As a coach for several years now I’ve noticed two distinct training styles: there is the way that elite runners structure their workouts and the way that recreational runners do. And while we may not run quite as fast as an Olympian by taking a look at what their training looks like gives us the model to structure our own workouts for maximum benefit. So what’s the difference?

Elite runners do two very important things in totally opposite ways. When looking at an elite runners schedule they are, more consistent with their mileage but also much more varied with their paces on a daily basis.

Let’s tackle how top level runners approach this two critical components to matters and why it matters for you.

Consistency in Mileage

The number one thing that makes an elite runner who is training at the top level is the consistency in mileage. Running the days and the miles prescribed no matter the weather or situation is what leads to success. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is anyone’s fitness. Sure even elite runners miss a day occasionally for various reasons but when push comes to shove they find the time to get out the door.

View your weekly mileage as the building blocks for your running fitness. Each day, week, month, and year builds on one another. 3.5 miles a day may not seem like a lot to a Marathoner but if you average that for an entire year that’s almost 1,300 miles! It ends up all being money in the bank helping you not just for your current race in few weeks from now, but for every future race too.

This doesn’t mean you should jump up right away to an elite runners mileage for the biggest benefit. By adding on too much mileage at one time we greatly increase our chance for injury. While graphing out a high level runners mileage we see it looks like smooth rolling hills with not a lot of jagged edges due to big swing. We consistently and slowly build mileage to avoid injuries in short amounts that will add up to big changes and being injury free. With the big picture in mind we treat the mileage as a progressive wave building higher and higher, sometimes even with a dip week or two scheduled.

Variety in Intensity

Often times beginner runners will have limited variability in their training as everyday it will be the same loop at the same moderate pace. But by taking a step back on certain days and really focusing in on workout days, will help jump-start your fitness. If you graph the weekly intensity of an elite distance runner it would look like a jagged mountain range with very low valleys following every hard day. I talked about this earlier in the science behind easy days and why they’re so important here.

Elite runners know that their intensity should vary a lot for the most benefit. I work with elite runners who will often run under 5:00 minutes a mile on their workout days and will follow that up with another day where they average 8:00+ a mile for their recovery run. Comparatively for them, they run so slow on recovery days to allow their bodies to recover after a workout, because if they don’t recover properly they won’t be able to execute the next workout well. Arthur Lyrdiard, multiple Olympic gold and hall of fame coach, has a famous quote that a recovery day can never be too slow. Pacing yourself for your highest performance should look like a saw with sharp teeth pointing out on the workout days and deep valleys on the recovery days.

Every day at medium effort will give you medium results. If the world’s best athletes can be confident that they can run multiple minutes slower than their Marathon pace and know they’re not losing fitness, than so should you!

This variance is the cornerstone to a top level training program. The term “work hard, rest hard” should be a mantra for every distance runner as a run where you’re averaging multiple minutes a mile slower than your hard efforts should follow every workout day except on rare occasions discussed by your Coach.

What this means for you

In order to shortcut the amount of time to reach your goal takes two important things: Consistency in the mileage but a high variability in intensity. Be patient in building your mileage up as injuries can derail goals. Take an approach that allows you to get in a manageable weekly volume that you can sustain for an entire build-up. Big goals like qualifying for Boston don’t happen because a few good weeks of training, they happen because a volume that is guided and has a purpose. If you combine a consistent volume with a change of intensity on different days you will see gains that will allow you to reach your goals much faster than keeping everyday the same. If you’re looking to understand more on how this should look like for your goals leave a comment below!