Many runners, particularly long distance runners get into a habit of running more and more, further and further, and it ends up consuming their entire week with sub-optimal benefits. While it is true that increasing your distance and pace is important and beneficial, it is certainly not going to be hugely effective without some varied training and exercise. When I create a training plan for an ultrarunner, I always vary at least one to two runs a week with something a bit different, to benefit cardiovascular fitness or muscle strength. Here are a few effective training methods that you can add to your training plan to mix things up, vary your training and excel as an ultrarunner. Remember to always take plenty of rest days, and not to carry on training if you think you have overdone it. This will do more harm than good.

The Press -Up & Squats Pyramid
Press ups and squats are excellent exercises for runners. Promoting full body conditioning for good form and strength will increase your endurance, speed and energy drastically. Try this workout for improving speed and strength.
1000m warm up run and stretches
500m fast run, 1 Squat Jump, 1 Press-Up
500m fast run, 2 Squat Jumps, 2 Press-Ups
500m fast run, 3 Squat Jumps, 3 Press-Ups
500m fast run, 4 Squat Jumps, 4 Press-Ups
500m fast run, 5 Squat Jumps, 5 Press-Up
500m fast run, 4 Squat Jumps, 4 Press-Ups
500m fast run, 3 Squat Jumps, 3 Press-Ups
500m fast run, 2 Squat Jumps, 2 Press-Ups
500m fast run, 1 Squat Jump, 1 Press-Up
1000m warm up run and stretches
The above routine will have you doing a 6.5km run with a total of 26 press ups and 26 squat jumps. Keep working on the routine and progressing until you can get to a 10 squat jump and 10 press up pyramid. This would mean a fast 11.5km run with a whopping total of 100 press ups and 100 squat jumps. It’s going to hurt!
Enjoy and take a rest day after if required.

The Warrior Run
Try this workout on similar terrain to your race goal. For example, if you are training for a race with lots of elevation, choose a route with lots of elevation. If it is somewhere like Snowdonia, choose a training location with many rocky and hilly trails. The Warrior Run is a workout designed to mimic race conditions and style to get you more comfortable at race pace.
Start by warming up with a 10 minute jog and some stretches.
Hit the trails at your 10km race pace for 45 minutes.
Speed up (try and cut 30sec/km off of your pace) for 10 minutes.
Then run as fast as you can for 5 minutes.
You can progress this over time by changing the splits to 60 minutes, 20 minutes and 10 minutes.

The David Goggins Test
If you are training for an endurance event, you cannot beat this one. Ultrarunner and extreme athlete David Goggins completes this test every year and you should too. All you need to do is run 4 miles, every 4 hours for 48 hours. If you cannot run 4 miles, walk it. If you cannot walk it, sub it out for 40 press ups or something similar to that. You will run 12x 4 mile intervals totalling at a whopping 48 miles. In between runs, be sure to eat plenty of balanced food and rest. It will also help to stretch a lot between runs. You start at 08.00 and complete a 4 mile run at each interval:
08.00, 12.00, 16.00, 20.00, 00.00, 04.00, 08.00, 12.00, 16.00, 20.00, 00.00, 04.00

Good luck!
JOE WENMAN ATHLETICS
Ultrarunner & Professional Running Coach
www.joewenman.com

First published in Ultrarunning World Magazine issue 25

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