The Disadvantages of Intense Training Among Runners

In sports and athletics, the common belief is that the harder you train and the faster you complete rounds and cycles, the stronger you become. While this is mostly true, it also varies according to the type of sport and competition. It seems counter-intuitive, but if you want to run, cycle, or swim faster, you may need to adjust your training to a more 'slow' pace.

'What's the point of doing 50 meter sprints if you're doing a 14k race?' asks Flow Athletic Australian gym owner and trainer, Ben Lucas. Building a strong aerobic base is essential to sustaining strength for a longer period of time.

The Situation

Studies have shown that the training intensity distribution among elite runners proves to be mostly of 'low intensity.' A survey of male and female runners that competed in the 2004 US Olympics revealed that males run three quarters slower than their marathon race pace, while women trained at speeds two thirds slower than their racing pace. This comes from the reasoning that, elite runners run a lot, and if they ran too much at high intensity, they would get burned out quickly. In the same way, elite runners run more slowly, so that they may be able to run a lot more. As mentioned by Podium Runner, a website providing general running data and information, average weekly mileage is the best predictor for racing performance. So, the more runners run, the faster they race, and a slower pace keeps runners running for a longer time without tiring out. However, running slowly could just mean a little bit less than a fast run, and the pace of each runner is not the same for everyone.

Stephen Seiler, an American exercise scientist, found in a study conducted while he was in Norway that the best cyclists, Nordic skiers, rowers, runners, swimmers, and triathletes in the world completed 80% of their training at lower intensities -- the 80/20 principle. That is, the best practice model is a mixture of high-intensity interval training throughout the annual training cycle. Training involves a balance of physical effort and recovery; this also reduces the risk of injury, conditions the aerobic system, and improvse the pattern of each stride, as explained by elite coach and runner, Jacob Puzey.

Moreover, a study, as explained in Podium Runner, involving Spanish runners, found that those who did a combination of training 80% below lactate threshold, 10% at lactate threshold, and 10% above lactate threshold showed more improvements in race performance within a five-month testing period versus runners who did the same amount of training in a combination of 70% below lactate threshold, 20% at lactate threshold, and 10% above lactate threshold. Lactate threshold refers to the maximum effort an athlete can maintain with little or no increase of lactate in the blood, which lowers the flow of blood and oxygen in the body.

Running too hard and too often prevents the development of the aerobic system, or the system that relies on oxygen for energy production. Rather, running harder and faster develops the anaerobic system, which provides the energy without oxygen and lasts for only a short amount of time. A more developed anaerobic system is useful when you’re racing a short distance (a mile), limiting performance if the race requires true endurance. Without enough oxygen, muscles convert glycogen into energy less efficiently, and fatigue comes more easily, forcing runners to slow down and eventually stop. If all runs are too fast, the power system needed for 97% of a race would not be properly developed. Puzey explains that when athletes embrace running slower, they are less prone to injury and fatigue, and as they improve, their slow pace wouldn’t be as slow as they become more efficient runners. They also recover better between hard runs, and this enables them to push harder when the time comes.

What We Can Now Do

With all this, the problem with most people today is that they want instant results, with the least amount of work. Additionally, runners oftentimes feel that they don’t even train hard enough and try to compensate by training harder in the time that they do. Likewise, runners do not even know what it means to train easy. They need a method to determine what it means to train hard, moderate, or easy, to determine the proper heart rate for a specific fitness level, and to train for the optimal amount of time is through a heart monitor or with a fitness coach.

Running slowly does not just benefit the training of elite athletes, but is beneficial to the recreational runner, and even those looking to lose weight. FItness performance gains, as displayed in some of the world’s greatest endurance athletes, come from exercising regularly over a prolonged period, which entails a “relatively slower” pace, as mentioned by Puzey. Running slowly, and at a conversational pace, allows the body to develop its internal mechanisms, recover or prevent injury, and help us enjoy the view around us.