Body adaptation: Aerobic development and recovery. You are training the movement pattern as you focus on form, breathing, and relaxation. This easy activity stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is essential for moderating stress.
Common mistakes:
Timing your jog for speed.
Getting frustrated with the slow pace.
Running above your MAHR.
Threshold or tempo run
The threshold is the top-end aerobic pace, right at the line between aerobic and anaerobic—the fastest you can run without generating more acidity than you can recycle back into energy. Called the anaerobic threshold, this is the pace you could sustain for at least thirty up to sixty minutes once you are fit (around the pace for a 10K run).
For these runs, warm up nice and easy for at least ten minutes with a relaxed jog.
Choose an out-and-back or loop course you enjoy that is uninterrupted by traffic. A track works well for shorter distances. Run at comfortable, hard effort, building from fifteen minutes up to thirty minutes. Your effort and heart rate (if you wear a heart rate monitor) should be constant from week to week. (As you become more efficient, your pace will increase naturally.)
Body adaptation: Relaxed speed. Improved running economy; improved aerobic development (remember, this is below anaerobic threshold). Improved understanding of pacing.
Common mistakes:
Running “all out” or thinking of it as a race.
Checking your watch and wanting to follow specific times.
Thinking you need to improve time with each successive run. Instead, think fast and relaxed.
Fartlek
Running should be fun. A fartlek is a type of fun running that was first done in Sweden in the 1930s and is practiced by runners and coaches to this day. The word literally means “speed play.”
Speed up and slow down according to how you feel—not by any set pace or time interval. This is how a child runs. Make the recovery portions relaxed. This is a great way to work on form, relaxation, dynamic stretching, and strength.
Make it up as you go. Run quick and relaxed to telephone poles, up hills, to a target that you randomly pick out. Like play, there is no time or distance outcome. The fast segments can be thirty seconds to a few minutes, with the total run time between twenty and forty minutes, or longer once you’re fit and ready. Pick a fun, scenic route with little traffic. Warm up for ten minutes, then run the whole mix of paces over an undulating terrain. Mix in some sprints, hills, and strides for a minute or two, then recover between the speed segments. Keep your level of effort below the anaerobic threshold. Cool down for ten minutes.
Body adaptation: Aerobic development and coordination. Relaxed leg speed. Increasing strength (especially if you include sprinting up some hills).
Common mistakes:
Making this a structured workout with a set time or pace.
Making this hard and anaerobic for long segments.
Not recovering between speed segments.
Intervals
Intervals improve your ability to run at your anaerobic threshold and teach you to buffer acidity (which is easier because of your already-large aerobic base). They also help you rehearse race speeds, without being overly taxing. The goal is to feel that you have made a strong effort, but haven’t gone all out.
To run intervals, start by warming up for ten minutes with a jog and then some light, quick, short strides. Then choose a distance or duration—measured in minutes or laps—for a higher level of effort that you feel comfortable repeating (with a recovery period after each). The total time of faster running intervals (broken into segments) can be five minutes for the beginner, and up to twenty minutes for the more advanced runner. The recovery (slower running) period should be of equal time to the faster interval. (When doing intervals for long-distance training, however, the recovery rest time can be shorter than your interval.) Allow your heart rate to recover to 120–130 bpm—until you feel ready to go again. Stop the workout if you struggle to hold your pace or suspect that your form is compromised.
You should always end this workout feeling as if you could do another interval if you had to. Cool down with an easy ten-minute jog.
Body adaptation: Relaxed speed. Good pacing. Elevated anaerobic threshold, and tolerance to oxygen debt.
Common mistakes:
Trying to run a set time, and running all out and too fast. Times are not important. You’re working for physiological and strength adaptations.
Too short of a recovery jog.
Trying to race (or keep up with) a group above your level.
Hills
Many runners fear hills and avoid them. But running up and down hills at a comfortable pace, with good technique, develops strength. It’s like a free gym workout—outside! And running downhill is a fun way to develop relaxed speed and work on form.
The course can be a loop with a couple of hills ranging from a hundred meters to a half mile. If you’re lucky to live in the mountains, you can climb for a couple of miles and then run swiftly down. As a beginner, don’t try to run fast on the uphills. Remain tall with your chest up and open. Look forward, but resist the tendency to look down and bend at the waist. Keep your stride short, and use your glutes to push and spring off the ground.
Practice running efficiently and quickly on the downhills. Think: Run over the ground and not into the ground. On the uphills, your heart rate will exceed your MAHR, but should remain below your anaerobic threshold.
Body adaptation: Leg strength (uphill); leg speed, coordination, and mobility (downhill). Aerobic development.
Common mistakes:
Running too fast and straining on the hills—at the expense of good form and going into oxygen debt.
Running too hard (with high impact) on the downhills. Remember: good downhill running is a skill.
Strides
Strides, also known as pickups, develop speed and coordination. This is a form of dynamic stretching, coordination, and strength work over short distances. No acidity accumulates. It should be fun! All animals (humans included) love short sprints. Strides make you a better runner for both short and long events.
After a thorough warm-up, during a run, or at the end of a run, do four to eight pickups of 50 to 80 meters by gradually speeding up to a sprint, then slowing back down. A grass field is ideal. Accelerate naturally and progressively, and decelerate slowly. Give yourself a full recovery between each pickup, even though these aren’t a true workout. The goal is to not develop acidity or fatigue. Each sprint should feel progressively easier and quicker as you loosen up. Focus on form and relaxed speed.
Body adaptation: Strengthens and adds mobility to the key running muscles and tendons. Develops coordination and skill.
Common mistakes:
Running too hard and long during the strides, such that your form breaks down.
Not recovering between strides (and allowing acidity to build in muscles).
Thinking of these as “workouts” that need to be done harder and faster each time.
Attempting high-intensity interval training (HIIT) before you feel coordinated, strong, pain-free, and safe in your strides. The reward of HIIT is high, but so is the risk if your form and function are not correct.
Drills
The drills in this program first develop coordination through repetition of correct movement. As you progress, they add strength and mobility. As with sprints, these should be fun and a bit challenging!
Work on mastering the movement before trying to add speed or power to the drills. A grass field is the ideal surface. Give yourself a full recovery between sets. Beginning runners following the 5K plan should stick with jumping rope, lateral jumps, four squ
are, heel lifts, grapevines, and razor scooter (for correct form, review the videos at runforyourlifebook.com). If you have access to a TrueForm Runner, spend some time on it!
Those following our half-marathon and marathon plans can progress to tougher drills, such as ABCD skips, running in place with a tether, and more. Execute your drills a few times a week, or even daily at the end of a run. Mix it up. Have fun.
Body adaptation: Strengthens and adds mobility to the key muscles and tendons used in running. Develops running skills and coordination.
Common mistakes:
Doing drills with incorrect form.
Not recovering between sets.
Applying power before mastering the movement.
Cross-train
Pick a time to dedicate thirty minutes to a relaxed, enjoyable activity. Swimming, biking, CrossFit, gym work, yoga, hiking…it’s all good as long as it’s not stressful, and it promotes relaxation and recovery.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that everyone try to get thirty minutes of physical activity daily with the safe guideline of increasing running volume no more than 10 percent a week. Different activities allow you to recover from the tissue stresses of running, especially for the beginner. Cross-training isn’t specific to running, though, so don’t assume that it will greatly assist you in passing your PT test.
Body adaptation: Continued aerobic development, as well as sport-specific strength.
Common mistakes:
Going too hard on recovery cross-training days.
Using poor technique in the cross-training activity, adding to existing mechanical stress on tissues.
Assuming that the cross-training will make you run faster.
If you are using cross-training during an injury, assuming that when the injury is healed you can jump back into the same volume and intensity of running as you were doing in cross-training sessions. The tissue load of running is different, even if you are “fit.”
Pre-event practice race
This is a race simulation done at a comfortably hard running pace, but not all out. The goal is to develop rhythm, relaxation, and pacing at higher speeds, while maximally tapping your aerobic system. (You may become slightly anaerobic, which helps develop tolerance to acidity and fatigue.) This can be done at an actual race too. A half marathon is a good practice race for a marathon.
This should be done four to six weeks out from your event, and you can make it one of your long runs around that time. It will build confidence in what you can do on the day of your event. In fact, try to replicate what you will do on race day. Wear similar clothes and footwear, find a similar course, eat similarly, and warm up for ten minutes. Do a few light strides. Do not stretch. Try using positive affirmations before and during the run. Chart your progress!
Body adaptation: An elevated anaerobic threshold, and rehearsal for relaxed speed.
Common mistakes:
Going 100 percent. Try 95 percent. Finish strong and save your best for event day.
Starting out too fast, then slowing at the end.
Trying to run faster each time.
Maximum aerobic function test (MAFT)
(Used with permission of Dr. Phil Maffetone.)
This test measures improvements in aerobic speed (at the same time that you are working on building your foundation for aerobic running). If you are running faster at the same aerobic heart rate, it means you are building aerobic speed. Without an objective measurement, you can fool yourself into thinking you’re progressing.
Perform the MAFT on a track or measured flat distance with your heart rate monitor, by running at the maximum aerobic heart rate (MAHR) found with Dr. Maffetone’s 180 Formula. A distance of three to five miles will provide good data, although a one-mile test still has value. Do the test following an easy warm-up.
Below is an example of a baseline MAFT performed by running on a track, at a constant heart rate of 145, in minutes per mile:
Mile 1: 11:32
Mile 2: 11:46
Mile 3: 11:49
Beginning runners should do a MAFT regularly. Others should perform the test now and then throughout the year. For instance:
Chart your progress, and note the improvement!
Body adaptation: Growth of capillaries, mitochondria, fat-burning capacity, and more relaxed running form. Your aerobic system is improving, enabling you to run faster with the same effort. Your times will slowly improve!
Common mistakes:
Running different courses in different conditions for the test. For instance, a hot, windy day won’t result in the same time (at the same effort) as a cool, calm day.
Doing the test on a day when you’re fatigued.
Not warming up.
Choosing too long of a distance when you are first starting this test. One or two miles is good for a new runner.
“Cheating” and running faster than your predetermined MAHR.
Appendix IV
A SELECTION OF BOOKS ON RUNNING AND HEALTHY LIVING
Here are some of what I’ve found to be the best reads on the art and science of exercise physiology, running mechanics, footwear, injury prevention, and training for runners of all ages and abilities.
The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing and The Big Book of Health and Fitness, by Dr. Philip Maffetone. These two books are must-reads for understanding the basics of aerobic versus anaerobic activity, as well as ADS (aerobic deficiency syndrome). Maffetone trained legendary athletes Mark Allen, Mike Pigg, and Stu Mittleman. The principles that he outlines—including important sections on diet—work equally well for entry-level and high-level runners.
Anatomy for Runners, by Jay Dicharry. This is the tool kit for runners, coaches, and the medical providers who are treating them. Learn how your body works, and how to reset it to achieve better health. (Jay has worked closely with me on the USAF Efficient Running project.)
Tread Lightly, by Peter Larson and Bill Katovsky. This book nicely covers the science of running and running shoes, as well as the scientific principles of running form, the effects of footwear, and healthier running in general. Our work here is highlighted throughout this book.
Your Best Stride and Run Strong, Stay Hungry, by Jonathan Beverly. A good friend for many years and former editor of Running Times shares simple lessons from many of the best runners over the past fifty years. I’m proud to have a part in both of these books.
Healthy Intelligent Training, by Keith Livingstone. The time-tested Lydiard Method is outlined in this insightful volume, with easy-to-follow instructions. These are the lessons and methods of the Coach of Champions, who helped introduce “jogging” to America.
The Oxygen Advantage, by Patrick McKeown. This book got me thinking about the effects of optimal versus poor breathing not just for sports and my own life, but for the care of my medical patients. Not a day goes by when I’m not sharing something from this book. We all need to breathe.
Whole Body Barefoot, Simple Steps to Foot Pain Relief, Movement Matters, and Move Your DNA, by Katy Bowman. This prolific writer and movement specialist carefully shows how our modern lifestyle is killing us. These four books are a good primer on the importance of the feet, how to move more of them, and more of you.
Primal Endurance, by Mark Sisson and Brad Kearns. Ancestral principles applied to food, movement, sleep, stress, and longevity. Become a fat-burning beast!
Slow Jogging, by Hiroaki Tanaka. I had the privilege of writing the foreword to this important and insightful book about the value of slow jogging as the path back to health and reduction of injuries.
ChiRunning, 2nd edition, by Danny Dreyer. I’m likewise honored to have written the foreword. Danny and I share a passion for learning and unde
rstanding the basics of movement.
Challenging Beliefs, by Tim Noakes. A world leader in exercise science challenges much of conventional wisdom on topics of nutrition, hydration, and endurance performance.
Explosive Running, 2nd edition, by Michael Yessis. A clear explanation of how to be fast and efficient.
The Story of the Human Body, by Daniel E. Lieberman. The Harvard evolutionary biologist (and friend), known as the “barefoot professor,” explains what our bodies were designed for, focusing on the prevalence of “mismatch diseases” caused by environmental and cultural vectors that we’re not adapted for.
Aerobics, by Kenneth H. Cooper. This groundbreaking short book on the science of aerobic health is just as relevant today as when it was released in 1968.
Jogging, by William J. Bowerman and W. E. Harris. Legendary New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard inspired Bill Bowerman, a cofounder of Nike, to introduce jogging to America. Soon thousands were running for fun and health. Go forward by looking back!
Serious Runner’s Handbook, by Tom Osler. A slim, commonsense guide to healthy running, published in 1976, that is still relevant today.
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