Recovery from races

cfitz wrote: »

Tergat, would you apply that advice to your top athletes? I would have thought that high mileage athletes would be safe to do a hard workout much sooner than that. For example, if we think of one of the good Irish middle distance guys, maybe someone like Mark Hanrahan - if he were to run a full effort 5 mile race on Sunday, he'd be best just to do recovery runs until Saturday?

cfitz,

If my athletes run a 800m, 1500m, or 3000m on say a Saturday I will have them do a medium intensity workout on Tuesday e.g. LT Workout with 4-6*8-10 secs uphill sprints afterwards with full recovery, but very controlled workout. Then on the Friday I will have them do a harder workout when they are fully recovered.For a guy running a 5000m I will wait until Thur/Fri after a race Sat so they are fully recovered.

A guy like Mark Hanrahan who runs 85-100 miles a week consistently has a huge aerobic base so can recover quicker than an athlete with a lesser base. He may be ready to do another workout maybe Wed/Thur depending on how he feels. But more often than not Irish athletes will hop on the track 2 days after a race and what happens? Injury or poor race performances.

People underestimate the importance of recovery and have in their minds that if they dont 'kill' themselves in workouts they will not improve. Simply put, it makes no sense to hammer away at hard workouts for weeks and months on end because injury, illness, and mental burnout occur. However, one can train to a high level of running fitness without doing really hard workouts; and there is a low chance of bad things happening.

Key factors people need to look at are as follows:

1) Performance level. A fitter runner can absorb more fast running without breaking down.

2) Training consistency. A runner who trains at a decent level for several weeks or months without having setbacks or time off due to injury or illness can handle more quality training per workout and per week.

3) Technical skill. Someone who "pounds the ground," overstrides, leans too much or pronates too much is more likely to have problems when doing high volume quality training.

4) Weekly aerobic volume. A runner who has been covering more miles per week, for several weeks, can handle more quality interval work than one who has been doing lower mileage over a shorter time-frame.

5) Life stress. If you work a lot and have family obligations, you can't do as much quality interval training per workout or per week as someone who is "stress-free."

You can only train as hard as you can recover!

Tergat

Tingle wrote: »

How would you approach an athlete having to go through rounds? Maybe more relevant to elite elites who are at majors like worlds and euro but say a 1:53 800m man who would need to put a decent 800m on a saturday together to make a final on Sunday at the Nationals. With the competitive nature of 8's in Ireland he would have to treat saturday almost as a final yet be geared to be racing his best on the Sunday. Do you train to be able to handle this? Or if an athlete is going to have to potentially run 3 races in 4 days do you train to be able to handle this?

Tingle,

Interesting question, it is a hard one to call. I would not change anything, just make sure the athlete is fresh going into the competition and have a solid aerobic system in place. I think if you have a solid aerobic foundation then this will get you through rounds or consecutive races. I have never trained athletes for this as such, I have just made sure they have solid endurance.

Those with weak endurance will suffer in rounds or racing on consecutive days. Another question to ponder is would it be worthwhile to do back to back workout days to teach your body to handle the stress? Kenyans do it but then again look at the huge aerobic base they have built up over the years. Can Irish athletes say the same? My guess is no they can't.

A very important point when racing rounds or on consecutive days is to make sure you do the little recovery bits right such as:
- Proper warm down & stretching
- Maybe Massage if used to it
- Some carbs & protein within 30 mins of finishing the race to speed up recovery process
- Replace lost fluids
- Get good meal within 2-3 hours of race
- Get good nights sleep
- Easy 10-20 min shake out run the following morning to open up capilliary beds etc.

Hope that helps.

Tergat

T runner wrote: »

Lydiard recognised the importance of endurance in his athletes for this specific reason. All his middle distance runners went through marathon conditioning as an early phase.

Some of his athletes apparently beat faster athletes in the olympics because they were able to run faster than them in the final. He even had teammates make sure that heats were fast wherever possible so that endurance became more of a factor.

Tergat, Is there ever a worry about losing leg speed during the recovery period with no hard sessions, or do your athletes do an easy session/strides during the recovery period?

T runner,

Well said, I think Lydiard really was spot on with most of his stuff. What recovery period to you mean, after the season is over or week leading to key race?

Tergat