The Progression Run - Coach Paul Duncan

Nov 30

Nov 30 The Progression Run - Coach Paul Duncan

The progression run is a staple workout that I prescribe all my athletes. Most of the athletes that I coach will see a “progression run” of varying distances in their training calendar at least one time per week, regardless of the period of training they are in, and regardless of their fitness level. I also prescribe the same type of workout with bike rides. Today we talk about the run.

Progression Runs serve as a way to build endurance, patience, mental strength, they teach the body to always run faster at the end of the workout.

I find one of the biggest limiters with athletes (especially newbie athletes) is going out too hard, they will start at a pace that they are unable to sustain, and gradually get slower at the end of the workout. A progression run teaches the athlete to do the opposite.

Progression runs can be any distance or duration.

Sample Instructions for a progression run:

Duration- 60:00
Objective - Each mile is FASTER than the previous. Start the run slow enough to achieve that objective. Simple as that.

Progression runs force the athlete to start slow. If they fail to start slow and have patience, they will fail to objective the objective of getting faster each mile. As any long distance runner or triathlete knows, failure to be patient, will be a failure to achieve optimal race day performance. Same thing I’ve found to be true in the bedroom, but that’s a different blog.

Properly incorporating longer distance progression workouts into your training plan will increase your chances of performing well in longer distance races like the marathon or Ironman. You’ll be speeding up at mile 20 of the marathon, while everyone else slows down dramatically and then proceeds to tell stories about how good they felt until mile 20. If I had a nickel for every time ive heard someone say, “I felt really good, until mile 20”. My response is always, “too bad it’s not a 20 mile race Johnny, the race starts at mile 20”.

I prescribe progression runs in a variety of ways, but the two main ways are “progress by pace”, or “progress by heart rate”. Progression runs can be long runs, or even short recovery runs. I believe the most impactful progression workout are the long run with all done at a steady state, however this same idea can also be incorporated using intervals, where each interval gets progressively harder.

If you are a triathlete, consider a long progression ride where you attempt to increase heart rate every 20-30 minutes, followed by a transition run where you increase the pace throughout the run.

Athletes: Do you incorporate progression workouts into your routine? Whats your favorite way to execute a progression workout?

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Duncan is a full time military recruiter, USAT Certified Coach, QT2 Systems Level 1 Coach, and OutRival Racing Level 3 coach. For coaching inquires, click HERE.