With the race calendar for 2020 not looking like any of us envisaged at the start of the year, it’s difficult to know how to plan your training. Add in the necessary restrictions right now and we need to get creative. We spoke to On ZAP Endurance coach Ryan Warrenburg about how best to stay in shape for when racing is back on the agenda.
Many runners were in the middle of a training plan for a particular race that has now been postponed, maybe indefinitely. What should they do now?
Coach Ryan: “The best thing you can do in a situation where your race is no longer happening and there are no races on the calendar is revert back to base training. This is a great opportunity to focus on your aerobic foundation with a combination of easy miles and moderate workouts that are done at 75-85% effort.
“Marathon-paced tempo runs and light fartlek (varying speed and/or terrain) are perfect examples of these types of workouts. You could include shorter hills as well to improve power and efficiency.
“Aerobic training and muscular endurance in those slow-twitch muscle fibers tend to be the limiting factors for most distance runners so spending some time working on this neglected area is time well spent.
Moderate, aerobic training can also be sustained for a relatively long period of time without risking overtraining or burnout so in a situation where the timetable is uncertain, this is the best place to spend most of your training time.
“This is also a great time to work on weakness through strength training. Balancing running with strength training can be a difficult time management and energy balance so this makes for a perfect time to shore up some of those weaknesses. Building the aerobic foundation along with strength exercises will allow you to be at your best when it's time to train hard again and there are races to be run.”