Soreness or Injury?
Not all pain means injury. Learn how to tell the difference between normal training soreness and a real problem, and when to push through versus when to rest.
Thought this topic is timely since many of our runners on a Lydiard plan have entered the anaerobic phase where they are doing higher intensity interval sessions. Generally after the first session some soreness pops up.
When Soreness is Actually Injury
Muscles have been called upon that haven't been used in awhile, some mild fiber damage may have occurred. Is it a injury or just normal soreness after a hard paced workout? Shown here is a excellent guide found in "The Athletes Guide to Recovery by Sage Roundtree, 2011".
Warning Signs to Watch For
The key takeaways that indicate normal soreness are: Its on both sides of your body, shows up after a workout intensity change, gets better as you warmup and with each day and really important; you aren't favoring anything biomechanically. The flip side of warning signs, take a quick read and consider these.
Ready to train smarter and prevent injury? Running Niche offers personalized coaching using the Lydiard Method for runners of all levels. Stop by our store or join the Run Club to get started.
Why Recover?
Stress + Rest = Adaptation. Learn why recovery is the most overlooked part of Lydiard training and how it prevents injury while building your aerobic engine.
There is a very basic rule of training: Stress + Rest/Recovery = Adaptation. (From Healthy Intelligent Training by Keith Livingstone).
This is the guiding principle of the Lydiard Training Method. Stress without rest/recovery leads to illness, injury and ultimately impacting the runners goal performance.
How Recovery Builds Your Aerobic Engine
Here’s a good example. On Lydiard Saturday’s are normally a higher intensity workout such as a Out & Back or a Progress Calibration Run. These are also known sometimes as Sub-Threshold or Threshold run. Depending on where the runner is in their training cycle, the pace for these and duration may be approaching goal race pace. In other words, a hard intensity effort with sustained heart rates over 170. This is a difficult and challenging workout.
It’s critical an effort like this is followed by a long aerobic run within 24 hours. During this run you are burning fat, building capillaries and servicing recovery of your muscle fibers at a which is very low intensity.
Recovery vs. Overtraining
Take a look at these two charts below. The first shows that physiologically your fitness gain actually occurs during the SLOW RECOVERY RUN. The second shows what happens if a runner simply continues to stress their body without the proper aerobic runs to facilitate recovery. It’s a downward spiral to illness and injury and may cause you to take a break in your training.
Implementing Recovery in Your Training
Its important to be sensitive to other activities you are doing. Once your have done your hard Saturday Out & Back or PCR, you have torn down your muscle fibers. You have to allow repair time before doing something else hard, no matter what it is. Normally at least 48 hours is required. You are in a weakened state, injury happens easily.
Remember stress and then recover with a long slow aerobic run. Its science based.
Please stop in the store to learn more about the Lydiard Method. We are trained Lydiard coaches and can help you sign up. While your personalized plan costs $100, and goes to a non-profit, we provide the day to day coaching at no additional charge.
Want to build a recovery strategy that works? Running Niche coaches use the Lydiard Method to help runners balance training stress and recovery. Stop by the store or join our Run Club to connect with our coaching team.
Recovery Runs: The Most Important Run You're Probably Skipping
Recovery runs are the unsung hero of Lydiard training. Learn how easy-paced running between hard sessions promotes adaptation, prevents injury, and builds your aerobic base.
Why Recovery Runs Are the Foundation of Smart Training
Coach Lydiard used to say "you have to learn to run slow, to run fast." He was getting at the fundamental training concept: Stress + Rest/Recovery = Adaptation. Stress without rest and recovery leads to illness, injury, and compromised race day performance.
How Recovery Runs Fit Into the Lydiard Week
In Lydiard training, Saturdays are a higher intensity workout — an Out & Back or a Progress Calibration Run. Depending on where the runner is in their training cycle, the pace for these may be approaching goal race pace. That effort is followed the next day by a long aerobic recovery run. During this run you are burning fat, building capillaries, and servicing repair of your muscle fibers.
What Pace Should Recovery Runs Be?
For a 3:30 marathoner running 8:00 race pace, aerobic recovery run pace is 9:00-9:30. The cycle I ran 2:21 (5:22 pace), I generally hit my aerobic runs at 7:00-7:30 pace. And Kipchoge? Even the best in the world builds slow, easy aerobic recovery runs into their training — his recovery pace starts at up to 9:30 per mile for runs of 12 miles.
Want a personalized recovery strategy? Bob and Jennifer at Running Niche are both Lydiard Certified Coaches who build smart training plans that balance effort and recovery. Join our Run Club or stop by the store to learn more.
What do Mitochondria do in Muscle Tissue?
Why is aerobic base building so critical to marathon performance? Bob Dyer explains the science behind mitochondria — the cellular engines that slow, easy running builds — and why they're the foundation of every successful training plan.
Why is building a solid aerobic base so critical? The foundation for a successful performance in your goal race starts many weeks before during the aerobic base building phase. This segment of training builds your "aerobic engine" which in turn allows you to handle your harder workouts as you progress through your training plan and building fitness.
Why Aerobic Base Building Matters
Remember there is "running" and then there is "training". There is a huge difference. Training is based upon science and building certain physiological systems you will need at full capacity to do your best in your goal race. I came across this chart recently which does a great job of simplifying why slower aerobic running is critical in building a good aerobic base.
Understanding Mitochondria’s Role in Muscle Tissue
It comes down to that little engine at the cellular level called Mitochondria. You want as many of these guys as possible. Slow aerobic running during base building has been shown in some studies to actually double the amount of Mitochondria! So as you are out there putting in your time on your feet and your friends are asking why you are running so slowly, here is your answer.
Building Mitochondrial Density the Lydiard Way
Within Lydiard Training, Aerobic base building is 10 weeks of a 24 week program. It truly is the foundation upon which the next four phases in sequence are built: Hill Strengthening, Anaerobic Development, Integration/Coordination and Tapering.
Muscle Fiber Damage in Runners
What does hard training actually do to your muscle fibers? Bob Dyer shares scanning electron microscope images showing exactly how exercise damages muscle tissue — and why that damage is the key to getting stronger.
In my previous blog about the Reasons to Stop Doing the 20 Mile Run, I noted that one of the dangers of being out on your feet for longer than 2:30 to 3:00 hours is muscle damage at the fiber level. Under a scanning electron microscope, healthy muscle fibers show tight, aligned bands. After a lengthy bout of exercise those bands become disrupted and crooked. After 14 days of recovery the fibers are still dis-jointed and not returned to their non-injured state — this is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS.
How to Accelerate Muscle Fiber Repair
After 14 days of recovery the fibers are still dis-jointed and not returned to their non-injured state — this is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. There is a very fine line between productive training stress and excessive damage: your aerobic run should be just long enough to stimulate adaptation, but not so long that recovery becomes prolonged.
When Damage Becomes Injury
There is a fine line between fitness gain and injury — be sensitive to it as you embark on your weekend training runs. Remember Dr. Jack: he advocates no longer than 2:30 to 3:00 on your feet in one bout of running. Consider this: Grete Waitz never ran more than 12 miles in training for the 1979 NYC Marathon — and she won. She trained 80-90 miles a week, but the key was how she put it all together. That's the difference between running and training.
If you'd like to learn more about structuring your training to minimize muscle damage and maximize recovery, stop in and talk with Bob Dyer or Jennifer Henderson at Running Niche — both are Lydiard® Certified Coaches.
Post Race Recovery
So, you just finished your half or full marathon. This next phase is critical to complete before you start another training cycle for fall. First rule of thumb is you need one day of recovery for each mile run in the race. So, 13 days for a half and 26 days for a full marathon.
The reason why is quite simple; you have damaged the muscle fibers in your legs. You may not feel it but it’s there at the cell level, its deep tissue damage. These fibers have to repair themselves and this takes time and care.
Recovery doesn’t mean no running. It means take a few days off, eat well, re-hydrate and rest. But you can run. This is the time to really listen to your body and do feeling based jogging or running. Take it slow and easy, your body tells you what you can do.
So, you just finished your half or full marathon. You are now entering the post-race recovery phase. This next phase is critical to complete before you start another training cycle. A good rule of thumb is that you need one day of recovery for each mile run in the race. So, 13 days of rest for a half marathon and 26 days of rest for a full marathon.
The reason why is quite simple; you have damaged the muscle fibers in your legs. You may not feel it but it’s there at the cell level, its deep tissue damage. These fibers have to repair themselves and this takes time and care.
Recovery doesn’t mean no running. It means take a few days off, eat well, re-hydrate and rest. But you can run. This is the time to really listen to your body and do feeling based jogging or running. Take it slow and easy, your body tells you what you can do.
In looking back at my training logs, I noticed the day after the marathon I did real slow jogging. Then for the next five days simply jogged how I felt each day. It was not only a physical rest and repair but a mental one as well. This continued for three weeks while I recharged. By week four I was feeling good again and mentally ready to start another cycle. While I was disciplined in terms of running most days, I also felt confident taking a day completely off if I didn’t feel recovery progress was being made. And do not underestimate the importance of mental recovery, taking a break from training is actually training.
Here's an example of a recovery week for a 6 day a week runner:
Sunday: slow jog of 45 minutes
Monday: slow jog of 25 minutes
Tuesday: slow jog of 35 minutes
Wednesday: 25-minute jog with some strides
Thursday: slow jog of 35 minutes
Friday: rest day
Saturday: “faster” jog of 35 minutes.
As one would go through the weeks the pace quickens and the duration lengthens. If you were on a four day per week plan, then focus on a longer jog, medium jog and short jog with the fourth workout being a jog with some strides.
There are several recovery indicators to watch as well:
Morning Heart Rate: It will be elevated most likely for a few days, monitor it and note when it returns to normal resting rate.
Weight: Watch for weight loss of one pound or more. If you are losing weight while recovering it says your recovery will take longer.
Sleep: Keep track of your hours of sleep. During early phases of recovery, it can be less than normal. When it returns to normal you are recovering.
Want a recovery plan that transitions smoothly into your next training cycle? Our Lydiard Method coaches guide you through every phase—from post-race rest to base building. Join our Run Club for easy comeback runs with a supportive crew.