Endurance Training Simplified

This year I hit my 25th year as a runner. It all began in sixth grade physical education, where my class was tasked with completing the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge. One of the skills in that test was a 1-mile run, which was my first real taste of endurance specifically for endurance sake. Over the years, it has been a journey of learning. I would say I learned very slowly. I really didn’t think of training beyond doing what my coach told me to do until college. Personally, I appreciate this relative level of ignorance, as I suspect it kept me sane in my pursuits until I was really ready to commit to running. All this is to say, since my first 1-mile run in sixth grade, it has become clear to me that running can easily get over complicated. I like to refer to this as creative workout structuring. I am not sure if this is a fear of repetition, boredom, or a series of one-upmanship, but it is my belief that if you crave a creative workout structure, it is still probably smart to master some real basic understandings of perceived effort at key intensities, and ultimately understand what intensity targets are being prioritized within specific workouts and blocks of training.

Rogan and COVID changed the sport. I joke, sort of. Perhaps I am biased by my own experience, but one of the biggest trends I have witnessed in recent years within endurance sport is groups of individuals getting excited to test their limits in endurance sport that may have previously been preoccupied. I see this as multifaceted, but I do suspect the popularity of the Joe Rogan Experience, and his interviews with non-traditional endurance athletes like David Goggins and Cam Hanes have opened up endurance to a new population of people. Traditionally found in the gym, on the field, at cross fit classes, and calisthenics, this group of people discovered running. No longer a punishment or means to an end within another sport, endurance became an opportunity to test one’s limits, improve one’s backcountry hunting skills, or simply push the body in a different way. Let’s be honest, even the most hardened of us endurance athletes logged at least a couple extra miles after being yelled at by Goggins through our phones, and computer screens. I mean come on, someone has to carry the boats, right? I hypothesize that COVID nudged this along. As gyms closed and in person workouts got stigmatized, large groups of motivated fitness individuals had no other choice but to skip the gym and hit the roads and trails. This resulted in a pretty big wave of newcomers to running. Some even went straight to ultra! I find this trend very exciting and have had a blast coaching some of these newcomers over the past few years. 

Okay, back to the point of simplifying endurance. With the newcomers entering in large numbers, I have gotten lots of requests about proper training. It made me wonder what it would have been like for me to enter the world of endurance today. What would I benefit from mastering first? Would I get too creative? After giving this some thought, I decided it probably would be good to put out some podcasts that help unpack simplifying endurance. Below are the episodes and brief descriptions for each. If you dive in, or have checked these out already, I welcome any feedback about other topics that I should consider covering for upcoming podcast episodes or newsletters. 

Podcast Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 344: Endurance Training Simplified

This episode discusses the key intensities to become very familiar with (easy, base, long interval, short interval, race intensity), and deciding when and how to do them. You can think of it as an overview of the other topics below, but for someone who is really anxious to get the ball rolling, or already has a decent understanding of endurance training, this one can be a stand alone to help kick things off or clean up some clutter. 

Episode 356: Easy Run Simplified 

I like to break this category into two. I call them easy run and base. Easy is about as easy as it needs to be or commonly referred to as zone 1. Base is the top end of easy. You can think of it as reaching up to the ceiling of the easy intensity, zone 2, or up to the aerobic threshold. 

Episode 348: Long Intervals Simplified   

This intensity is what you could do for approximately 60-minutes in a race day setting. Using a 2:1 work to rest ratio when building them into your program is a great target. This intensity will help improve your lactate threshold. 

Episode 346: Short Intervals Simplified   

This intensity is what you could do for approximately 12-minutes at full effort. Using a 1:1 work to rest ratio is a great starting point. 2-4 minute interval targets within the 1:1 work to rest ratio is a target that will allow you to spend time at this intensity, but not stretch out so far that quality risk is high or overall workout volume is reduced due to excessive early fatigue. 

Episode 337: The Long Run Considering the Variables 

The long run really needs more than one definition with the rise of ultramarathon. I like to look at the long run as traditional, where efforts between 2-3 hours is likely a good sweet spot to work up to. I also like to look at it as an ultra long run if someone is training for a longer race and may require some practice at goal race intensity to test things like fuel, hydration, gear, and practice pacing closer to the end of their training program. 

Episode 361: Race Intensity Simplified

Race intensity is a moving target and something that should be thought of as an intensity, not a distance, as that will guide the order of operations of your training program. Following an order of least to most specific, with reace intensity by default being the most specific, is the general order. Sometimes race intenisty falls within the range of intensities discussed, whereas other times it falls between. When it falls between, it is wise to include some race intensity specific training in your program, with the primary focus being closer to the event.

Episode 352: Proper Aid Station Navigation

This one is a bit more aimed towards ultramarathon runners, as aid station navigation becomes a bigger variable. I break down how to structure your behavior leading into an aid station, once you are there, and how to get out without wasting too much time. I also discuss how I structure a plan A, B, and C when it comes to fueling and meeting those needs in an aid station.

Episode 363: Mental Training For Endurance

This episode teaches you how to break down a race into sections and master the thought process throughout the race. It highlights how you can use both your training sessions, and day to day life to recognize and practice a good race day strategy. Most of you are already doing things intuitively, and simply acknowledging them often can go a long way in helping that same thought process happen more naturally when out on the race course.