running training
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Nine different types of running training

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Do you run, run and run and can not improve your running times or increase your kilometers? Maybe it’s because you always run in the same way, at the same pace or with the same intensity. Career training, if we want to improve our brands, must be formed by different types of training. And it is that running is not just running.

If you want to know what these different types of career training and how to combine them to improve your marks or to prepare for a longer career, we explain below …

running training
Image Source: Google Image

The Different Types of Career Training

The usual thing to do when training is to set a specific goal in mind : it can be to participate in a longer distance than what we are accustomed to (take the 10-kilometer jump to the half-marathon, or from the average to the marathon, or an ultra) or improve our brand at a specific distance (for example, lower 50 minutes in the 10 kilometers, as we are doing with our challenge this quarter).

To train with a specific objective implies a periodization and organization of the trainings : when we have a goal we can not go running “to see how it gives me” if we want to meet our objectives. Our trainings will have to understand different types of outings that we will have to combine to improve gradually.

Short throws or short distance outs

Short runs are usually done at a similar pace to the one we are going to wear on the day of the race and, as short distance courses, we can combine them with our strength training or career technique, both essential for improving as corridors.

This type of training, being of moderate intensity and not very long duration, are ideal to perform near the longest or most demanding workouts, such as long runs or series training, respectively.

Long runs or long distance outs

Long runs are preferred by many runners as they run at a slower pace than usual, although they are always longer distances . But they are perfect to organize “pachangas” with friends and go out to jog in group. Not in vain, they are usually left for the morning of the weekend, when there is more time and you can make groups of more runners who make the kilometers more enjoyable.

The function of long runs is to add kilometers to prepare our legs for a big effort , such as a half marathon or a marathon. Depending on the distance of our target race, this will have to be the longest run we make , following a proportional rule.

Long series

If we want to improve our race times, the training of series should be part of our usual routine , usually once a week or once every two weeks alternating with other trainings of different series (of which we will talk next: short series, in pyramid, ascending …).

The long series, usually one kilometer, two kilometers or more, depending on our overall training, our physical state and the distance we are going to run, are running at a rate a little faster than our race pace and require a rest a little prolonged to allow the pulsations to come back down (about two minutes, depending on each runner).

You may also like to read: The seven most frequent errors of runners in summer

Short series

The short runs are one of the most feared training for runners, and it is that they require a very large effort, which usually requires that the day after this training is a day of rest. The most common short series are usually 100, 200 or 500 meters, although you can also run other distances, and require running much faster than our target race pace.

Here the challenge is to maintain a same rhythm in all the series or even to improve it as we advance in the training. It is very common to think of giving everything in the first 100 and to go for the following: here, more than ever, we must remember that of “running with head.”

They are very beneficial in increasing our speed and also to improve our maximum consumption of oxygen or VO2max, one of the most important parameters when assessing our general physical condition.

running training
Image Source: Google Image

Series in pyramid

The race series is always an entertaining training (more than a long run, as a rule), but the series in pyramid are, in this category, perhaps one of the training that we like the runners.

The series in pyramid combine short and long series that combine in the form of (oh, surprise) pyramid. For example, we can do a training of 200-400-800-1000-1500-1000-800-400-200 in which we will have previously marked the rhythm that we must carry in each of the series (faster in the shorter series and a little slower, but always at a series pace, in the longest).

Attempting to maintain the right pace in each series without breaking into the first is a challenge when we perform this type of training. And knowing that once you have reached the longest series and you only have to “go down” gives you many spirits to keep running.

Ascending series

As you can see, there are a large number of series trainings that we can carry out. The ascending series (usually in mileage) are another of the trainings that we can include in our planning, especially for long distances such as the marathon.

The ascending series training forces us to maintain our series pace (a little higher than our race pace) over longer and longer distances. As in other trainings, the key here is not to overestimate the first series and know how to reserve energies for the work that lies ahead: a very important lesson in the longest distances if you want to reach the goal.

Descending Series

As there are ascending series, there are also descendants, both in mileage and in time. The most common are the series descending in mileage: we usually carry out five or six series in which we are reducing the distance we travel while we slightly increase the pace with which we run.

It is a demanding training that we should not abuse, but that can work very well for both average distances (such as the half marathon) and to improve our times over shorter distances (such as 10 kilometers). Especially important in this training is to do the series with head (without undoing at first, since we will have to increase the speed with the passage of time) and controlling well the pulsations and the rhythms with the aid of a pulsometer.

Series in slope

Does the race for which you are preparing have an altimetry that is not quite favorable for the rider? Do you have to face slides and a race rather? In that case, the series in slope should be part of your training if you want to get well prepared on “D-day.”

The series in slope are generally of short duration or distance, at a rate somewhat slower that of the short series, and are able to put to tone our buttocks and twins. A hard training but that is very worthwhile in preparation for an unfavorable terrain.

running training
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Fartlek training or rhythm changes

In addition to the series training, another type of training session similar but not the same as we should include in our routine is the training fartlek. We already talked about the differences between series and fartlek before, but the main point that differentiates them is that the fartlek is governed more by our personal sensations when running instead of by the rhythm that the pulsometer marks us.

In fartlek training breaks between periods of work are often active, keeping us at a trot while we lower the pulsations. Once we are ready to face the next series (always guided by our sensations), we continue with the training.

How do I combine the different types of career training?

Now that we know the different types of career training we can do, the next question is how do I combine it to get the best out of my planning and to get well prepared on the day of the race?

In order to answer this question we have to take into account different factors: what is our initial state of form at the beginning of the planning, what is our objective on the day of the race (if it is just finished – which is already a triumph – or is it make a set time), how much time we have to train, how many days a week we think to do it …

In general during the week a day of long roll, one of short roll, and one or two of series or fartlek are combined, making combinations between these last ones and the different types of series of which we have spoken.

Of course, we should not overlook at least one day of strength training in which we would include a full body or full body routine, either with our own body weight or with external loads, and a day of career technique.

As you see, career training is a demanding workout that is not just about putting on your shoes and going outside to burn off the soles, if we are running for a specific purpose. What is your favorite training?

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