LifeSport Coaching works with some of the finest multisport athletes in the world. The coaches strive to supply these athletes with workouts that have a specific physiological purpose while providing inspiration. These training sessions are often trying, but when tackled with zest, result in world-beating performances.

This series offers a little peek into the training diary of LifeSport’s elite athletes. Note the workout adjustments included at the end for athletes of various abilities, experience and fitness levels.


Athlete: BRENT MCMAHON, World Cup/XTERRA racer
Distance: Olympic
Hometown: Victoria, B.C., Canada
Coached by: Lance Watson


WORKOUT: TREADMILL RUN
Warm up: 20-minute run building the last 5 minutes to steady-state, followed by drills and 6 good strides to increase range of motion and get the muscles firing fast-twitch style.
Main set: 30x1 minute with 30 seconds rest. The pace is dictated by what you are trying to achieve, i.e., race pace strength/maintenance or improving overall 10km speed.
Cool down: Easy jog for at least 15 minutes, then a good stretch session followed by ice bath to reduce muscle inflammation and tissue breakdown.


WHY IS THIS A FAVORITE WORKOUT?
McMahon: “This one makes you fitter, faster and stronger all in one special workout. So with that in mind, I look at what my 10km personal best is and what the km/hr is and then take it up a few notches for the set. So with roughly a 31-minute 10km PB or under, that would be 19.4 km/hr, so I would try and hold a 30-minute 10km pace 20 km/hr or slightly faster if I really want to hurt myself.

“You just leave the treadmill rolling at the pace and just step or collapse off for each 30-second rest. By the end, you start to bounce off the sidebars and almost fly off the back. But if you can hold the pace and make it through the set, over the next week you will notice your run cadence has increased and feel a new sense of rhythm and lightness to your everyday runs. It is just as hard of a mind game to get through the set.

“The first attempt at it will be very difficult, but each time you do it, it gets slightly easier to wrap your head around it. I find it good to do a mini-set of maybe 10-15x1min the week before this main event 30x1min. It gets you used to the hopping on and off the flying treadmill and mentally ready for the torture that is to come. Having a coach or support crew on hand to catch you if you fly off the back of the treadmill on Reps 29 and 30 can be very useful. They can also give you key feedback on form and encouragement for maintaining form and pace. If you start to struggle, one of the support staff slightly pushing a hand on your lower back can help you get back on rhythm to finish out the set.”

Coach Watson: “This is a key ‘peaking’ set for Brent’s run. The treadmill is a great tool for even pacing and learning even cadence. Treadmill runs should be done at a 1 percent grade to emulate true road running pace and force you to toe-off rather than having the belt of the mill assist you and pull your stride through. A short rest set like this means that heart rate stays elevated through the whole set, as there is not enough recovery time for it to completely drop, particularly in the second half of the workout. The end result is a high average heart rate for the whole set including recovery (in this case for 45 minutes) and an ability to do 10km worth of work on short rest at slightly faster than your 10km pace."

WHEN WOULD YOU DO THIS WORKOUT?
McMahon: “It’s best to do this workout at the end of a run-emphasis block or for generating some speed for a race about 10 to 14 days out. It's hard on the legs, but the gains are worth it.”

ADJUSTMENTS FOR OTHER ATHLETES
The benefits of this workout for both novice and intermediate athletes is that you are working at threshold and above for a major part of the workout, and that it requires you to focus on maintaining a particular effort level for a set period of time. Both of these are useful skills to take with you to the race start line.

Novice Athletes
An athlete lacking in threshold speed will benefit both physically and mentally from adapting Brent’s workout as follows:
Warm up: 20-minute run, building the last 5 minutes to steady-state, followed by drills and 6 good strides to increase the range of motion and get the muscles firing fast-twitch style.
Main set: 10x1 minute with 1-minute rest. The pace is dictated by what you are trying to achieve, i.e., develop threshold pace, build strength or improve overall 10km speed.
Cool down: Easy jog for at least 15 minutes then a good stretch session.

Intermediate Athletes
Warm up: 20 minutes run, building the last 5 minutes to tempo pace, followed by drills and 6 good strides to increase the range of motion and get the muscles firing fast-twitch style.
Main set: 15x1 minute with 30 seconds rest. The pace is dictated by what you are trying to achieve, i.e., race pace strength/maintenance or improving overall 10km speed.
Cool down: Easy jog for at least 15 minutes then a good stretch session.

An experienced and certified triathlon coach will be able to help you integrate these key longer runs into your overall program to optimise your training time and race performance.

LifeSport head coach Lance Watson has coached a number of Ironman, Olympic and age-group champions. He enjoys coaching athletes of all abilities who are passionate about sport and personal excellence.

Visit LifeSport.ca or write Coach@LifeSport.ca (phone 250-744-3648) for coaching enquiries.