Dear Reader,
The philosophical piece that I have been working on for thepathofstrength.com is going far beyond my deadline. The truth is that it has yet to catch any wind in its sails and I may have to jump off. My recent trip to Montreal didn't help but the article hit the doldrums long before that.
With this in mind, I want to share a brief Q&A. It shows how I recently approached two important problems in physical preparation, which conveniently came wrapped up in one question. The first, how can I advise someone about preparing for an athletic trial when under-trained and on a very short timeline? Second, how can I advise a motivated and impatient teenage athlete with a very short preparatory period before an important event?
Now, on with the show…
Question from Beverley:
Hey Al! What advice would you give to a 14 year old hockey player who has to run 2.4 km in 13 min at a test in early September?
This is for my daughter, Chaya.
I went out with her to do a baseline the other day and she could do it in about 15 min with my encouragement but was VERY wrecked by it.
She needs to get faster and also feel successful as she builds speed.
Also, she doesn’t know how to meter back her effort very well (ie, can’t/won't jog slow).
I’m thinking intervals for speed and some longer slower jogs (if I can get her to jog slow), but can we alternate those type of things every day?
I know that ideally we would have months for this, but is there a way to do it safely in a short time??
Thanks for any of your expert advice!!
Answer from Al:
Ok, that’s a short window!
Generally I would recommend a period of base-building first. Boring for a kid, yes. Also, there isn’t really any time for it.
How about trying this:
Basic ProgramDay 1
10 minute warm up jog and then hill sprints. Walk down hill. 4-6 repeats. 10 minute cooldown jog. Some days do longer hills (2 blocks) other days shorter hills (1 block). Hill sprints will be better for injury prevention than flat sprints.
Day 2
Nose breathing/ conversational pace run. Conversation can be difficult but you need to be able to speak in full sentences. There is no time to follow the usual 10% rule when increasing volume but be thoughtful about not overdoing it.
Day 3
Time trial at the track. Warm up jog at least 10 minutes first. Go for the goal distance. Practice pacing, and smooth technique for quicker and sustainable running. Cooldown jog 10 minutes.
Day 4
Same as Day 2.
Keep repeating this cycle, adjusting as fitness improves or also if tired. Do not skip the easy days! Do not run more than 4 days each week.
If there are any signs of injury then immediately back off for at least a couple of days.
This would not be a good long term approach because it builds up too quickly!
Taper from running for three days before the test.
Keep me posted if you have further questions…
Follow-up from Beverley:
Thank you Al! I will see if I can get her going on this. She’s feeling low about not starting earlier in the summer … I think she thought she would have no problem, but didn’t factor in the deconditioning of being off the ice all this time.
Really appreciate your help and expertise. Easier for her to hear it from not-her-parent.
Follow-up from Al:
Let her know that aerobic fitness can improve quite quickly.
Also that she likely still has pretty good on ice fitness.
Follow-up from Beverley:
I think she was mortified that her middle aged mum had no problem with the run. She’ll be happy to have these encouraging words!
Follow-up from Al:
Specificity principle
Skating makes you better at skating.
Running makes you better at running.
There is some crossover but not a whole lot.
A Deeper Look At The Approach
There are some important consoderations to the problem of pushing while avoiding injury. The key here is the short timeline. With such a brief preparatory period I am more concerned about acute injury than overuse injury. For that reason I want to avoid hard sprints on the flats. You need to condition yourself for these kinds of efforts. Instead of flatland sprints I program some hill repeats. These are much more forgiving and less likely to trigger a hamstring injury. Yet, they will give her the sense of very hard work. Chaya is a hard working athlete, and she just wants to get after it every session. This will give her something… but not too much.
The zone two runs at a conversational pace she will hate and resent. But, I feel obligated to teach her something useful and building a base at this kind of intensity is extremely important. I would prefer to have her only do this kind of training for a long while but there are two constraints. First, there is no time for base-building. Second, I won’t get Chaya’s buy-in, and I know it.
The time trial runs will give Chaya some experience with pacing, managing the event psychologically, and will allow her to see herself progressing.
This is far from an “ideal” approach to preparation, but it is very much grounded in realism. Programs need to suit not only the physical-readiness but also the psychology of the athlete.
To circle back to the beginning, if you haven’t been to Montreal, it’s a wonderful city. I focused on Jewish food and Yiddishkeit on this trip and if you want any hot tips, please get in touch.
This piece first appeared at ThePathofStrength.com
You can subscribe to the Substack and receive articles directly in hour inbox.
The philosophical piece that I have been working on for thepathofstrength.com is going far beyond my deadline. The truth is that it has yet to catch any wind in its sails and I may have to jump off. My recent trip to Montreal didn't help but the article hit the doldrums long before that.
With this in mind, I want to share a brief Q&A. It shows how I recently approached two important problems in physical preparation, which conveniently came wrapped up in one question. The first, how can I advise someone about preparing for an athletic trial when under-trained and on a very short timeline? Second, how can I advise a motivated and impatient teenage athlete with a very short preparatory period before an important event?
Now, on with the show…
Question from Beverley:
Hey Al! What advice would you give to a 14 year old hockey player who has to run 2.4 km in 13 min at a test in early September?
This is for my daughter, Chaya.
I went out with her to do a baseline the other day and she could do it in about 15 min with my encouragement but was VERY wrecked by it.
She needs to get faster and also feel successful as she builds speed.
Also, she doesn’t know how to meter back her effort very well (ie, can’t/won't jog slow).
I’m thinking intervals for speed and some longer slower jogs (if I can get her to jog slow), but can we alternate those type of things every day?
I know that ideally we would have months for this, but is there a way to do it safely in a short time??
Thanks for any of your expert advice!!
Answer from Al:
Ok, that’s a short window!
Generally I would recommend a period of base-building first. Boring for a kid, yes. Also, there isn’t really any time for it.
How about trying this:
Basic ProgramDay 1
10 minute warm up jog and then hill sprints. Walk down hill. 4-6 repeats. 10 minute cooldown jog. Some days do longer hills (2 blocks) other days shorter hills (1 block). Hill sprints will be better for injury prevention than flat sprints.
Day 2
Nose breathing/ conversational pace run. Conversation can be difficult but you need to be able to speak in full sentences. There is no time to follow the usual 10% rule when increasing volume but be thoughtful about not overdoing it.
Day 3
Time trial at the track. Warm up jog at least 10 minutes first. Go for the goal distance. Practice pacing, and smooth technique for quicker and sustainable running. Cooldown jog 10 minutes.
Day 4
Same as Day 2.
Keep repeating this cycle, adjusting as fitness improves or also if tired. Do not skip the easy days! Do not run more than 4 days each week.
If there are any signs of injury then immediately back off for at least a couple of days.
This would not be a good long term approach because it builds up too quickly!
Taper from running for three days before the test.
Keep me posted if you have further questions…
Follow-up from Beverley:
Thank you Al! I will see if I can get her going on this. She’s feeling low about not starting earlier in the summer … I think she thought she would have no problem, but didn’t factor in the deconditioning of being off the ice all this time.
Really appreciate your help and expertise. Easier for her to hear it from not-her-parent.
Follow-up from Al:
Let her know that aerobic fitness can improve quite quickly.
Also that she likely still has pretty good on ice fitness.
Follow-up from Beverley:
I think she was mortified that her middle aged mum had no problem with the run. She’ll be happy to have these encouraging words!
Follow-up from Al:
Specificity principle
Skating makes you better at skating.
Running makes you better at running.
There is some crossover but not a whole lot.
A Deeper Look At The Approach
There are some important consoderations to the problem of pushing while avoiding injury. The key here is the short timeline. With such a brief preparatory period I am more concerned about acute injury than overuse injury. For that reason I want to avoid hard sprints on the flats. You need to condition yourself for these kinds of efforts. Instead of flatland sprints I program some hill repeats. These are much more forgiving and less likely to trigger a hamstring injury. Yet, they will give her the sense of very hard work. Chaya is a hard working athlete, and she just wants to get after it every session. This will give her something… but not too much.
The zone two runs at a conversational pace she will hate and resent. But, I feel obligated to teach her something useful and building a base at this kind of intensity is extremely important. I would prefer to have her only do this kind of training for a long while but there are two constraints. First, there is no time for base-building. Second, I won’t get Chaya’s buy-in, and I know it.
The time trial runs will give Chaya some experience with pacing, managing the event psychologically, and will allow her to see herself progressing.
This is far from an “ideal” approach to preparation, but it is very much grounded in realism. Programs need to suit not only the physical-readiness but also the psychology of the athlete.
To circle back to the beginning, if you haven’t been to Montreal, it’s a wonderful city. I focused on Jewish food and Yiddishkeit on this trip and if you want any hot tips, please get in touch.
This piece first appeared at ThePathofStrength.com
You can subscribe to the Substack and receive articles directly in hour inbox.
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