Coach Jay coaches athletes at RunnersCoach.com and blogs at CoachJayJohnson.com. And don’t forget, if you have a training question for Coach Jay, ask it here!

Coach Jay-

I have been running for 14 years with a consistent strength training routine that incorporates mostly free weights. I am very interested in the strength routines that you have explained on Nike+. As I get more into running and less into weight lifting because of the demand on the body and the struggle to stay lean, how can I incorporate these routines into my week? Do I perform each routine daily or break them up? I have tried the routines and seem to not have trouble completing them and sometimes I add seconds and reps to make them tougher. Is this the right mindset to have or should I preform the reps and seconds you have laid out in each routine? Also, how can I add in push-ups or pull-ups with these routines or do I even need to? I love the enthusiasm you have for the sport of running and I look forward to the improvement I have in running after starting these routines.

Thanks,
Michael Heafner

Michael –

Thanks for the kind words and the question. First, I should be honest that my prescription for reps for the five routines in the video was purposely lower than I’d prescribe to a runner who has is not only motivated but has an athletic background that includes more power-oriented work (i.e. if a woman was a great volleyball player in HS that counts due to the all the plyometric foot contacts that come with that sport). So, don’t be afraid to double all of the reps on those routines.

We posted an eight-week progression a couple of weeks ago; see where you think you are on that and then follow it to the eigth week. Once you’re there then start bumping up the reps and sets, but keep the same organization (i.e. back and myrtl could be done daily). Or, in the case of the Pedestal routine and Medicine Ball routine you can say, “I’m working for 5 minutes without a break” and you just keep going through the routine. The first 3 minutes aren’t bad but then it gets really challenging the last 30-40 seconds. Personally, that what I do with these routines – I give myself a few minutes prior to my run and hopefully 10 minutes at the end of the run (lately it’s been 0-5 as I’m trying to relieve my wife of “crying newborn duty”) and I just keep going through a routine. Push-ups are a great addition, yet you could make it more challenging by doing a couple of “Rocky’s” – simply a push-up with a hand clap – between the various pedestal exercises.

The other thing to consider is a circuit workout in lieu of a hard running workout; you could do repeat 400’s , 800’s or even 1,000s at a local track at 5,000m pace and then some of these exercises as the rest. Because all of these routines help with posture this is a great way to learn to run efficiently at race pace.

Thanks for the question and feel free to write back in a month or two and we can come up with something new to challenge you.

**Be sure to check out Coach Jay’s five general strength training videos: Lunge Warm-Up, Back Routine, Myrtl Routine, Pedestal Routine and the Medicine Ball Routine.

Jay-

I’m a masters runner who started at 38 yrs old [am now 47]. I generally run as my body tells me to, and I’m usually hoping it says, “Faster is ok!”…

I do long runs of approximately 12 mi at 8:30 pace and speed up the last 3 miles or so to near race pace and faster.

During daily mid-week runs, I usually aim for sustained tempos with the idea I’ve read, that to run faster…you must simply run faster more often…ah so!?

I’ve done well this year, but know I can bring my race times to 7 min/mi or 6:50 even….

Q: Would following a Lydiard type regimen yield this result? As I feel the only thing holding me back is my ability to have more breath! Hope this makes some sense. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks,
George

George -

This is a great question and I appreciate you sharing the training data. I’m going to preface my comments with a question for you: Have you had any significant running injuries? I ask this question because most coaches would say that at age 47 you don’t need to run more, but simply need to keep pecking away at the pace on your tempo runs and keep the long run/progression run as a key workout. I’m excited about your commitment to becoming better and as long as you’ve not had any serious running injuries (i.e. several stress fractures, a metatarsal injury or severe IT-band problems), I think it’s sound to consider making a mileage jump.

While there are a variety of ways to effectively develop your aerobic metabolism (i.e. more breath, or simply feeling more comfortable running running, say 7:15 or 7:20 pace), there is no doubt that Arthur Lydiard brought the benefits of higher mileage to the running world. It not surprising that it works- run more and you’ll be better at running!  If a runner is running 40 or 50 miles a week with a weekly long run of 12 miles and a weekly threshold run, then they should be fairly fit after 12-16 weeks of that training. But let’s be honest, if you run 70-80 miles as week, have a weekly long run of 15-18 miles and are doing most of that mileage in single runs than you’ll most likely race faster….ASSUMING that you stay healthy. And by staying healthy I’m not just talking about avoiding a stress fracture or an IT-band injury, but also staying healthy in terms of your overall fatigue. So many runners overtrain the first time they make a jump in mileage and that undoubtedly leads to poor performance. In that scenario, you’re better off with the 40-50 mile weeks where you’re running each workout well rather than the 70-80 mile weeks where you’re just slogging through the miles, trying to get to some magic number that you want to write in your running log.

My suggestion would be to bump up your mileage over a 4-5 week period by 25%. I’m assuming that you’re at about 50 miles a week- that takes you to the 62-63 range. If you’re at 40 miles a week then just try to get to 48-50 in that time period and don’t increase your 12 mile long run. During this ascension to higher mileage you should completely blow off intensity or pace, meaning that you’re not going to accelerate the last 3 miles of your long run during this buildup. Similarly, you could run a GENTLE fartlek workout in lieu of the weekly tempo run (which is too intense during your mileage ascension), but make sure that you feel recovered 48 hours later- and if you feel sore and tired the day after any of these workouts than you’re going too hard. Once you’ve hit the new mileage, train one more week at this new volume, with no intensity to speak of, then do a week that is 5% lower and do a threshold workout. The following week you should be able to run your new mileage AND run similar intensities as your currently running.

I wish you the best of luck George.

*Coach Jay’s advice is provided as general training information. Use at your own risk. Always consult with your own heath care provider for questions relating to your specific training and nutrition.