You NEED to come into these sessions fresh! If you come into them on-top of extra running, you will gain nothing…
Speed endurance is not to be taken lightly. It is not for beginners. It is not for children. It requires months of gym and foundation hill training first.
At The Vorsprung Project, we introduce people to an endurance session, carefully.
Unlike a speed session, where you are aiming to go top speed from the first set and see a decrease in times as the sets continue. In an endurance session we are looking for an even pace.
200 metres is the key. This is the master key to all, at Vorsprung. So, when we perform endurance sessions, we break-it-down into 200 metres. Each 200 metres is run at the same speed.
Improvement comes from slowly edging-up in a see-saw fashion. In a speed session, we look for the first set as the marker. Over the weeks we expect to see the second set edging closer to the time of the first and the third closer and so on. Gradually, the times over-all improve, because they are all trying to match that first time. That first time will increase too, so the process is never static.
In the endurance session we are looking for improvements within the sets. If we can make the first 200 in the first 600 a little faster, we can edge all the first 200s in each 600 up. Then, we drag the rest along in the following weeks.
But, this improvement doesn't come from running more! Once again the old-school is really 'the old-school'. It has little relevance in modern training. The 'running more' adage and coaching principle took us so far. It has served us well: up until now.
Now, we must look at other elements to improve.
As Bernard Ouma says, “if you want to be a faster runner, hit the gym! Faster intervals comes from being stronger, which comes from gym work, NOT running more.”
He goes on to say: “I don’t believe in accumulations of mileage. I believe in thresholds in terms of what pace are we doing in this long run, not [how many] kilometres are we covering. And how hard are we working in this long run? What is the production of lactic acid?”
Similarly, at The Vorsprung Academy we look to what works. If it works we adopt it.
And what works for you works, right?
No - that has been conclusively proven wrong over decades of work within The Vorsprung Academy. We see people coming-in with their set-plan of how they have worked in the past, how their team has trained for years before. But, the first thing we look at and ask is, 'has it improved you?' 'Is it working?' Too often pride gets in the way of accepting failure. Clubs all over the UK, in any sport, are unable to implement change, because it is a reflection of their failure. So, they continue with the same old process, that neither improves performances and damages people's health.
It is with great pride, that, everybody who has come through The Vorsprung Academy has, not only improved their performances, but enhanced their quality of life and over-all health. It takes time, and it takes work from each individual to implement it. But, if you stick at it, if you work on your endurance, the long-term goal will be worth it.
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