How to get the most out of your running training with the right race tactics, a flexible metabolism and smart recovery.
If you want to improve your running performance, you often focus only on even more kilometres and even faster intervals. But the key to lasting success and new personal bests lies deeper: it is about the perfect interplay of the right race tactics, a well-trained metabolism and scientifically proven recovery. Only if you understand how your body provides energy and when it needs a break can you call upon your full performance at the decisive moment.
A sudden drop in performance during a race – often referred to as the famous "hitting the wall" – is frequently not due to a lack of training, but to limited metabolic flexibility. According to nutritionist Prof. Dr. Anja Carlsohn in the Achilles Running podcast, this describes the body's ability to switch efficiently between burning fat and carbohydrates depending on the intensity.
During easy runs in heart rate zones 1 or 2, the body primarily uses fat reserves, which are virtually inexhaustible. If the pace increases, it switches to carbohydrates, whose stores are limited. In order to train this flexibility optimally, pure Zone 2 training is not enough, according to Carlsohn. It requires a targeted combination of easy base runs, threshold sessions and VO2max intervals to address all metabolic areas.
An important building block on the way to your big seasonal goal can be so-called tune-up races. As coach Jeff Gaudette explains to Runners World, these serve to check your current fitness level, complete a hard training session under race conditions or simply provide some variety in your daily training routine. A half marathon is excellent for testing your planned marathon pace, while shorter distances such as 5 or 10-kilometre runs can be used as intensive training sessions. It is important to decide beforehand whether you will run the race at full effort or use it as a controlled training session.
If you train a lot, you must also give your body the necessary resources back. Constant fatigue is a warning sign that often points to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. Nutritionist and running coach Cortney Berling emphasises in Runners World that overtraining and insufficient energy intake (underfueling) are closely intertwined.
The duration of the exhaustion helps to make the distinction: while fatigue after a hard training session usually subsides after a few days, exhaustion remains permanent in the case of chronic undersupply. Symptoms of underfueling affect the entire body and can also manifest themselves through concentration problems, irritability, anxiety or loss of appetite. In addition to the right nutrition, sufficient sleep and stress-reducing activities such as yoga are part of the necessary recovery.
For recreational runners, concrete steps for daily training can be derived from these sports science findings:
Your takeaway: Optimise your training with a targeted mix of different intensities and pay meticulous attention to the balance between effort, sufficient nutrition and sleep.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.