How running slower makes you faster

It's true: slow runs help make you faster on race day. ... of the comfort zone and into the hurt locker at a pace we know we can't sustain for very long. BacktogridSharethisarticleFacebookTwitterGoogle+EmailHowrunningslowermakesyoufasterIt’strue:slowrunshelpmakeyoufasteronraceday.Weaskedelitecoachesandathletestoexplainwhy. Ifyouthinkelitedistancerunnersarespendingeverytrainingsessionpushingthemselvesatsuperhumanpaces,thinkagain.Infact,whilethemileageaproputsinthebankeachweekisoutofreachformostofus,muchofthisvolumeisdoneatpacesthatsounddistinctly,well,human. Whysoslow?Weaskedworld-classOnathletesandcoachestoexplainhowincreasedmileageatslowerspeedscanmakeyoufaster–andhowwecanincorporateitintoourrunningregimes.Beforewegettotheirrun-fasterrecommendations,however,weneedtounderstandabitofsportsscience101– thedifferencebetweenaerobicandanaerobictraining.  Aerobicvs.anaerobictrainingAerobicactivityisdefinedbytheAmericanCollegeofSportsMedicine(ASCM)“anyactivitythatuseslargemusclegroups,canbemaintainedcontinuouslyandisrhythmicinnature.” Thekeywordinthedefinitionasappliedtorunningis“continuously." Aerobicrunningiseasyrunningatbelow80%ofyourmaximumheartrate.Runninginthisaerobiczonemaximizesanathlete’sabilitytoburnfatasafuelsource.It’srunningatthekindofpacewhereyouthinkyoucouldgoforever. Intheaerobiczoneyourbodyusesoxygentopowerthemuscles,fuellingthemwithbothglycogen(carbohydratestoredinthemuscles)andfat(itspreferredenergysource).Withthispowercocktailoffuel,yourmusclescankeepgoing.Andgoing.Andgoing.  Anaerobictrainingiswhathappenswhenyoukicktheintensityupafewgears.TheASCMdefinesitas“intensephysicalactivityofveryshortduration,fueledbytheenergysourceswithinthecontractingmusclesandindependentoftheuseofinhaledoxygenasanenergysource.” Inplainerrunningterms,wearenowoutofthecomfortzoneandintothehurtlockeratapaceweknowwecan’tsustainforverylong.   Whenwegettoabove80%ofourmaximumheartrate,weentertheanaerobiczone.Here,westopusingoxygentopowerthemusclesandwithoutoxygenwecan’tburnmuchfat.Thismeans,asstatedintheabovedefinition,werelyontheenergystoredwithinourmuscles.Theprimaryenergysourcewithinmusclesisglycogenandourglycogenreservesareusedupmuchfasterthanourfatstores.Atsuchhighheartrates,glycogenislessefficientandyieldslessenergy.Evenfullytoppedupwithpre-racepastapartycarb-loadingandgoodbreakfast,ourglycogenstoreswillonlypowerusforlessthantwohours.Ifyou’rerunningamarathon,that’sonlyenoughifyouplanonbreakingtheworldrecord.  Whenyoupushyourselfintotheanaerobiczonetheneventuallyyou’llrunoutofglycogen.Thiswillnotbepretty.Runningoutofglycogeniswhatweallknowanddreadas“hittingthewall”or“bonking.”Enteringananaerobicstateisalsothepointwherelacticacidreallystartstobuildupinthemuscles.Thisbiologicalmechanismstopsyoupushingyourmusclesbeyondtheirlimitsbyslowingyoudown.It’sacleverevolutionarytrick,butit’snotgoingtohelpyougetthatnewPRyouwerehopingfor.  Thekeyouttakehereforlongdistancerunnersisthatwewantourbodiesperformingintheaerobiczoneforaslongaspossibleonraceday.Whichmeansweneedtotrainourbodiesintheaerobiczonesowecangofasterbyburningfatwithoutgobblingglycogen.Youcanprobablyseewherethisisgoing…  Easydayseasy,harddayshardChancesarethepaceofyourregularrunlandssomewhererightinthemiddleof“thisfeelseasy”and“IthinkI’mgoingtopassout.”Thatpointistheboundarybetweentheaerobicactivity,whichyoucandoforalongtime,andtheanaerobicactivity,whichyoucanonlydoforashorttime.Butwhatmightfeellikeyoursweetspotisconsideredbymanycoachestobemoreofatemponoman’slandinbetweenthetwoactivitytypes.  Whiletherearecertainlybenefitstogettingouttherenomatterthepace,therespectivetrainingbenefitsofaerobicandanaerobictrainingcomemoreefficientlywhenyoufocusononeortheotherineachsession.Astheoldadagegoes,runeasydayseasyandharddayshard.Thismeansrunningmostofyourmilesateasierpaces,interspersingthisaerobictrainingwithsomehard,out-of-the-comfortzoneefforts(moreonthatlater).  “Ourelitemarathonerstypicallyrun85-90%oftheirtrainingvolumeintheaerobiczone,”saysAndrewKastor,HeadCoachoftheMammothTrackClubinMammoth,California,US.  It’sasimilarstoryoverattheOnZapEnduranceteambasedoutofBlowingRock,NorthCarolina,US,accordingtoEliteAthleteCoachPeteRea:“Duringmarathonpreparationroughly75-78%ofourathletes’totalweeklyvolumeisrunatpacesslowerthantargetmarathonrhythms.”   Howslowshouldyougo? Sowhatistherightpaceforyouraerobicworkout?Atriedandtestedwayofstayingintheaerobiczoneistokeepyourheartrateatnomorethan80%ofyourmaxwhileyourun.Mostsmartwatchesnowadayswilldothesecalculationsforyou,definingclearzones,butyoucanalsodothemathyourselfprovidedyouhaveaheartratemonitor. Toestimateyourmaximumheartrate,simplysubtractyouragefrom220.E.g.,A30-year-oldwouldhaveamaxheartrateof220-30=190beatsperminute.  Onceyouknowyourmaxyoucanworkbackwardstodetermineyourheartratezones.Whenyouwanttoimproveyouraerobicperformanceyouneedtostayinthefirstthreezonesdefinedbelow.    ApplyingtheseHRzonestopacingrecommendationsisdifficult,butasaguide,itisusuallyatleast90secondspermile(56secondsperkilometer)slowerthanyourtargetracepace. Fornon-eliteathletes,coachLukeHumphrey,themainproponentofthefamousHanson’sMarathonMethod,recommends1:30–2:30minutespermile(around1:00–1:30minutesperkilometer)slowerthangoalracepace.Atthefasterendofthisrange,you’relikelyinHRzones2–3.Attheslowerend,you’llbeinHRzones1–2.  Whilethemainthingistoensureyou’renotcreepingintotheanaerobicHRzone4,itcanbegoodtovarythepacingofyouraerobicruns.Onthedayfollowingahardaerobicsession,forexample,stayinginZones1–2willsupportrecovery.Otherdays,ifyou’refeelinggood,Zone3runningisgoingtobringsolidbenefits.  CreepingintolowZone4isnotwhereyouwanttobe–besttosavethoseanaerobiceffortsforthereallytoughworkoutswhereyou’llbefirmlyinZone4andmaybeZone5forshortperiods.Ifyou’reinterestedincalculatingtrainingpacesforthedifferentsessions,TheHanson’sMethodCalculatorisausefultool.   Thefrequencyanddistanceofyouraerobicrunningdependsonyourgoals,ofcourse,butagoodguideisprovidedbytheprocoachesabove.Theyprescribeupto90%ofthetotaltrainingvolumeasaerobicfortheirmarathonrunners.It’sworthnotingthatwhilethiswouldnotberecommendedforsprinters,anyrunnertargetingaracedistanceofover5kmcanapplythisphilosophywithgreateffect.Ofcourse,thelongeryourgoaldistance,thelongertheLSD(LongSlowDistance)runsyoushouldworkintoyourplan.Asanotherruleofthumb,andinlinewiththeHanson’sMarathonMethod,twoanaerobicworkoutsaweekaretheabsolutemaximum,andatleastonedayaweekshouldbededicatedtocompleterestorlow-impactcrosstraininglikecyclingorswimming.  ThebenefitsofaerobictrainingIfyou’renewtofocusedaerobictraining,makingslowerpacesyourgo-tomayseemtoogoodtobetrueatfirst.Ifyou’reusedtojustrunningbyfeel,you’lllikelyhavetroublekeepingthelowerheartratezonesandbetemptedtopickupthepace.  However,as2018IronmanWorldChampionshipsrunner-upBartAernouts (pictured)saidwhenstoppedbyOnHQrecently,“aslowruncanonlybetoofast,nottooslow.”Bart’sreallyeasyrunsarepacedbetween6:54/mile(4:17/km)and8:03/mile(5:00/km).That’snotsuperslow,butsomeofyouarelikelyrunningmostofyourrunsatasimilarpace–andyou’relikelynotoneofonlytwomentofinishtheiconicKonaIronmancourseinundereighthours,runninga2:45:41marathon,averaging6:19/mile(3:56/km)aftera2.4-mile(3.86km)swim,anda112-mile(180.25km)rideintheHawaiianheat.Ifthat’sthecase,it’stimetoslowitdown.   Bart’sphilosophyisthatdoingmoreworkatlowerintensitiesreallybenefitsyouinthelongrun(punintended).Whileothersmightbetrainingatahigherintensitymoreregularly,theyalsogetinjuredmoreoften.Andwhiletheyarerecovering,Bartisstilltraining,leadingtoahighervolumeoverall.  Andthat’sjustthestartofthelistofbenefitsthatshouldleadyoutomakeslowrunsyourgo-totrainingmethod.  “Whenrunningintheaerobictrainingzone,anathlete’sabilitytoburnfatasafuelsourceincreasesandbecomesoptimized,”CoachAndrewKastorexplains.“Fatutilizationduringrunningplaysamajorroleincompletingamarathonatadesiredgoalpace.”  “Atthecellularlevel,slowaerobicrunningdevelopsaerobicenzymesandmitochondrialdensitywhichhelpsincreaseaerobicenergyproduction.”  “Italsobuildsresistancetofatiguesoyoubecomedurabletothelonggrindthatismarathontraining.Lastbutnotleast,italsoallowsanathlete’smindtorelaxandenjoythepleasureofthesport.” ButasCoachPeteReapointsout,whileslowertrainingisabigpartofoptimizedendurancetraining,it’snottheonlyelement.  “Easierrunningallowsathletestorecoverfromharderworkoutsandcontinuestostrengthenconnectivetissueandexpandcapillarybedproductionthroughoutthebuildup.Fromamentalstandpointaswellcontrolledaerobicrunningletsmarathonersrejuvenatebetweenthosetoughermorespecificsessions.” AwinningcombinationTherearealsohugefitnessbenefitstobehadfromthemorefocusedspeedsessionsCoachRearefersto–remember,easyrunseasybuthardrunshard.Hardsessionscommonlytaketheformofintervalworkoutsthatpushyoufirmlybeyondyouraerobicthresholdandintotheanaerobiczone,aka“thepaincave.” Anaerobicworkoutsbuildstrengthandexplosivepowerthatyouwanttohaveinyourarsenal,especiallyasyoucruiseintothefinalstagesofarace.  Ifyou’reinterestedinlearningmoreaboutanaerobicintervals,checkoutourintroductiontointervaltraining.Butbeforeyoudo,takeyourtimetoabsorbthemessagehere:thataddingmoreeasyrunscouldbethekeytounlockingtheenduranceandspeedyouneedforanewpersonalbest,allwhileenhancingrecoveryandlimitingthelikelihoodofinjury. Asbackedupbyscienceandprovenbyeliteathletes,slowandsteadyreallydoeswintherace.  Seetheshoeseliteathletesusefortheiraerobictrainingandfindtheoptionthat’srightforyouinourcompleteguidetosupportshoes.  Befirsttohearaboutourlatestreleases,specialoffersandtrainingtipsbysigningupfortheOnNewsletter.ShoppingforSelect...-PleaseSelect-MaleFemaleUnisexEmailFirstNameLastNameBysigninguptoournewsletter,youagreetoOn’sPrivacyPolicy.SubscribeTags:OntheRoadIntervalsMarathonSupportshoesBacktobasicsTechProfile:Theall-newCloudaceThenext-genCloudaceoffersunrivaledroadprotectionwithoutcompromise.Maximumsupport,cushioning,comfortandspeed,inonepackage.SeriouslyAce.MySupportStory:PhilippBosshardistheUltimateComebackKingSometimes,youneedsupportwhenyouleastexpectit.InspirationalSwissrunnerandathletePhilippBosshardsufferedcatastrophicinjuriesinanaccident,buthassincefoundthestrengthtocompete.Now,he’splanningtoparticipateinIronmanFlorida.TheCloudboomandtheCloudflash:What’sthedifference?TheCloudboomandCloudflashgotogethe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