ARTHUR LYDIARD DISTANCE TRAINING FOR RUNNERS
by John Molvar and Mick Grant
(Also published on kidsrunning.com)

Our training principles owe a huge debt to the legendary Arthur Lydiard, the father of modern middle/long distance training.  Here is a brief summary of Lydiard’s training principles

1) THERE ARE CHAMPIONS IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD
Lydiard trained a bunch of kids in his neighborhood and scores of them became national champions and record setters; even Olympic Champions and World Record Breakers!

2) ENDURANCE IS THE KEY TO ANY RACE 800 AND UP
The most important part of training is first building an endurance (aerobic) base. Without it, you will not reach your potential no matter what else you do.

3) BALANCE ENDURANCE TRAINING WITH INTERVAL TRAINING
You need the correct blend of both aerobic distance running with anaerobic speed training to race at your best. If you do one without the other, you will get poor results. An aerobic base is the "cake" and anaerobic work is the "frosting".

4) BUILD AN ENDURANCE BASE FIRST
This is the most important phase of training. Do it for as many weeks as possible. Don't run too slow (jog) and don't run too fast (race). Do run at a strong pace. You should feel like you could have gone faster if you had to and you should feel pleasantly tired after each run.

5) VARY YOUR DISTANCES DURING THE BASE PHRASE
Alternate shorter and longer runs. Do a long run once a week. Do a shorter fast tempo run once a week.

6) DO A HILL PHASE
A couple weeks of hill work will transition you or get you ready for the intervals you will be doing on the track in the next phase.

7) ANAEROBIC PHASE
Do a few weeks of intervals on the track, such as repeat 400s to condition your body to handle the lactic acid you will feel in the race when you tire. Don't overdo it. Train, don't strain and stop when you feel you have had enough for a day. Goal times and number of intervals are just a guide. Don't carry this phase on too many weeks or you will break down.

8) WORK ON YOUR BASIC SPEED
Do repeat short sprints of 50 to 100 meters to improve basic speed. Your natural sprint speed is primarily determined by genetics but everyone can improve their speed somewhat. Focus on running tall, high knee lift and relaxation.

9) COORDINATION PHASE TRAINING
Coordinate or bring together your endurance training and your interval training by running developmental races or time trials. These are early season, unimportant races that you are basically just using for training. They are not run all out.

10) TAPER FOR THE TARGET RACE
The last 7 to 10 days before your big race, cut way back on training so you are rested and ready for the target race.


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