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Periodization for Distance Runners
How to Structure your Training Schedules for Optimal PerformanceBy Roy Stevenson, MS
March/April 2008
For the Washington Running Report
History, Rationale and Terminology of Periodization
Most recreational and semi-competitive runners meander their way through training without any planning. They just "go out and run" a few times each week. This hit-or-miss approach eventually results in a frustrating plateau in their performance, often grinding the runner to a halt through overuse injury.
We have all heard the truism "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail," and this certainly applies to distance running. Without a planned and systematic approach, runners stop improving. When we stop improving we tend to try harder, running farther and faster to try to bludgeon our body into improving. The result: a frustrating spiral of plateau, illness, and injury.
You can improve your performance and avoid injury using a training technique called periodization. Most, if not all, elite runners use periodization in some form, but few recreational runners do. The best proof of periodization's effectiveness lies in the fact that almost every serious endurance sport athlete uses periodization principles in some form.
Periodization systematically manipulates the training variables to optimize training potential. Coaches "in the know" bandy about the term "periodization" and its "secrets" are held close to the chest. The intent of this article is to demystify it for the rank and file runner.
A brief history of the use of periodization in distance running will show how it evolved and its rationale. We will look at periodization terminology, how it works, and finally some ideas for introducing elements of periodization into your training program.
A Brief History of Periodization in Distance Running
The renowned running coach from New Zealand, Arthur Lydiard, first started experimenting with periodization in 1947. (Of course back then they did not have a fancy name for it.) Lydiard adapted several training phases into a logical sequence to gain his runners their best performances. His trial and error experiments took nine years of training.
In his book Run to The Top, published in 1962, he describes his experiences. "When I settled down to analyze my defeats, I realized I was hitting my peaks of performance at all the wrong times. I had to find a method not only of building stamina to stand a lot of racing but also of timing my preparation so that I could be reasonably certain of being in top form on the day I most wanted to run best."
After experimenting with alternating (long, then short) distances in training, he quickly found out that even if he flogged himself one day to the point of exhaustion he would recover sufficiently to continue easier work in following days. Then a week to ten days after the exhaustion run he would become markedly stronger.
Some of his descriptions of these training experiments make interesting reading and certainly show the courage of his convictions. He writes, "I was so determined to find just what the human body would stand without actually cracking that I frequently exhausted myself completely and had to walk the last few miles painfully home. But I always made it one way or another."
He tried mixing speed and endurance training, but found he lacked the necessary conditioning to sustain speed over a race distance. He then built his system around marathon-type training, followed by finding a balance between sharp sprints, repetition training, interval training, medium-pace training, and longer distance running.
The rest, as they say, is history. His runners put New Zealand on the world map in distance running in Olympic medals, international competition, and world records with what seemed at the time unbelievable performances. Names like Peter Snell, Murray Halberg, Barry Magee, and others may jog the running historian's memory for their performances. Lydiard's system spread around the world.
Lydiard eventually arrived at a system that gave his runners great stamina using marathon training, then sharpened them up for competition using hill training, interval training and time trials, and finishing with the racing phase. He had evolved a periodization system.
Periodization is thus the theory and practice of how to vary a training program over time to bring the runner to a physical peak. It is simply planned and organized variety. The periodization variables we can manipulate include frequency, intensity, recovery, variety, specificity, and duration of training.
What then, is the rationale for using periodization? If we are to continue to improve, our training program must be varied. Our body responds physiologically by adapting to the demands we place on it in training. However, if we continue to do the same training day after day, our body becomes comfortable with this and stops adapting. If we stop adapting, we stop improving. Thus we need different training phases to continue to improve.
Likewise, if we do not program some form of rest or recovery phase into the training program, the runner is likely to experience muscular soreness, boredom, injury, or sickness.
Terminology
So how does periodization work? First we need to understand what macrocycles, mesocycles, and microcycles are to plan our periodized program.
A macrocycle usually makes up a complete season, or quite often, a year, depending on the sport. For example, a distance runner who competes in both track and cross-country seasons will have two macrocycles to his/her year.
Several mesocycles, which vary from a few weeks to a few months, make up one macrocycle.
Microcycles are usually weekly training schedules and make up a mesocycle.
What is the point of these cycles? They are used to plan structured training programs for any sport. Using periodization, training shifts from high volume and low intensity running off-season to racing-specific running activities of low volume and high intensity over a period of many weeks or months.
Designing Your Periodized Training Schedules
Step One: Create a Macrocycle
Start by planning your year's macrocycle, according to the seasons in which you will compete. This annual plan logically starts with the "off-season" mesocycle with long slow distance running. For example, a runner who competes only in the spring and summer should continue his/her training through the winter to hold onto the previous year's fitness and racing experience. This winter training season would be a mesocycle, and is primarily long slow distance running to enhance the aerobic conditioning base.
Step Two: Create the Mesocycles
For the recreational runner the other mesocycles integrated into the macrocycle would be the pre-season and competitive season mesocycles, followed by a post competitive season cycle called the restoration (recovery) cycle.
Specifically, the pre-season and competitive season mesocycles would include higher intensity, lower volume running activities such as hill running, interval training and time trials, repetition training, finishing with the racing phase.
Here is an example of a U.S. runner's periodized program broken up into mesocycles. October-January: Off-Season Conditioning Mesocycle. Long slow marathon distance running, with fartlek and occasional time trials to keep some sharpness.
February-March: Pre-Season Mesocycle. Hill running/springing/bounding. Beginners might want to cut this mesocycle out due to its rigor and pounding on the legs.
April-May: High Intensity Mesocycle. Interval training, time trials.
July-September: Racing Season Mesocycle. Some repetition training, racing.
Step Three: Break the Mesocycles up into Microcycles
This is where the fun starts. Here's some advice for creating microcycles for the various mesocycles.
Off-Season Conditioning Mesocycle
It is quite safe to increase weekly mileage by 8% to 15% as long as it is done slowly, so the runner is not straining or pushing too much. This running should be done at an intensity of somewhere around 60% to 70% of your maximal heart rate, or even lower if you are a beginner.
Vary your running distances daily, especially during your off- season conditioning mesocycle. We cannot grind out the same distance each day without adverse effects. If you increase your weekly running volume, you will need to compromise your speed (intensity) temporarily to enable your cardiovascular and muscular-skeletal systems to adjust. This inverse relationship is critical.
Increasing weekly mileage for two to three weeks is generally tolerated well by the healthy human body, then back off to an easier week of reduced mileage and intensity every third or fourth week. This creates a "step type" approach.
This step type approach ensures that the muscle groups are overloaded to fatigue (overload is necessary for improvement), providing greater stimulus to the involved muscle groups.
The easier week long "regeneration" cycle allows restoration of energy fuels, enhanced muscle tissue recovery, (and probably a psychological break from the mental grind), thus a physiological "rebound" allowing the runner to proceed to a higher level the following week.
A sample weekly microcycle for this phase might be:
Monday: Short easy-paced run
Tuesday: Medium/long run
Wednesday: Rest day
Thursday: Medium/long run
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Medium distance runs
Sunday: Long slow run
Pre-Season Mesocycle
Long slow distance running is continued through this cycle to maintain the aerobic base the runner has developed in the previous conditioning mesocycle. Hill running of some form should be done, up to two times per week. This can be the Lydiard type hill springing, or simply running at a steady pace uphill for distances of up to 150 yards. Start with six to eight repeats then every couple of workouts. Add two repeats. Between repeats jog slowly (or walk) back down the hill.
A sample weekly microcycle for this phase might be:
Monday: Short easy-paced run
Tuesday: Hill running
Wednesday: Rest day
Thursday: Medium/long run
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Hill running
Sunday: Long slow run
High Intensity Mesocycle
This cycle includes one or two track interval workouts, with several days of recovery between them. This recovery running should be short, slow, easy jogs, plus medium or longer runs at steady pace. The idea is to maintain the aerobic base and allow the legs to recover from the high intensity interval workouts.
The time trials can be done once each week or ten days. Start with a shorter distance like 3K. After doing that distance two or three times, move up to 5K, then 8K. Do them on a reasonably flat, fast surface. Run the time trials at a fast pace just below race pace. In exercise science terms we call it "anaerobic threshold" training. The idea is to enhance your ability to disperse lactic acid and the other metabolic by- products that build up when you approach your maximum. Thus, your cruising pace becomes faster.
A sample weekly microcycle for this phase might be:
Monday: Short easy-paced run
Tuesday: Interval training
Wednesday: Rest day
Thursday: Time trial
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Interval training or medium distance run
Sunday: Long slow run
Racing Season Peaking Mesocycle
Your racing season can last anywhere from eight to sixteen weeks before performance drops off. This mesocycle is where all of your hard work is synthesized into giving you your best times over your racing distance. Most of your running is done at a slow pace to recover from your races and maintain your aerobic base. About 50% of your total volume should still be low intensity aerobic running.
Weekly repetition sessions should be done, where you do a very short distance very fast--even faster than your race pace. The purpose of this is to adjust your nervous system to the fast rigors of racing pace to make your racing tempo smooth and more relaxed.
An example of a repetition workout might be doing 3 x 800-meter repetitions at a significantly faster pace than your average 8K race pace.
Regeneration/Restoration Mesocycle
This is your post-season active recovery phase. It is designed to regenerate you physically and mentally and can last from four to eight weeks.
Many recreational runners stop running altogether, resulting in a complete loss of all their hard-earned gains. This regeneration mesocycle should include a decrease in overall mileage, slower pace, less days running per week, and perhaps some cross-training activities such as swimming, cycling, hiking, group exercise classes, indoor workouts. Anything to give you a different physical challenge and mental break from running.
This is also a great time to indulge yourself with frequent massages, try something new such as yoga, perhaps do more stretching than usual, and other activities like strength training. Using periodization will help enhance your training and racing. Try some of these ideas, even if you have to water some of the schedules down.
References:
Run To The Top, Arthur Lydiard and Garth Gilmour, 1962, A.H Reed, NZ, (Out of print).
Periodization Training for Sports, Tudor O. Bompa, 1999, Human Kinetics. Humankinetics.com
The Ultimate Training System: Periodization Breakthrough, Steven J. Fleck, Ph.D., and William Kraemer, Ph.D., 1996, Advanced Research Press.
Roy Stevenson has a master's degree from Ohio University in Exercise Physiology and Coaching. He teaches physical education and exercise science at Highline Community College in Seattle. He has presented nationally and regionally in the USA on the use of periodization in strength and endurance training. Roy competed in New Zealand Championships on track, road, and cross- country, setting one of New Zealand's fastest under 20 marathon times in 1974 when he ran 2:42:28 using Lydiard's training principles.