By Senior Coach - Lisa Spink

By now most athletes know about run - walk strategies for endurance events. Obviously, it is mixing run intervals with walk intervals – no rocket science in that! But is this strategy confined to the completers or is it a sound strategy for those wanting to reach their absolute potential and why?

Let’s drive into some of science and practical applications of the run - walk strategy.

Initially a run - walk strategy was possibly thought of for those who didn’t think they could cover the distance running the entire way - so to be able to complete the event they used a run - walk strategy and it works.
Then it evolved and we saw elites, such as Jan Frodeno win Kona with a run - walk strategy. “Interestingly for a man with such prodigious speed and strength, Frodeno won more with conservative wisdom than brute power. When recounting his race, he gave much credit to his habit of walking through many aid stations on the run. He explained to Slowtwitch that slowing down to take in the hydration and nutrition and letting his core temperature cool down.  Ultra-runners use run-walk strategies in track, road and trail events again with the goal to improve performance not just to be able to complete the distance.

So, I think we can say a run - walk strategy is a legitimate strategy to be explored for improving your performance regardless of the level of competition. For some athletes this will mean losing the ego and doing as Frodeno did, using “wisdom” to reach their potential. Now, I say “explore” because some events and athletes maybe more or less suited to this strategy so as always N=1, but let’s be smart enough to use the best strategy for the event we are racing in.

Why do run - walk strategies work? This is an interesting topic in which an Assoc Professor friend from Universite Rennes II (France) and I have chatted about for several years following research he did involving ultra-running and fatigue (I was privilege to part of discussion group and a guinea pig for his research). So apart from the above important aspects sighted by Frodeno, which included the ability to take in hydration, calories and cooling the core body temp in the notoriously hot run conditions of Kona – there are physiological and biomechanical considerations as well.

The first, is the strategy can assist in controlling the RPE at the start of the run. Many athletes fall into the trap of extending themselves at the start of the run (either in a triathlon or in a straight running event) which can lead to loss of force and soft tissue ailments. In this scenario running speed eventually slows and unless the athlete has spent time running at the slower speeds, running economy can be compromised, running gait can change, which places stress on different mechanics and now both physiology and biomechanics can be affected. The loss of running economy starts the downward spiral of requiring more energy and oxygen to perform movements which are becoming more inefficient that require more energy and oxygen. With the possible change in gait, through loss of force production the risk of injury is increased.

Secondly, changing the gait cycle from running to walking and back again may play a role in conserving force production, muscle contraction and neuromuscular fatigue. Even though from a gross motor perspective running and walking may look similar the muscle involvement and kinetic chains are different and the neuromuscular pathways differ – therefore switching between the 2 modes may assist in prolonging the overall performance at high intensities.

Thirdly and not to be understate is the psychological aspect of the strategy. By the pure nature of the run-walk strategy, the event is broken into small manageable “chunks” for the athlete. The variety of both modes allows the athlete to continually reset and this can greatly assist in maintaining motivation. Again, by the pure nature of the strategy athletes can feel like they are running at a “better” pace while performing a run-walk strategy then the possibly unmotivating “slower” pace and “slowing” pace which can be the result of a continuous run strategy.

These are just some of the “geeky” theories behind the run-walk strategy but what does it mean for you the athlete. Here are a few tips.

1. Discuss this with your coach well before the event. Like all skills to be able to perform a run- walk strategy it needs to be practiced in training under as many conditions as possible. The finer details of the intervals need to be discussed, are you running to a time strategy (most commonly 13.5 / 1.5min or 9min / 1min) or aid station to aid station or is it terrain based (hike the hills / run the flats and descents etc). Whatever it is - it needs to be practiced well before race day.
2. When you walk - walk with cadence and light feet. There can be a tendency to over dorsi flex the ankles, over extension of the toes and strike heavily on the heels during walking intervals which can lead to injury (Shin, knee and hip just to name the obvious). Focusing on cadence when walking can assist in reducing dorsi flexion and toe extension and walking with light feet can assist with bring the foot strike back under the hips more.
3. A run-walk strategy does not start when you can’t run any more and can only walk… Run-walk strategies need to be implemented from the start – it is the only way to get the benefits from the strategy. It takes discipline, courage and for you to lose your ego as you let competitors run past you at the start - just remember where the finish line is. Where you are placed in the first 5km of the run is irrelevant - it is where you are at the end that counts.

I hope this has given you some food for thought and given you options for strategies in upcoming event.
Like always “happy athletes are fast athletes – love the journey to living your potential”
 
Happy days
Lise​

By Coach Lisa Spink

So we are all now well into the year, we have poured over endless race calendars, finally locked in our goals for 2018, paid the race entry fees, booked the flights and accommodation BUT now what!!?

​Now it is time to put a plan in action.

If you really want to achieve your best you need a plan that is made for your lifestyle, your family, your work and well simply put  - YOU. That is where TZero comes into its own – with fully individualized, custom programs with 24 / 7 access to your coach and you can be anywhere in the world.

Now you have a program and coach you can trust to support you in achieving your goals BUT the job is far from done. I like to say there are three A’s to “Living Your Potential” and here they are.

A – Attendance. Without doubt the key to success is training consistency. Looking at the current world ranking, stalking your competitors on social media, researching the wattage of the Tour De France winners or finding the latest and greatest gadgets to add to your racing kit can all seem important, but nothing is more important then getting the training done. I am not saying this is easy, endurance training is tough, it takes dedication, commitment and sheer determination – but for most of us that is what draws us to it. There will be times when you are smashed and the thought of that 5 km swim set, 6 hour ride or 2 hour run is just too much to handle  - this is where the 5 minute motivation trick comes into play. When times are tough, instead of looking at the total session, thinking it is all too hard, ignoring the alarm, rolling over in bed and feeling guilty all day because you missed a session,  just look at the first 5 minutes. Put your training gear on, get to your training venue and complete the first 5 minutes of the session. You will find once you get through the first 5 minutes more often then not the rest of the session will roll on and you will have gone from completely missing a session to attending and completing at least a large portion if not the whole session. Attendance equals consistency which equals results and every session sessions starts with the first 5 minutes.

A – Application. Whilst turning up is the first step towards success, it is really what you do when you get there that takes you to the next level. As TZero coaches we spend a lot of time on planning your season, your macrocycles, your training weeks and then right down to the durations and intensities of each set. As one of the head coaches commented to me, if an athlete is doing 10 sessions a week and does an extra 5 minutes each session, that is an extra 50 minutes per week of training, similarly if you cut sessions short. Adding or missing parts of sessions, increasing or decreasing prescribed intensities and changing the times / days of sessions can all dramatically affect the outcome of the training program… In a negative way! That’s why you have access to your TZero coach so they can make decisions on any changes that may need to be made for whatever reason. This not only applies to duration and intensity, it applies to skills and intentions. The greater you hold yourself accountable to performing skills during the sessions the greater your success. Application is all about performing each session as it is prescribed with the greatest amount of purpose possible.

A – Attitude. This is the game changer between the good and the great. Listen to yourself when you talk and you will get an insight into your attitude. What do you relate to?
I want to achieve X or  I can achieve X?
I have do X session or I will do X session?
I was (insert excuse here ie sick / injured / the training program was wrong / had a mechanical / weather was bad, watch / computer / power meter didn’t work) so I could of  gone faster /  finished on the podium / got a qualifying slot or I did everything I could on race day and I will keep learning and getting better.

When you listen to the greatest athletes in the world, their attitude center’s around
                I can ……………………..
                I will ……………………..
                I did ……………………..

You are in control of your own attitude – just like swimming, riding and running – keep training your attitude towards - I can…, I will… I did …….

Good luck to everyone in 2018 – “Live Your Potential”

Happy days
Lise

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​Coach Lisa Spink is one of the best endurance coaches you have never heard of! With over 20 years experience and incredible stable of results, we are super proud to call her a T:Zero Multisport Coach.