over.  Core strength is essential to sprinting and speed biomechanics, so in addition to this specific Overhead A-Run drill, be sure to include consistent and effective core strengthening exercises into your training regimen several times per week. (Planks, transverse med ball exercises, standing or kneeling resistant anti-rotation exercises, etc. )

According to Coach Steve Magness of the Scholar Program and author of the book, The Science of Running, after pure speed is developed through technical methods, then it's time to implement the strength, power and neuro-response times into workouts with the goal of mixing speed with fatigue-inducing elements.

Magness uses the following workouts to develop speed while inducing fatigue:

Quarters and Hills: Three sets of 4 × 400m at 3K pace with 3 × 80m hill sprints between sets

500s and Bounding: Repeat 500s with first 200m at 800m pace, straight to 100m of bounding -- exaggerated long strides, driving off the back leg and lifting the front knee as high as you can -- then 200m kick finish. "The bounding increases force requirement and thus fiber recruitment, and then you've got to use that during the final kick in," Magness says.

Another strategy is to focus on developing a gear faster than race pace. Athletes perform race-pace workouts for distances one or two events shorter than their goal race (A 5k focused athlete would aim for Mile race pace during 400m to 600m repeats). 

An advanced option is to combine strength and plyometrics with running in a circuit-style workout. Run 100m strides between sets of squats and lunges, for example. Doing the strength exercises forces muscle recruitment, and then you learn to use it when running. Coach Jay Johnson, (www.coachjayjohnson.com), is a proponent of this type of training and it was also very popular with the Flux training model used by historically infamous coaches such as Mihaly Igloi and his protege', 1964 Olympic 5000m Champ, Bob Schul, and Mile WR holder, Lazlo Tabori.  Our sprint and hurdles coach at FAU, Coach Georgette Nixon has had excellent success using this training method in the Fall (pre season) with our short and long sprinters. I plan on incorporating it with my interval training this winter and will update on my personal experience.

As with any training strategy or technique, the key to success is a proper progression of the exercises, consistency in application, and constant, honest evaluation of results. My best advice is to pick one or two initial exercises or drills to start with, master those as best you can, evaluate results, and then move on to the next exercise or drill to add to your regimen. Let us know your thoughts and results once you have had time to incorporate more speed development into your training routine.  Also, if you have any questions before you get started, I am happy to help!

You can reach out to Sonja at this link here.

There is a lot to digest here in this great article. Make sure you take notes. I’ll follow up in a day or so with my personal account of how my training has changed over the years and what I plan on working on as I enter my last year in the 40’s age category.

Sonja and Jennifer are sharing their personal experiences. This is being provided for informational purposes only. We are not giving medical advice and you should always consult your own doctor for advice related to your own health.