Training to Train

Many years ago, at a time when I had just started running for a coach who was a proponent of lots of hard interval workouts, I had a brief exchange with him that has stuck in my mind ever since.

My training partners and I had done a couple of workouts with him already. My recollection is that they weren't too tough, but they WERE structured differently than what I was used to. The volume was light, but they were quite fast. After the second such workout, I asked him about the purpose of this kind of training, and his response was: "You're doing this workout to train for the workouts to come."

Now, I don't think the details of those workouts matter that much, and I can't remember them anyway. But the concept of training to prepare for training made a lot of sense to me. I think I had always operated as if there was a direct and immediate connection between training and racing -- that this week's workout would benefit next week's race. The idea that you did such-and-such workouts to prepare for other workouts was new to me. My coach's response neatly encapsulated the idea that one could focus on one aspect of training or one physiological system as a foundation for work on other aspects and other systems. It would later resonate with my subjective experience when I was involved in periods of training when racing was the last thing on my mind and I was completely focused on surviving the crucible of a series of tough workouts.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because like many, I'm deep into my own summer training now, and I'm focusing on building a foundation to support harder training to come. I've been really enjoying this process, without worrying about racing at all. There's something very satisfying about being able to handle harder sessions on the track or longer tempo runs and beginning to notice yourself recovering well and eager for the next round of workouts.

I think a lot of people -- a lot of athletes, a lot of coaches -- assume that summer is nothing but base mileage, and that ANY fast running is out of place. I'm not convinced this is right. While it might be of secondary importance, I think fast running has a place in base training.

Looking at the calendar, I see that there are only 19 weeks until my cross country team lines up on a cold day in November for their final meet of the season. Preparing for that final test means preparing to prepare. Do I want them running long, hard intervals in the early weeks of October? Then I need a plan for how to get them ready to handle those hard sessions. Shouldn't that plan include a gradual introduction to fast running?

I don't mean to suggest that summer speed is the most important element of such preparation. When I prioritize summer training goals for my runners, I generally stress adapting to daily running and impact stress, developing a significant aerobic base, working on core strength, and establishing habits of good nutrition and adequate sleep. I'm confident these are the most helpful for building a foundation for hard training to come.

But for my experienced runners I don't discourage fartlek runs, tempo runs, low-key races, strides, and other forms of faster running. I wouldn't even rule out some work on the track, if I were able to supervise it, which I'm not.

We tend to forget that fast running is fun and motivating. Feeling faster makes you feel more engaged and committed so that you start looking forward to more training. I think the key is doing enough to increase comfort with faster running, while holding back from any heavy servings of speed that would be more suitable later in season.

I'm fortunate that among my readers are coaches with much more experience than me. I'm curious as to whether you encourage your athletes to incorporate faster running into summer plans, or whether you steer them away from that.