Getting fit for track

[MikeViper]

Well, I'm on the track team and I really want to be a distance runner, but after I run a certain distance, it's like I just run out of breath and can't run anymore. My coach tells me it's because I'm not in good shape, but how exactly does one get in better shape? Should I just keep running like I am and hope that I get better over time or is there a certain technique to can use to not run out of breath? It would really help me in track, if I knew this.

[MattB]

the simple answer is to run more. You need to run smartly though. How far can you run now? I see that distance is your goal, so you are going to be focusing mainly on building areobic endurance, which is very different from sprinting and speed work.

 

I'm willing to bet you are going too hard. When you run there are two ways your body can work. The first way is aerobicly. In this mode you are burning fat and glucose from what you eat. In theory, you could maintain this zone for as long as you are eating. That's why you see distance runners eating a lot as they go along. If you run out of dietary nutrition, you start burning a substance called glycogen, which is energy stored in your muscles during your recovery time. You have about 90 min of glycogen and then you are done. Due to complicated reasons, the faster you go, or the less developed your aerobic system is, the more your body depends on glycogen for fuel. Your goal is to be able to run fast burning nothing but dietary glucose for energy. To do this you have to train where your body is burning fat and glucose as fuel.

 

You have two types of muscles, slow twitch and fast twitch. The slow twitch fibers are high endurance, but very low power output, while fast twitch fibers put out a ton of energy but can't do it very long. Obviously you want to work those slow twitch muscles and strengthen them. They are also the ones that will end up burning the fat and dietary glucose. This means when you run, you need to use them. If you go too fast, you develope the fast twitch muscle fibers which is no good. Working the fast twitch muscles is the other way your body can work, which is called anerobic. For distance running you need to stay under the aerobic threshold, or the line seperating the two. Training solely above it would be fine if you were a sprinter, but you need to be able to run for a long time.

 

You need to slow down or you won't be building that aerobic base. Try and shoot for a pace at which you breathing steady enough to hold a conversation. That will be within your aerobic threshold. The better way to do it is to train with a HRM, which if you are serious about the sport, is the best investment you can make. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but you need to go slow to get fast. What will happen is that your speed will build at that lower, more easily sustained heart rate, and maintaining that fast pace will be easier. How do you think the elite runners manage marathons at 5:11 pace? It's not with only sprint work, I'll tell you that. So as tempted as you are to speed up and go all out, don't let yourself do it.

 

Anyway, there is a TON to setting up a good training plan. It really depends on your abilities and your goals. Take a look on google for plans written by Hal Higdon. If you decide to go the route of HR training, I don't know of any good books dedicated towards distance running alone, but Friel's "Triathlon Training Bible" is a fantastic book that outlines everything you need to know and talks about the things you need to consider when setting up a training plan. It will just cover two more sports that don't apply to you, unless triathlon does interest you that is. Anyway, see if the library has it.

 

here, I found some good articles on it. Happy reading:

 

http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12408&category=keep_fit

http://www.runnersworld.com/category/1,5034,s6-51-55-0-0,00.html

 

so have fun and good luck. If you do decide to jump on board the HRM band wagon, ignore training methods based off of max HR and focus on those that use your lactate threshold (LT) and those that determine your LT through an actual field test. Not a formula based on age.