Periodization—A Primer
When I started writing this article, little did I realize that my research would provide me with another reminder that my own training is often unfocused and undisciplined. Despite 30 years of running, I still make frequent training mistakes. Due to running too many hard days in a row and not taking adequate rest breaks, I often skip hard track workouts and don't race as fast as I believe I should. This probably wouldn't happen if I'd follow a training program based on periodization.
Periodization is simply a label applied to training programs that divide the year into distinct seasons. The seasons are split into segments or phases featuring workouts that focus on the patient and progressive development of strength and speed. The primary goal is to train to race hard and fast in a single race or series of races near the end of the season. Most programs have four phases: base building, sharpening, competition and rest.
- Base Phase. The focus during this time is on developing endurance and aerobic capacity by running a lot of easy miles. The emphasis in this period should be gradually increasing both weekly mileage and the length of the long run. These long runs, the most important single workout of the week, shouldn't be races, but neither should they be leisurely jogs with frequent stops at Starbucks.
- Sharpening involves a shift from quantity to quality by increasing intensity and adding stress. This is most effectively done through tempo runs designed to boost lactate threshold and interval training that aims to improve VO2 max. A good example of a tempo run is a 4-mile track run; a popular interval workout is 4x1 mile.
- Competition. The emphasis switches to preparing to race hard. There's an even greater drop in mileage and an increased focus on shorter, faster intervals and taking extra recovery days before and after target races. Typically, a peak can only be maintained for 6-8 weeks.
- Rest. If you've been racing well, there's a tendency to want to continue competing. It's important to resist the temptation and start the rest phase. This can be an active period with easy running and/or cross training or an extended time without running. MCRRC club member Rob Magin runs a few easy weeks in June following the spring racing season and doesn't run at all in most of December.
Most training programs include some overlapping throughout these phases. They typically include a limited number of tempo runs and interval workouts during base building, an occasional long run during the sharpening phase, non-peak races during the base and sharpening phases and, perhaps most importantly, rest or easy days as needed throughout the entire cycle.
The pace of workouts is critical. Long runs should be done at approximately 1½ minutes per mile slower than 10K race pace. Tempo runs should be even-paced and run close to 10 mile race pace. The best pace for interval training is 5K race pace. Resist the temptation to run any of these too fast!
The length of each phase depends on a number of factors, including the distance of the target race, training background and the number of seasons planned in the year. Marathoners may want to focus almost exclusively on long runs during base building and tempo workouts during sharpening, while 5K/10K runners might concentrate more on interval training and limit the length and number of long runs.
In practice, it's not uncommon for marathoners to spend many months of base training before introducing speed work and tapering for their goal race. On the other extreme, a former teammate of mine and nationally-ranked masters runner Gary Romesser stuck to 13-week training cycles: four weeks of high mileage, four weeks of long intervals, tempo runs and trial races, four weeks of short intervals and goal races and one week of rest. I wonder if Gary devotes more time to rest now that he is approaching 50!
The DC area is perfectly suited to two seasons, due to our long, hot summers and cool winters with relatively few races. A program could focus on base building in January and February, sharpening in March and the first half of April, competing in the second half of April and May and resting in June. The second season would start in July with base building and continue through the cycle to the end of the year. Target races could include Cherry Blossom, Pikes Peek and Ferndale in the spring and Army, the Rockville 5K/10K and Marathon in the Parks in the fall.
Whatever schedule you choose, what's important if you want to run your fastest is to pick a few key races long in advance, and then commit to do the work needed to produce top efforts on those days.
There are plenty of resources available to those looking for help in planning a training program. Personal coaching is readily accessible via the internet and with local coaches such as MCRRC's Kirt West. Self-coached runners can find an abundance of books that offer in-depth instruction. One of the best, Road Racing for Serious Runners, was co-authored by MCRRC's Scott Douglas and Olympian Pete Pfitzinger.
As many of us make resolutions in January this is a great time to establish some 2001 running goals and develop a training plan to attain them. Perhaps I'll even do the same!
Jim was the 1996 Open Runner of the Year. He has coached college cross-country and track for five years.