In this post I will share some thoughts about what I am calling ‘comfortable running’. The impetus for this way of thinking about running came from two sources. First, back in mid-January, I had a try at the Spine Race, running 169 miles in just under four days, and this resulted in my being tired, stiff, and with my running pace much reduced. Secondly, two of my friends in my running club have just come back to running after a pause and are signed up to run a half marathon on 7 April, and they wanted a plan to be able to do this.
In the context of getting my running back on track, I know that after running an ultra, it takes quite a few weeks for my body to fully repair. Everything is harder; there is no bounce in my system, and I seem unable to go fast. In this context, comfortable running means a mix of steady low-heart rate runs, some days with almost no running, and some faster runs. However, the faster runs are still capped at just below the level where it starts to get hard (hard to breathe, hard to go faster, hard to drive myself on, etc). During the start of my comfortable running recovery, I took part in three ParkRuns and three cross-country races. In the first of the ParkRuns I ran it about six minutes slower than I had run that course in November. For the second and third, I ran them about three minutes slower than the last time I had run them. In the first of the cross-country race, about 85% of the runners finished ahead of me. Normally, I could do way better than that. In the third of the races, about 80% finished ahead of me, better than the first, but still down compared with what I can typically do. In all six of these, I stuck to my plan of staying at the top end of my comfortable zone. I will likely keep to this plan for a few more weeks until I think I have fully recovered from the ultra. Once I return to my normal condition, I will sometimes race (and sometimes train) in the uncomfortable zone. For example, when I am trying to get a good time or a good finishing position.
Most of my sense about running at the top end of comfortable is via RPE (runner-perceived exertion), i.e. how does it feel? I back this up by looking at my heart rate (via my watch/chest band combination). For the first week of Parkrun and cross country, I capped most of the course at 130 beats a minute. For the last set of events, I let it creep past 140 for the second half of the route. For me, 130 beats a minute is about 81% of my maximum and 140 is about 87%. Regarding exercise, 80% to 87% of one’s maximum heart rate is considered Zone 3, Moderately Hard. This means on the typical RPE, 1-10 scale, I was running in the range of 4 (Comfortable with some effort) to 5 (Progressive Pace). Outside these races and one effort session a week, the rest of my running is Zone 1.
In terms of my friends and their half marathon in April (and some other runners from my club), the definition of comfortable running is slightly different. They will probably take 2.5 to 3 hours to run their half marathon. My aim is for them to feel good for the whole distance. When we started about three weeks ago, they could run, albeit quite slowly, for about one hour before they were feeling uncomfortable. The sessions I am leading aim to keep extending the time at which this uncomfortable stage is reached. I am not worried whether my group gets faster (they probably will get faster), but I want to extend how far they can run at their pace, feeling good, so that in April, they can run the whole half marathon feeling comfortable.
The plan for extending the comfortable running range has two elements. With my club, I am leading a session on Wednesday evenings, where about six or seven of set out for an even-paced run. In the first week, it was just over an hour, the second week about 1hr 15 minutes, and the 3rd week a few minutes longer. Because the pace is very steady, we can talk about strategies for running for three hours (issues such as food and drink, for example), and we can focus on running style and form. Over the next few Wednesdays, we will lengthen the runs and add more features.
The second element has been a longer run at the weekend. The first two were about 1 hour 30 minutes and two hours, with the third one being tomorrow. In these runs, we treat them more like an ultra-runner would treat a run. For example, every significant hill is walked, not run. This brings the heart rate back down and stretches the legs, backs and arms differently, extending the distance we can travel. Note the walk is not really just a walk, it is an active stride. I recommend keeping your heel on the ground behind you for as long as possible to extend the stretch on your legs.
On Wednesday this week (and tomorrow), I introduced the Galloway system to the sessions. The Galloway system is a planned way of mixing running and fast walking. The system can be adapted in terms of how long the run session is and how long the walk session is, and the lengths of these sessions can be in terms of distance or time. For example, if you are a pretty good runner, you might decide to run a marathon and use the mile markers as your breakpoints. You could run to a mile marker, walk for 100 metres (using your watch to tell you when 100 metres is completed), and then run to the next mile marker.
For my session on Wednesday and for tomorrow’s session, I am using time to define the run and walk elements. I set my watch to prompt us to run for 10 minutes, then to fast walk for 2 minutes. This repeats until we finish the session. I find it useful to make the watch the boss when I am using the Galloway system. Even if I feel strong and it is a nice downhill slope, if the watch says walk, I walk. One of the strange things to get used to with the Galloway system is taking those walking breaks early in the run. It seems unnecessary to walk so early, but the system is built around slowing down the rate you get tired, so the early breaks are important.
The last two Wednesdays threw up an interesting statistic. On the first of these two Wednesdays, we ran for the whole distance (bar steep hills), and we covered the 9.3km at a pace of 7 minutes 41 seconds per km. On the second run, where we walked 2 minutes out of every 12 minutes, we covered 9.4km at a pace of 7 minutes 39 seconds. The Galloway system tends to make it easier, but done correctly, it does not tend to make you slower.
My final thought about comfortable running is to be aware that it is based on doing what is right for you. Some people assume you ‘should’ run every step of the course, but there is no ‘should’, you set your rules. Some people worry that if they take part in a race and run comfortably, they will underperform, but that is simply part of the process. When I run comfortably in a race, I am not racing; I am taking part, usually as part of my training. My training is based on where I want to be in a few weeks or months. With this approach to running, I have been able to run every day for over five years without a) getting injured or b) getting disenchanted with running. If you win medals and prizes for your running, this approach is not for you, but if you are in the 99% who do not win medals, it might be worth trying.
