Dr. Jack Daniels: Utilizing The Treadmill To Help Prepare For Boston

[Editor’s Note:  The key to training effectively for the Boston Marathon is how well you strategically incorporate undulating terrain in your workouts. But what if you don’t have easy access to undulating terrain? We asked the master on how a runner can utilize the treadmill to help prepare for the course at Boston.]

By Dr. Jack Daniels

Most important is to not do too much or too steep downhill running as this really stresses the quads. I’d suggest only about 2% grade (both during uphill and downhill running on the treadmill. The speed will be about 10-12 seconds per mile faster than anticipated flat marathon pace when running downhill and about 12-15 sec per mile slower than flat marathon pace when running uphill.

November 30, 2016 /  1

“What’s Different About Training In Kenya?”

speedwork 18 december 2014

By Janet Bawcom

It’s a question I get a lot. “What’s different about the training in Kenya?” Recent doping news aside, when I look deeper and give it some real thought, I see two things that really separate the training in Kenya from the training elsewhere: Hills and Fartleks.

I’ll start with the hills,and my long run last weekend – an 18 mile loop with 3 uphill stretches longer than 2 miles each at a constant 4-7% grade. That loop doesn’t even pass for “hilly” around here. The reality is, when I train out of my mom’s home in Kapsabet, I’m running hills, hills and more hills. Not little inclines, but stretches 2-3 miles long that climb 500 feet or more – and I’m running them day in and day out – easy runs, workouts, and everything in between.

December 22, 2014 /  1

Jack Daniels: Integrating Hill Training Into Your Marathon Plan

Question: I would like to know your recommendation for integrating hill training into a marathon program. Specifically:

  1. When to start/end training (at what point in a typical 24 week cycle?)
  2. What format of hill training (true Lydiard hill circuits (bound up, recover @ top, stride down, 3X150M strides, repeat), normal :60-:30 second hill reps with short rest (VO2 workout), uphill tempo runs, etc).

Run SMART Coach Jack Daniels: I like to think of hill training as another form of resistance training, and certainly resistance training can benefit a runner.  Resistance training could be hill running, or squats in the gym or circuit training, bounding, or deep-water running, etc.  In other words, training that may be overall beneficial for the development of a runner in terms of holding off injury or developing muscles that may normally become fatigued in races of various distances.

March 29, 2011 /  1