An article about how to use trials

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Don’t Race When in Training or Run at Race Pace for distances Above 16 kilometres (10 miles)

I decry such things as time trials..I am convinced that they are nothing more than a senseless waste of time and energy. They can’t tell you any more than the race itself could…Racing then, should be the only time-trials and should be run every two or preferably three weeks apart….six weeks between events would be more suitable for a marathon runner, but once every two months is probably better.

Newton is clearing stating that it is impossible to give your best effort every day - whether through racing or time trials. He also raises a couple of issues - time trials, yes or no and how often should you race?

Time trials

Time trials are efforts over a specific time or distances to assess the runner’s level of fitness during training. They are most useful when compared to previous time trials to determine a current level of fitness or potential race performance. Often, a runner will have a specific session in preparing to race that will be used to estimate race performance and provide confidence. What is essential to remember though is that the time trial performance is a controlled effort and not a flat out race. Arthur Lydiard used time trials with his athletes in his peaking phase but commented ‘Remember that when you are doing time-trials you are still training hard so good times cannot always be expected. You cannot train hard and perform well simultaneously.’
Time trials can be a useful confidence booster prior to racing and can be used as a substitute where no suitable tune up race is available.

How often should you race?

It is now widely accepted that damage is caused to the muscle during races, espeically where the distance exceeds 25k. A general rule of thumb is to refrain from hard training or racing for 1 day for every mile raced - so 6 days following a 10k, 13 days for a half marathon. It is probably only possible to achieve a peak performance at two marathons in one year. Many club runners race two or three times a month. If the aim of the runner is to enjoy their running with ultimate performance being of less importance then this is fine. However, in order to achieve an ultimate performance, a race has to be special, different, unusual. In a training programme there is space for tune up races to determine an appropriate race pace and to practice specific strategies for the goal race. But ultimate performance results in a total fusion of body and mind. And if the race is not special, the mental side will not be there. The best compromise I’ve used is a non linear periodisation of a four weekly cycle with the fourth week designated as a racing and recovery week. I’ll describe this system in detail in a later post.

So, my feeling is to pick your races and make them special and only use time trials in a correct atmosphere for a specific purpose.

Train Smart!