MFR 161: Progression Runs
Mojo For Running Podcast
debbie voiles
4.9 • 555 Ratings
🗓️ 15 July 2024
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Progression runs do wonders for speed, endurance, and fitness, preparing the runner to run faster farther into their race, hopefully, ideally throughout their race, but also offering a wide range of fitness benefits. Simply put, a progression run starts slower and gets continually faster; however, as with all forms of speed work for running, the many variations make it possible to tweak the workout, optimizing it for the desired race goal or training goal, keeping it interesting while still challenging. Progression runs are an excellent means of improving running fitness.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, this is Debbie Boyle's coach at Mojo for Running with episode number 161, progression runs. |
| 0:12.0 | Next up in our Speedwork series is another time-honored classic, progression runs. |
| 0:17.7 | Next to fartlik workouts, these are my favorite. I used to do them for many years before I |
| 0:23.2 | ever started coaching and before I even realized they had a name. It's simply a run that progresses |
| 0:28.2 | from a slower pace to a faster pace. Of course, like all the other types of speed work, |
| 0:33.8 | there are many variations on this theme, and I'll explain those. But first, let me highlight the |
| 0:38.3 | benefits. Number one, as I mentioned in the last episode, the very worst race strategy and the |
| 0:43.9 | worst pacing strategy for a long race or run is to start off fast and try to hold on, which means |
| 0:50.1 | starting off faster and getting progressively slower. This never turns out well, |
| 0:55.6 | and it always results in slower times. Building speed throughout the run, on the other hand, |
| 1:01.0 | is the best strategy and the most likely to result in a comfortable and successful race, |
| 1:06.1 | one that's more likely to result in a PR, and one that leads to a more satisfying finish. |
| 1:11.9 | More than anything else, progression runs trained this pattern of increasing speed throughout. |
| 1:17.9 | 2. As you might imagine, progressor runs also build endurance. |
| 1:22.1 | Pushing yourself to go faster and faster as you go farther is a great way to build endurance. |
| 1:27.1 | 3. They also teach you to be tough, to push harder, to go faster, farther into the run. |
| 1:32.7 | It's not hard to gradually pick up speed at first. |
| 1:35.9 | When you're only going at an easy jog or conversational pace, that's comfortable and natural. |
| 1:40.9 | But later, when you're progressing from conversational to tempo pace and later, from tempo pace to race pace and natural, but later, when you're progressing from conversational to tempo pace and later |
| 1:45.6 | from tempo pace to race pace and faster, that gets quite a bit more intense. However, of course, |
| 1:52.3 | you can do a progression run and not ever get to the point of being intense. It depends on the |
| 1:57.7 | purpose of the workout. Number four, progression runs also help you learn to pace yourself, |
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