How to improve your running endurance?

There is both good news and bad news in the answer to this question.

The good news is that our body has been programmed for thousands of years to gradually adapt to a change in 'physical load' and thus improve our endurance. Running a marathon seems like a very ambitious goal for many until the day when, through training, we manage to do it and remain surprised by our body's ability to adapt. And without going as far as a marathon, our body will always adapt to a repeated physical load and will gradually become more enduring. It will tire less quickly and will be able to 'endure' a sustained physical load, an effort over an increasingly long period through training.

When I ran my first half marathon, I found this distance already quite long and during the race I even said to a friend with whom I was running this marathon: 'imagine, for a marathon, we would now have to run a second half marathon'. It seemed really difficult and long to me. I could not imagine that a few years later after having already run ten marathons, I would one day start a marathon during a long distance triathlon (Ironman format) after already more than 7 hours of effort swimming and cycling. With training and motivation, everything is possible thanks to this extraordinary ability of our body to adapt and our mind to prepare us to become resilient.

The bad news or the downside if you will, is that it requires effort (with some particularly demanding, difficult training sessions), resilience and patience over time and discipline to place and carry out the training sessions. The desire is not always there on a daily basis. The weather conditions are not either, and sometimes it takes a lot of determination, especially in the morning, to get up and go out anyway. It requires a form of courage, but the physical fitness that comes gradually with training also has many advantages such as giving us a much higher level of energy on a daily basis.

Improving your endurance is therefore beneficial not only in sport but also in everyday life.

So how do you improve it and what exactly is endurance?

What is endurance?

Before detailing how to improve your running endurance, it is important to define what endurance is.

Endurance is our ability, thanks to the beneficial effects of training, to resist fatigue better and better when we produce a physical effort over time. Note that this capacity for resistance to fatigue is both physical and psychological. In this article, we will mainly talk about the physical capacity of the human body, but the capacity for psychological resistance is just as important, especially when we experience moments of 'less well'. There is an expression in English that I have heard ultra distance runners (race distance beyond the marathon) use to describe these difficult moments. They talk about moments when they find themselves in the ' pain cave ' or in French when they find themselves in the 'grotte de la douleur'. It is figurative enough for us to understand that this is not the best moment of the race.

To return to the concept of endurance, it can also be defined as the ability of our body to renew the energy it consumes over time during exercise. And what training helps us to do is precisely to improve our 'energy' efficiency, like an engine. And our engine is both our cardiovascular system and our muscle mass (the third ingredient being our mind, our motivation).

To better understand the concepts of endurance and energy efficiency, it is important to introduce several notions, including that of VO2 max.

VO ₂ max

Our _VO2 max is the maximum capacity of our body to use the oxygen we breathe and which serves to release the energy our body needs to support prolonged physical effort such as running. If we try to run faster and faster, there will be a time depending on each person's abilities and our level of training where our body will reach the maximum of its capacity to consume oxygen. At this time, we have reached our _VO2 max and our maximum aerobic speed or VMA.

Racing economy

The second key concept is that of running or movement economy. An economical runner is one who is energy-efficient for a given distance at a given speed compared to most other runners. If two athletes have the same VMA but one of them has a more efficient running economy or running technique, this runner will have more endurance. By generating fewer parasitic gestures, by transforming his energy into speed more efficiently, he will be able to last longer. It is a bit like calculating energy consumption per kilometer at a given speed. We can start with the same energy reservoir but some runners for the same given speed will have a lower energy consumption per kilometer and will therefore be able to last longer (assuming that they eat and rehydrate appropriately and in a comparable manner).

Recovery

The third concept is recovery. It is not enough to increase your _VO2 max. to acquire a very efficient running technique to become and remain an endurance runner. Without adequate recovery, injury or a drop in performance is guaranteed to await us. Simply because our body needs this recovery to regenerate. The optimal duration of recovery will depend on the intensity and duration of each session. It could be 12, 24 or even 48 hours. After particularly demanding events such as a Marathon or an Ironman, recovery will be counted not in days but in weeks and the resumption of training must also be very gradual.

To become more resilient, you must therefore work on several fronts, namely improving your _VO2 max, developing an economical and efficient running technique and constantly ensuring that you recover well.

What training program should you follow to improve your endurance?

There are of course a plethora of training programs depending on the target race distances: 5km or 10km, half-marathon or marathon and beyond towards ultra or trail running from short distances (less than 20-25 km) to medium distances (between 20-25 km and 40-50 km) to long distances of ultra-trail (beyond a marathon).

However, there are some constants or key points to consider in your training program to be able to improve your endurance. We have listed ten of them below:

1. Run three times a week

The improvement in VO ₂ Max increases with the training frequency. This is especially the case up to a frequency of 3 days per week. Beyond a weekly frequency of 3 sessions, you can still gain in endurance but the gains decrease. Also be careful beyond three or four days of the risk of overtraining. An increase in frequency should be done very gradually while always listening to your body to avoid injury due to overtraining. Also note that below 2 days of training per week, there is generally no significant increase in VO ₂ max. For beginners or those who are returning to running after a long period of inactivity, you will find below some additional key tips to follow to avoid injury.

Additional point of attention for beginners: the risk of injury increases if training is more than 3 days per week and the duration of sessions is more than 30 min. So if you start running training, it is advisable not to exceed 1h30 of cumulative running per week and 30 min per session for at least one month. It is also advisable to start doing weight training at the same time.

2. Include a high intensity interval training session

These sessions have the greatest impact on improving our aerobic fitness. On the other hand, they are demanding. They 'hurt' and the last repetitions are increasingly difficult. These are sessions that first include a 10-15 minute warm-up at a moderate pace, then high-intensity interval repetitions, 30sec/30sec, 1min/1min, 45sec/15sec or even repetitions potentially on the track of 400m/800m etc. with each time the repetition of a sustained effort at high speed followed by a recovery at low speed. These repetitions constitute the intervals and divide the session into a series of fast then slow running, hence the name interval training. The end of the session should include a gradual return to calm at low speed. Depending on the intensity and duration of the interval training session, adequate recovery time should be planned. For example, you should not plan two high-intensity sessions on two consecutive days if you plan two in the week.

3. Plan a weekly long outing

To improve your endurance, you also need to get your body used to running for a long time. This is the role of the weekly long run. Unlike the interval session, this should be run at a lower intensity than the target race pace. For example, if you are training for a marathon, the long session should be run at a pace between 10% and 20% lower than your target marathon pace. Another way to define the target race intensity for a long run is in relation to the VMA (maximum aerobic speed) or the MHR (maximum heart rate). The target is to run at an intensity equivalent to:

• 65-70% of VMA
• 70-75% of MHR

Ideally, there should be no heart rate drift at the end of the long session. The heart rate should be the same as at the start of the race (after warming up).

The reason why a long outing is necessary to improve your endurance is that it allows the body to prioritize the use of the lipid energy channel. The long session is associated with the aerobic channel, that of long efforts. It uses either carbohydrates or lipids as an energy source. However, the most important reserve present in the body in terms of energy is the lipid channel. The long outing causes the body to draw on this lipid reserve. This will go hand in hand with a diet rich in lipids.

Last point on the long run and apart from ultra-distance fans like the "centbornards", it must be more than an hour and last roughly between 1h15 and 2h30 max for marathon training.

4. Plan a moderate intensity recovery outing

This third type of outing is the weekly recovery session. This is a session run at a moderate intensity. You should be able to hold a conversation during the session. The target pace range is around 55-70% of MHR or 50-65% of MAS. For beginner runners, this outing can last between 30 and 40 minutes while more experienced runners can aim for a duration between 45 minutes and an hour. This recovery session can be scheduled after a high-intensity session or after a rest day. It promotes blood circulation and helps eliminate metabolic waste from the muscles. It also helps prevent muscle soreness and maintain muscle flexibility. It is a form of active recovery. Alternatively, a swimming, cycling or yoga/stretching session can also be scheduled for variety or in addition to the three running sessions.

5. Increase the distance gradually and according to your objective

Since we are talking about a program of at least three weekly sessions, be careful to increase the distance covered per week gradually. An easy rule to remember is not to increase the weekly distance covered by more than 10% per week. If you are on a pace of 30 km covered in three sessions, you should be careful not to program more than 33 km the following week. This will mean that for three sessions, these should be extended by a maximum of 1 km on average per session. This progressiveness is key to giving our body time to adapt at the level of the muscles, ligaments and tendons and our cardiovascular system. It also allows us to improve our performance and above all to reduce the risk of overtraining and thus prevent the onset of an injury. The maximum total duration during a training plan will depend on the objective pursued. To give an idea depending on the race prepared, the maximum cumulative mileage outside of very experienced runners should be between 20 and 40 km for a 10K, 40 and 60 km for a half-marathon and between 60 and 100 km for a marathon. Please note: this is a maximum or peak training in terms of distance over a week and not an average over the duration of the training plan.

6. Improve your running technique

Running technique is key to becoming an economical runner with optimal energy efficiency. Here are some principles to remember to improve your efficiency and adopt good running technique:

• an upright posture (a straight back and looking straight ahead and not at the ground),
• relaxed shoulders and hands,
• a head-shoulders-hips alignment
• a light, fluid stride without excessive arm movement
• a rather high cadence of 160 to 180 steps per minute
• landing the feet if possible in the middle or at the front of the foot rather than at the back of the heels *
• regular, deep breathing to maximize oxygen intake.

* Warning: if you try to correct your stride, it must be very gradual, starting with a correction of a few minutes per session max, then increasing the duration of the correction very gradually. If you do not give your body time to adapt, injury is almost certain, especially to the tendons.

7. Muscle strengthening for a stable foundation

Muscle strengthening, particularly in the abdominals and dorsal chain, is key. It will help improve your posture, balance, running economy and endurance. You will be more stable in the pelvis and torso, which allows for efficient energy transfer from the upper body to the lower body. You will avoid possible compensatory movements that can ultimately have an impact on the lower back, hips or knees. Finally, you will delay the onset of fatigue and will be able to maintain efficient running mechanics for longer. Stronger abs and dorsal chain are a key component of an economical and efficient running technique.

8. Take care of your diet and hydration

It's a no-brainer: proper diet and nutrition are essential to training effectively and improving your endurance.

A balanced diet will provide you with the nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins) you need for your workouts and will help you replenish your energy reserves.

Proper hydration is essential to maintain your body's water balance, regulate its temperature during exercise through the sweating process. It also allows the transport of nutrients and the elimination of metabolic waste. Conversely, the onset of dehydration will mean a drop in performance, more fatigue and an increased risk of injury.

9. Plan for adequate recovery & rely on quality sleep

Recovery and sleep allow the body to repair and regenerate. Muscle tissue damaged (micro-tears) during exercise has time to repair itself. Regeneration is not only physical. It is also mental. Rest helps restore cognitive functions such as concentration and coordination, which are key ingredients in athletic performance. It also plays a major role in maintaining motivation intact and the energy needed to train over time.

Based on training 3 or 4 sessions per week, it is advisable to plan at least one or two days of total recovery (day of rest without any sporting activity) and several days of active recovery (low intensity physical activity sessions: light running, swimming, cycling, yoga, walking, etc.).

10. Knowing how to be patient

Improving your endurance, even if you follow all of the above tips, will take time. It will be very gradual. You will need to be patient. The improvement will take months or even years rather than just a few weeks. Between my first marathon and my best marathon, I was able to improve my time by almost 50 minutes. This is a pretty significant improvement for an amateur runner. But it took several years at the rate of two marathons per year to achieve this gain in performance and improvement in my endurance.

If you are a beginner in running, you do not practice another endurance sport assiduously and you are already tempted by long distance, you will have to be patient and plan at least 6 months to 1 year before participating in a half-marathon and at least a year before doing a marathon.

With patience and diligence, your efforts will eventually pay off and you will become more resilient. The cherry on the cake is that you will have more energy not only during your running sessions but also in everyday life. This hard-earned endurance will be beneficial well beyond your sports practice. And it is ultimately in the level of energy we have available in everyday life that lies the greatest benefit of better endurance.