RunnersConnect Run to the Top Podcast

How do you design your training to race well at a variety of distances throughout the year and deal with the delicate balance between normal training fatigue and being injured? In this interview, we’re going to get inside the head of Blake Boldon, the Head Cross Country Coach at the University of Pennslvania. Coach Blake has coached multiple Olympic-caliber runners as well as worked with famed coach Jack Daniels and he’s on our show today to teach you what he’s learned. Blake is going to tell you exactly how he approaches the balance between injuries and general fatigue, how to structure your training for yearly improvements, and how to properly integrate tune-up races into your training blocks. Here are the actionable highlights from the interview: 1. Balancing recovery to stay injury-free Staying injury-free and having long cycles of training without getting hurt is essential to long-term improvement. To stay injury-free you need to learn how to properly recover and listen to your body. Take Action: “It’s better to be 100% healthy and 80% prepared than 80% healthy and 100% prepared.” Blake discusses the importance of keeping your easy days easy and not pushing yourself when the purpose of the session is to recover. Blake also mentions that you should take care of potential injuries right away, before they become a bigger problem. 2. Structuring your training for year-round success Each race distances places a specific demand on structural and metabolic processes in the body. To race well, you need to design your training to improve these specific demands while balancing the need for recovery and complimentary energy systems. Take Action: Blake outlines the ideal one year training cycle (Marathon, followed by 5k or 10k training, then half marathon training, a short speed segment, and back to the marathon again). To demonstrate, Blake outlines Kara Goucher’s training under Alberto Salazar in which her marathon training block begins with a speed development segment. 3. Set expectations for tune-up races Very few runners have the patience to sign up for one big race and schedule all their tune-up races and training to coincide with peaking for one race. Often, runners have multiple races in one training segment, some of which may or may not fit into the overall race build-up. Therefore, it’s critical you manage expectations and find creative ways to fit in your less important races. Take Action: Manage your expectations and remember that every race doesn’t have to be a PR. Blake says you should ask yourself this question after a tune-up race: “could I have done this in training, by myself?” The answer is almost resoundingly yes, and indicative that the tune-up race was a great workout for you. 3. Don’t run through injuries All runners are scared to take time off for an injury, especially when we think we can run through it. In the end, trying to run through an injury leads to poor performances, a general disdain for training, and a longer amount of time off than would have been needed originally. Take Action: Blake shares the story of how he tried to train through a groin injury, which ultimately lead to the end of his professional running career. Blakes advice: get injuries taken care of right away. This is an awesome interview, especially if you have questions about how to structure your training for long-term progress. Get ready for some specific and actionable lessons you can apply to your training today!