Hadd's Approach to Distance Training: Applying It to 800m to 3200m Runners

My question pertains to the application of Hadd's Approach to Distance Training for a marathon runner to runners in the 800/1600/3200 distances. After reading Hadd's Approach, it is clear that the runners I coach, while they appear aerobically fit, have trained at speeds that are too fast.

Thus, during xc, when they run 4 and 5K distances, they are going anaerobically to soon, hitting lactate threshold (LT), and dying off. Now we are in track, and I see the same thing occurring in greater distances.

For instance, one runner with a 2:19 800m time should be able to run 4:49 1600 and a 10:40 3200, also 17:37 5K. But the times are 5:16 for 1600, 12:00 for a 3200, and a 5K pr of 19:38.

So...My question pertains to extrapolating the methods in Hadd for a marathon runner to a mid-distance runner. In other words, in Hadd, the runner of example had a 170 heart rate (HR) beginning marathon pace, and the HR he began with was 145 and 155-60 and progressively built from there. However, a marathon is mostly an aerobic race.

So for an 800 runner, they are going to hit LT much sooner than a marathon runner, a little later in the 1600 and so on. Will the marathon approach in Hadd work for the mid-distance runner or do they need to extrapolate from Hadd and adjust to a higher HR and then run at HR's at the recommended beats sub max?

– Greg, Redding, CA, USA

Answer by Dom: Hi Greg,
Thanks for your question about Hadd's Approach to Distance Training, a string of thoughts posted by this running trainer, Hadd, on one of the major running forums a number of years back. Your instinct is right: your runners have speed but not enough base. I'd use the same approach for your 800/1600/3200 runners, with a few sensible adjustments for their age and the racing season.

1. Why the marathon approach still fits your runners
2. Which heart rate and pace targets to use
3. Keeping speed alive with strides
4. Off-season versus racing season

Why the marathon approach still fits your runners

You are right, a marathon is mostly/completely an aerobic race. But any race from 800 metres and up is mostly an aerobic race. Sure, speed is very important in the shorter distances as well, but you don't get far if you have got speed, but no stamina.

Look at your own numbers. Your runner's 2:19 800 predicts 4:49 for 1600 metres, 10:40 for 3200 metres and 17:37 for 5K. The actual times are 5:16, 12:00 and 19:38. That is 27 seconds off over 1600, 80 seconds over 3200 and 2:01 over 5K. The gap grows with every extra lap. That is not a speed problem — it is a stamina problem, and it points straight at a weak base.

The Hadd approach is a method that works to build an excellent base and to increase your lactic acid threshold, regardless of whether you are a marathon runner, half marathon runner or run shorter distances. Your lactic acid threshold, or lactate threshold (LT), is the effort above which lactic acid builds up faster than your body can clear it. That is the point where legs go heavy — and lifting it is the whole game. Lift it, and you will be able to run faster without your legs getting heavy. This helps in any race, whether it is an 800 metre race or a marathon.

The times you mention are very typical of many, many runners. Many people simply never really develop their base fully because of inconsistent training or switching back and forth between training approaches. Many people also do their long/easy runs too fast and their intensity work too slow.

Which heart rate and pace targets to use

You asked whether to move to a higher heart rate (HR), the number of beats per minute your heart makes. My advice: no. The core idea is to run long, run easy and around lactic acid threshold pace, and the main idea for base building is to do easy runs, but also to run just below, at and just above your lactic acid threshold. Your 800 runner hits LT sooner in a race, yes. But that is a reason to raise the threshold in training, not to train harder than it.

Don't copy Hadd's marathon numbers (145, then 155-60, with 170 at marathon pace) straight onto teenagers. Everyone's HR is different — a teenager's threshold can sit 10 beats from the next runner's. Have each runner do a solo, evenly paced 30-minute hard run on the track. Their average HR over the last 20 minutes is a rough guide to their threshold HR. Build their easy running and threshold work around that number. For help with the maths, check out the Zoladz Method of Heart Rate Monitor Training and the Karvonen Method of Heart Rate Monitor Training.

The principle is simple. If you know that your legs get heavy when you run 7:05 miles, then run lots of 7:15 miles. Do this enough and after a while your legs do not get heavy at 7:05 miles anymore. Then move the target down. Most weeks, I'd have each runner do one threshold session and keep the rest easy.

Keeping speed alive with strides

Base building does not mean losing your speed. I'd add strides to two of your easy days. Strides are short, smooth accelerations of 15 to 20 seconds, run fast but relaxed — not sprinting flat out.

Do 6 to 8 of them at the end of an easy run, walking back to the start in between so every one feels fresh. They keep leg speed and good form ticking over, and they cost almost no energy. Your 800 runners need them most, because that speed is their edge. You will not undo the base work with a few strides, I promise.

Off-season versus racing season

I would expect that if you use the exact same approach as described in the e-book, and do so very consistently over a prolonged period of time, then you will be able to get quite some improvement. However it is probably best applied in the off-season, in preparation for the running season. Aim for 8 to 12 weeks of non-stop, consistent base building.

Your athletes are young, so build the mileage up gradually. Add one extra run or ten extra minutes to a long run at a time, rather than a big jump in weekly mileage. Take a consolidation week every third or fourth week — an easier week to let the body absorb the work — and listen to your runners' niggles early.

In season, don't drop the base. Keep the easy running, keep the weekly threshold effort, and let races supply the faster work. A fantastic running training book which explains a lot more about all the different running speeds and how to combine them (including running training templates for any race of 800 metres and up) is Daniels' Running Formula. Its templates are also geared towards high school / university situations where you will have multiple races in a season instead of that one goal race. Daniels also starts off with a base running period, but in the racing period or closer towards races he will include faster running as well.

Be patient with them, Greg. The base is built over seasons, not weeks, and your runners will thank you when those 1600 and 3200 times start dropping. I hope this helps. Best of luck.
Kind regards,
Dom

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