Part 3: Develop a flexible training plan
In part 2 of this blog series, strategies for tracking training were discussed. However, training planning was not discussed. Having a plan and adapting the plan as you progress will help control your injury risk while also improving performance. Whether you hire a coach to write a plan for you or you write your own training plan, there should be a few key variables and measurable goals to ensure progressive overload and task specificity are achieved.
Progressive overload is the principle in training that refers to the process of gradually increasing workload in order to achieve adaptations in physical performance or capacity. Progressively overloading running-specific variables such as volume, speed, or duration all result in related physiologic, neurologic, and biomechanical adaptations. This is why consistent training has both performance and protective effects, though training for performance and injury resistance is more nuanced.
If performance is desired, training should become more task specific as you approach a goal event. One must consider movement and energy system specific adaptations necessary for the event. The further from a goal event, the more differentiated training can be to reap the benefits of a range of training.
As a coach, athlete, and physical therapist, I have learned that no two individuals respond exactly the same to nearly identical training or intervention. If training planning was that simple, each of us could follow the same training plan and achieve equal results, but we know this isn’t true. Training and coaching runners is complex in terms of all the variables to consider. I’ll do my best to highlight salient components in this short blog post. Training planning will focus on endurance running.
If you’re reading this as a runner looking to stay injury-free as the title suggests, you must consider several personal factors:
- running experience
- age
- current fitness level including aerobic minutes per week and resistance training.
- performance goals
- available time to train
- other life responsibilities (stress)
- injury history.
Knowing these factors establishes your base or foundation to build upon. Prior running experience and participation in youth sports has a protective effect. Past participation in high impact youth sports like soccer and basketball is associated with higher bone density and stronger tendons, provided the nutritional resources were available. Past running experience also has a protective effect, though the reason for this is not clear. One’s age and other life responsibilities will influence recovery time and the balance of training volume and intensity. Available time to train will help define the dimensions of duration and intensities needed to achieve a performance goal. Lastly, past injury is a strong predictor of future injury, though reasons for this are not well understood. It’s logical that repeating the same training and recovery errors are a likely cause, but there are likely some genetic influences as well.
Two strategies for writing a plan:
- Work backwards from a goal event
- Get fit, then compete.
Working backwards has its benefits. For example, it is quite clean in terms of planning something simple like achieving a specific volume goal, where speed is not a factor. This strategy may make the runner more susceptible to overreaching if they are too rigid in the planned regime. On the other hand, getting fit first, then looking to compete places less pressure on the runner to achieve fitness in a certain timeframe. In my opinion, this is more conducive to adapting training as necessary.
Choose the variables that you will track. As suggested in Part 2 of this blog series, tracking rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and minutes spent running are useful variables to track because you can establish workload values and ratios. Monitoring workload using an Acute:Chronic workload ratio can help define an optimal training window for consistent running. Consider using wearable technology, such as a GPS watch plus pulse or heart rate monitor to get pace, heart rate, and accurate distances. Use the proprietary training load metrics as you wish.
Write out the first 4 weeks of your training, but do not be afraid to modify it based upon how your body feels. Be patient and begin with lower intensities and volumes of running relative to your past experience if you are just getting started again. Use the workload formulas from Part 2 of this blog series to establish an achievable chronic workload. Once you successfully complete the first 4 weeks, stay within acute:chronic workload ratios of 0.85-1.30 as a reference frame for safe training in the weeks that follow. Remember, staying within the boundaries of this ratio is not a guarantee against injury, but it will help you control big swings in training loads and help you recognize when you may be over or under training. With repetition and tracking, you will begin to recognize patterns of workloads that are successful for you. You can then either work backward from a goal event with realistic expectations, or simply continue to create a plan for the upcoming 1-4 weeks estimating workload for each week and getting fit for running.
Being flexible in the plan means that you respond early to symptoms of fatigue and new pain experiences. Especially pay attention to pain in the arch, heel cord, medial ankle, back of the knee, outside of the knee, and groin pain. Some pain is normal with running, and these niggles should resolve within a few days if caught early. Understanding the nature of certain injury types is beyond the scope of this blog. However, pain on weightbearing should always be taken seriously, whereas tensile stresses through tendons are initially less concerning. Pain on weightbearing can be a sign of a stress fracture. If you experience pain in your hip/groin, thigh, or lower leg on weight bearing, you should schedule with your physical therapist and/or sports medicine specialist for further evaluation.
Be wary of shortcuts and of being too dogmatic in the training approach. The path to successful running has been achieved in many ways. There will always be someone trying to “hack” distance running and create a shortcut to performance. There will also always be disciples of running religions that say you have to follow a specific sequence in training. Each runner is on their own timeline of running experience. You must figure out where you are at and experiment. The basic principles of progressive overload and movement specificity should be cornerstones of your training.
Lastly, as part of the training plan make time for moving differently than the running motion. In future blog(s), resistance training and mobility exercises will be discussed. The rationale for making time for movement variation is that joint cartilage, soft tissues, and bones need a variety of stimulation to maintain all tissue capacity properties. Endurance running is a relatively low force, narrow range of motion, and limited soft tissue flexibility activity. The chronic effects of aerobic running without working on these other aspects of tissue capacity make for a stagnant, narrowly focused movement system, though the cardiovascular benefits are amazing for longevity.
Below is a list of excellent resources for further reading on training theory: