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Speed Training

What is speed training?

For triathletes, speed training usually refers to:

 

  • sessions targeting the anaerobic energy systems usually done above 'race pace'
  • sessions with the aim of increasing economy of movement across all of the paces used in a race

 

 

'Speed' training in terms of Energy Systems

In the article regarding endurance training I introduced the 3 energy systems and discussed how increasing the capacity and efficiency of aerobic metabolism was important for endurance performance.  Speed training could be considered sessions that target the ATP-CP system and anaerobic metabolism which are predominant during exercise  of up to 10 seconds and 60 seconds respectively. Training of the ATP-CP is often termed maximal speed or power training whilst training of anaerobic metabolism can be termed lactate production or lactate tolerance. Here's a summary of the primary benefits of each from one of my favourite bedtime reads 'Swimming Fastest' by Ernest Maglischo (although the principals apply to swim, bike or run):

Lactate Tolerance:

  • Increase in muscle buffering capacity
  • Improvement in the ability of swimmers to maintain good technique in spite of severe acidosis
  • Improvement in the ability of swimmers to tolerate the pain of severe acidosis

Lactate Production:

  • Increase in the rate of anaerobic metabolism
  • Increase in maximum sprinting speed (take race out hard, finish races fast)

Maximal Speed / Power:

  • An increase of muscular strength
  • An increase in the rate and pattern of muscle fiber stimulation by the CNS
  • An increase in the rate of force development within muscles

For more details visit the article about categories of training including how to construct training sets. It's worth noting that the repeat speed for each type of training above is maximal or near maximal. You might be thinking that since we don't often swim, bike or run at or near maximal speed in a triathlon then this isn't particularly useful way to spend your training time.  Here's a few things to consider:

  • Sometimes during the start of the swim, a steep climb on the bike or a sprint finish on the run you will build up a severe acidosis from digging into anaerobic metabolism and it is useful to be prepared for this and able to recover.
  • Training near maximal speeds will ensure recruitment of type 2 fibres that might otherwise remain untrained.  This can be excellent nervous system training to help muscle recruitment patterns.  In the case of Lactate tolerance training a secondary benefit might be increases in VO2 Max.
  • If you can increase speed/power this will raise your ceiling of performance so that during a race you are working at a lower percentage of maximum giving you more room to improve.
  • The body gets efficient at what it practices so if you swim 'slow' all the time you will get efficient at swimming slow.  The more time you can spend at or above 'race pace' the more your body will get used to the movement / muscle recruitment patterns involved.
  • Moderate amounts of maximal speed / power and lactate production training can be included regularly without significant impact on other training you are undertaking.  It's worth noting the same can't be said for lactate tolerance work..
  • The body will respond better to a variety of training stimuli, rather than excessive endurance training.
  • Endurance training can get boring so it's good to spice things up.

 

Speed training in terms of Economy of movement

I mentioned above that the body gets efficient at what it practices and I also talked about economy during the article on endurance training.  This is in part due to the body learning to contract and relax the key muscle groups involved in the movement efficiently so they are only working when required. It also trains the stabilising muscles required when moving at speed.  Finally it gives the muscles, ligaments and tendons time to adapt to a more optimal range of movement.  

So for a triathlete wouldn't it be useful to be able to replicate the speed and patterns of movement at or above race pace without the associated fatigue? This would mean they could be done more often, for longer and without risking overreaching or overtraining.

Early in your training you might try some of the following training methods:

  • Swim: Fins - Using fins to increase the pace you are swimming at to race pace or above without the usual energy cost.  This will teach your body the feel for swimming at this pace.
  • Swim: Stroke rate sets - Use tools like a tempo trainer or wetronome to raise you awareness of the stroke rates you are using and if required increase them over time to the desired level.  Many triathletes, particularly those new to swimming will swim with stroke rates of less than 40 per minute (that's counting each arm entry into the water as one stroke).  This is often due to an excessive glide/pause once the recovering arm as entered the water.  Elite open water swimmers will often use stroke rates in excess of 80 stroke per minute which makes it clear that to swim fast simply focusing on distance per stroke isn't enough.  Once you have built the basis of an efficient stroke try 60 spm as a target.  Race stroke rates can then be used in training sets rather than race paces to let your body get used to the timing of the stroke without the associated fatigue (the secret is to use these stroke rates without loosing distance per stroke so don't increase stroke rate too quickly)
  • Bike: Cadence Intervals (Max and Maintainable Cadence) - The great thing about bikes are gears! They allow us to choose the combination of leg speed (cadence) and force that suits us best.  Swimmers and runners need to be able to coordinate their movements when their limbs are moving at high speed which is a real problem for many people and one of the main limiters to performance in these disciplines. In cycling 'strong' athletes with limited coordination/speed can still ride very fast as they can simply push bigger gears. This is fine if you are big and strong and all you want to do is ride time trials but I would recommend working on low resistance high cadence intervals for all triathletes.  The two aims I have for these sessions are:
    • increase the peak cadence that you can achieve whilst holding your race position (if you can get over 200rpm you are doing well!)
    • increase the cadence you can maintain for prolonged periods, such as 30 sec upto 5 mins (being able to maintain 120rpm+ whilst in race position without bouncing around is a good benchmark).
  • Run: Cadence intervals - In my article about running technique there is an extract from Jack Daniels regarding optimal cadence. Using a series of workouts at moderate pace (e.g. marathon pace) to focus on using faster cadences can be very effective preparation for later, more intense workouts.
  • Run: Downhill running - Running would be great if we had gears. Well running down very gradual slopes can act like a small chain-ring allowing your to spin your legs at high speed without the associated energy cost of running at the same speed on the flat.
  • As a final option I saw something this morning on BBC breakfast news about the sport of dog running. You wear a harness around your waist that is attached to a dog.  You then run together around a course racing other pairs.  Your hands are free to use a normal running action but your four legged friend makes your average running pace considerably faster than it would otherwise be.  You look really daft but seeing as we all race around in lycra jump suits it might be worth a try! Any volunteers?

In summary - Many triathletes find speed is a limiter to their performance.  This could be because they have avoided working the anaerobic energy systems to fit in more aerobic work.  However it is more likely that the long-steady-distance work has affected their economy at race intensities.   A good example of this comes from running.  Most of the top marathon runners began their careers as middle-distance runners on the track.  They developed their technical ability to run fast before they begin to run competitively over longer distances.  It's very difficult to imagine being able to run for 2+ hours at 19+km/h if you can't run at that pace for a 5k! This doesn't mean that if you are a novice Ironman then you need to include lots of anaerobic sets early in your training, but you should perhaps include some of the ideas in the section on economy of movement to counter the effects of the long steady distance training.