What makes a well-rounded athlete?
Stamina
Speed
Strength
Check those three boxes and you afford yourself some flexibility to perform well in long or short distance events.
A diverse portfolio of athletic ability creates space for choosing to go long or go fast and see it complement, not hinder, the other areas.
The astute reader may remember a previous case study on Tristan Sumpter who ran his first true running race at the Mercedes Benz Half Marathon in 2021 where he posted a 1:26. A great result considering he had been running consistently for less than 6 months. That article is linked here.
Since then, he has improved that half marathon time to 1:18, run 2:44 in the Marathon distance, and thrown down a few 5K races in the 16-minute range.
After his 2:44 marathon performance he asked if we could work on his speed. I had thought maybe he wanted to make a push for a good 5K, but I was wrong. He wanted to see what he could do in a mile. Out of curiosity, I obliged, and the great experiment was born.
Compared to a marathon, this is a full sprint and we called upon his swimming background to craft a plan to run a race that lasts less than 5 minutes. A mile is not too dissimilar to a 400m or 500yd freestyle, an event Tristan excelled in during college swimming.
1600m or one-mile intensity was an unfamiliar stimulus for Tristan’s connective tissues, so the initial phases of running at speed had to be conservative in prescription. It does not take a lot of work at this intensity to overstep your bounds and do too much.
In the interest of safe and effective loading, we limited the high speed running to once per week, supplementing the other high intensity work with the bike. As was typical in all of Tristan’s race preparations in the past 3 years, the bike was essential for accruing volume and was a safe way to tax the cardiovascular system appropriately for the Severe/Zone 5+/VO2max level of intensity.
We also designed his easy days to be a bit easier than he had been going. This was to account for the higher central nervous system stress accumulated with this new intensity.
This phase ultimately lasted ~12 weeks from start to finish and many of the workouts were performed on the track. Most weeks featured a mix of 200s and 400s on longer rest than if we were targeting a 5K. Many sessions had rest that was double the length of interval when we were looking to really tap into speed. The sustained, often 3-4’ length efforts, were saved for the bike to avoid going too deep on the track.
Tristan got a result he was happy with. On the day, he threw down a 4:49 for a mile and we both expected a time in the ballpark of 4:45-4:50 based on training paces. Not bad for a 2:44 marathoner!
While a mile is not going to be long-term goal, entering a phase of training like this was good for a number of reasons:
There is a neural component to turning the legs over at a high speed. Tristan is a tall guy and has struggled with foot speed in the past
New training can be a good mental boost and motivating to see improvement in a new area
The muscular efficiency developed through this foray should translate well to running economy gains as we eye another marathon buildup for New York in the fall.
A base period should not be limited to only slow and easy volume. In fact, it can be a great time to work on a weakness. Tristan would likely become stale mid-year if the program was marathon-specific for 10 months straight.
Tristan’s portfolio of running prowess expanded with this experience. He has demonstrated the range to perform above average in a mile and in a marathon. That is not an easy feat.
Flip the switch once in a while. You may uncover an area of stamina, speed, or strength that improves your versatility.