Aerobic endurance
Building aerobic endurance is the “central” part of any running training plan. It's the “base” capacity for cardiovascular development, the one that lets our body adapt so we can enjoy running fully prepared.
Building aerobic endurance starts with a small total training volume at the beginning of a runner's preparation and gradually increases in both volume and intensity as the body's metabolic adaptations build up over time, whatever the runner's level.
Every runner will find their own “optimal” pace for working on and building aerobic endurance. This pace is individual and can be determined through various fitness tests or through training strategies led by a coach or a professional in the field. It will be the foundation for other, more intense parts of the runner's aerobic development, focused on “power” (prioritizing intensity over training time) rather than on “endurance” (prioritizing training time over intensity). We'll develop this “Power” side through continuous sessions at varying intensities, called “Fartlek” (a Nordic word meaning “speed play”), or through sessions broken up into repeats, more commonly known as “Intervals”.
In a “Fartlek”, after a few minutes of warming up at a steady pace, the runner starts a series of faster surges, either by time or by making the most of the terrain (uphills, downhills, different surfaces, etc.), each followed by a recovery stretch at a slower pace.
With “Intervals”, the runner does a set number of repeats over distances that usually range from 1000 to 3000 meters, at a hard but sustained pace, with a short recovery between reps that lasts no longer than the rep they've just finished.
These two methods, which make up the development of aerobic power, together with building aerobic endurance, will form the main foundation of training for any amateur runner who wants to take part in races from 5 km all the way up to the marathon.
Andreu Novakosky – Nationally certified athletics coach.