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Perhaps you are tired of waking up in the morning and going for just a boring old run. Maybe you are looking to spice up your training or get an edge on the competition. Well you are in luck because in this post we will be discussing some fun and exciting ways to spice up your training that likely are not found in a conventional training plan.

Sand Running

First off is sand running. There are a million different workouts you can do in the sand, one simple one is to mark of a short distance of about 200 meters and do a set number of repeats with a short break in between each. It is also wise to time yourself so that the next time you do the workout you can try and better your time.

Running Downhill

Another great workout to improve leg turnover is running on slight down hills. For this one it is best to have a distance of at least 100 meters. What your you want to do is gradually increase your pace until you are running at or even faster than your 100 meter race pace. This workout is great for getting you used to higher rotation speeds so that when someone starts to push in a race you will be able to answer back.

Ankle Weights and Bike Pulls

If you are looking to build strength two great workouts are running with ankle weights or pulling a bike. The ankle weights are pretty self explanatory. If you would like to try the bike pulling workout then you will need to find a friend who is willing to assist you with your training. What you do is tie a rope of about 6 feet to a bike and then tie it to a belt. Next you just put on the belt and run. In order for the workout to be of benefit though you want to make sure to never allow any slack in the rope. You can instruct your friend at the beginning to gently hit the brakes whenever there is too much slack in the line.

Tire Pulls

Lastly, another great workout is to attach a harness and run pulling a tire to simulate running in hilly areas. Typically, this is a great training for runners in flat areas. Start with a small tire and build up.

These are just a few examples of unconventional workouts that as a runner you can use to spice up your training and make you an all around better runner. Keep your eyes open and use your imagination because you never know when you are going to come across a new technique to incorporate into your training.

Most importantly, have fun.

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The question is asked by cyclists young and old, new and experienced, how much do I need to train in order to be successful? There is no easy answer, it depends on an array of factors. In this post we will discuss goal setting and how this will determine the amount you train.

First of all you have to have a goal. The amount you train will be determined by how high you set your goals. It is important to note that dreams are not goals, dreams are dreams. It is good to have dreams in the back of your mind as a source of motivation, but if you treat your dreams as goals it may lead to frustration and a loss of self confidence if you fall far short of them.

You want to set your goals high enough so that you have to dig deep in order to achieve them but not so high as to make it impossible. So let us say your goal is to win your age group in a local time trial. That’s not that lofty and is definitely doable if you dedicate enough time and effort. The amount you train is different for everybody and if you’re a newbie it will probably take you a few years to figure out your ideal mileage. A few pointers to help you map out your training are as follows.

It is better to under train than to over train. At least if you under train you know that you can increase the mileage next season and come back as a stronger cyclist. If you over train you will have no idea what your potential is and most of the season will have been wasted.

Rest is just as important as workouts. Most cyclists, especially newbies, have difficulty resting on rest days. If you don’t rest though you body doesn’t have a chance to sufficiently repair itself, and so you run a high risk of over training.

Your weekly long ride should be at least the length of the event you’re training for. You want to make sure you are totally comfortable riding the distance of your highest priority race. You do not want the race itself to be the first time you have ridden the distance. Even for an event like an Ironman where the bike distance is 180 kilometers, many athletes prefer to ride up to seven hours for their long ride so that the race itself is nothing new or out of the ordinary.

Finally, you need to listen to your body. If you are scheduled to do a hard spin session but when you get on the bike your legs feel very fatigued and you are having troubles even keeping a moderate clip, it is best to just call it a day and get some extra rest. There is no sense in pounding through a low energy session when you are not feeling rested, the workouts going to do nothing other than put you at a higher risk for injury and over training.

It will take time to get the feeling of how you respond to certain types of training but if you keep the pointers listed above in mind you’ll be well on your way to having a successful season. Once you set a goal, you want to structure your training accordingly to achieve that goal. You don’t need to train 45 hours a week in order to win your age group at a local time trial. If you’re realistic about your goals and training volume I can assure you that with hard work and determination you shouldn’t have any problem achieving them.

The goal of all serious endurance athletes is to one day complete an ironman. It is a grueling 3.8K swim, 180K bike, and then a marathon. Completely just one of these legs is no easy feat and requires plenty of training, but how in the world can you train for and complete all three?

Well first off you have got to set your goals. If you are just looking to complete an ironman, and I use “just” here loosely, your training is going to look much different then say trying to win your age group or qualify for the world championship. Once you have your goals in mind you then have to determine which ironman you will be competing in. The amount of time you will need to train will vary person to person but for most it is somewhere in the 20 to 30 week range. If you have lived a relatively sedentary lifestyle up to this point then you may need a little more time because you are going to have to strengthen connective tissues that have likely had little use.

Now that you have determined which race you are going to attend you can begin writing up your training plan. The average training time for most amateur triathletes is somewhere in the 13-25 hours per week range. If you are looking to complete an ironman it will be somewhere in the 13 range and if you are looking to compete in your age group or even overall then it is going to be on the higher side.

In the first 10-15 weeks you are going to want to get comfortable with the distances, building muscular and cardiovascular endurance, strengthening connective tissues, and working on overall body strength in the weight room. It is good to plan it out so that each week you gradually increase your training by no more than 10% up until the point where you feel comfortable completing the individual distances.

During the next 5-15 weeks you will want to begin combing the three sports together and working on any weaknesses. So perhaps one day you can swim and then bike, another day you can bike and then run, and then at least one day a week you can do all three.

Finally, you want to begin to taper about 2-3 weeks out from your target race. Basically you want to reduce the mileage but still train each day at your target pace. The goal is to get rested up without losing any fitness.

Completing an ironman is a challenging feat but if you set your goals, write up a manageable training schedule and stick to it there is no reason why you cannot achieve what you have set out to do. There will be times during the season where you will not feel like going for that 20K run or 100K bike ride but you have got to do it in order to achieve the ironman designation.

Many runners cringe when they hear the word hills, often coming up with a myriad of excuses why they can not or should not incorporate hills into their weekly routine. The truth is hills are a fabulous training tool and should have a spot in everyone’s training regimen, whether you are training for a 5K all the way up to a marathon.

Yes, hills are hard, very hard, but the reason they are hard is because they require a lot of strength in order to scale them successfully. If you cringe when you think about running hills then it is likely that you are lacking in the strength department. Unfortunately this is a necessity in any race, especially when the going gets tough, so you will definitely want to improve on this if you want to reach your full potential. In the beginning it is best to start off small, something like 3-5% of your weekly mileage. Once you start to get stronger though you will want to increase this to something like 10-15%. You definitely do not want to incorporate hills into your interval or repetition workouts because these are designed to be run fast and to increase your lactic threshold. Instead, it is best to save the hills for temp runs and longer easy runs.

If you are training for a race that has a hill in it and you already know the course layout you can design a workout that simulates the run. So for example, let’s say you are running a 5K and you know there is a hill at about the 3K mark. A good training workout would be to run at or above race pace for 15 minutes or so and then do a few hard laps up a local hill, and finish with another 15 minutes hard. Another great workout to improve your finish is to do short intervals that end up hill. A great workout for this would be to mark off a mile but make sure the finish is at the top of a hill.

There is a ton of different things you can do with hills to spice up your training and increase your strength. Running up hill is comparable to doing squats, lunges, and even leg presses, so if you do not have access to a gym or want to reach your full potential in running then hill running is just what the doctor ordered.