How to Run Faster and More Efficiently is unpicked by New Levels Coach Matt Long
In a remark assessing the sheer pace of life in late modern times, the esteemed American journalist and author, Hunter S. Thompson once famously wrote, “Faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death”. This metaphor for life has an application to our sport of running which is of course a microcosm of society. We are all in the business of the pursuit of speed. Some you younger readers may feel the need to run faster, whilst those of you of masters status may be more concerned with stifling the slowing down of your paces. Either way, as runners, we are in the business of speed.
A motor vehicular analogy
Tesla inc. was founded back in 2003 with its HQ in Austin, Texas, and its CEO being the business man and inventor, Elon Musk. It is precisely because TESLA vehicles are electrical that that don’t have a gearbox as in a more conventional vehicle. As they are electrically motorised the TESLA can output 100% of their torque from a stationary start and that’s why they are able to accelerate so fast in comparison with gasoline engine vehicles which are reliant on revolutions per minute to produce power.
If you’ve been watching the Olympics this week, you can’t fail to have heard commentators like Steve Cram talking about athletes in the endurance based events proverbially ‘moving through the gears’. That’s fine but with the TESLA vehicle there is no observable change of gear, but rather an apparently seamless and incremental building of speed. So wouldn’t it be good if we as athletes could learn to accelerate in a similar fashion to a Tesla vehicle?
So lets look at the What, Why, How and When of what the Oregon based coach and coach educator, Peter Thompson (2022) has referred to as ‘Tesla Runs.’
What
Adopt a standing start on the track. When the coach starts you gradually accelerate from start line up to 80 metres by which point you should be working at 80% of your maximal speed or 8 out of 10 on a rate of perceived exertion scale. For a further 10 metres hold the pace you have reached and then decelerate after the 90 metre point till you run through the finishing line.
Why
Whilst TESLA runs employ all three energy systems because they should last between 12 and 20 seconds depending on ability, they are heavily reliant on the alactic or ‘stop-start’ energy system. Evidence suggests that we can work the alactic energy system throughout the periodisation cycle without over stressing our systems, whereas when we do speed endurance work which challenges the lactate energy system, there is a danger that sustained use of this system for more than 6-8 weeks as a stimulus can result in an athlete peaking and then feeling ‘stale’.
The aforementioned Peter Thompson (2021) has done great work unpicking the notion of ‘biokinetics’ in terms of its application to running. We know we have what is termed ‘bioenergetic’ capabilities in terms of our aerobic, lactate and alactic energy systems but Thompson (2016) has articulated how energy gained from internal kinetic sources (what we call ‘biokinetics’) is critical in understanding how the whole kinetic chain works. In terms of elasticity and reactivity, basically the shorter the ground contact time is, the faster one can run with the same metabolic energy. (See Long, Reevell and Brace, 2021). According to Thomspon (2022), “It is the practice of running at increasing speed in the TESLA runs that best develops the skill of the athlete, unconsciously and naturally, in optimally adapting their lower kinetic chain stiffness according to their running speed. This leads to more biokinetic energy production at any speed, leading to improved running economy at all speeds”.
By working at TESLA runs you can develop what coaches term ‘speed reserve’ which is measured precisely speaking by the differential between your best for 100 metres and your 100m pace for any race distance which you are undertaking. The point is that by running faster over short distances it will give you ‘speed reserve’ for the longer distances and make those more aerobically dominant paces seem so much easier. To further the motor vehicular analogy offered above, it’s a little like driving along the M1 and 70 mph. You turn off onto a slip road and seconds later you find yourself in a 30mph zone. You think you are crawling but when you gaze down at your speed gauge you are shocked to see it reads you are still doing 50mph. The fact that you have been driving at 70mph means that just 20mph less seems incredibly slow. That’s ‘speed reserve’ and its partly physiological and partly psychological because perception of speed matters.
How
‘But I don’t have access to a track?’ I hear you say. That’s fine. Its not cast in a tablet of stone that your TESLA run must be exactly 80-90 metres. Running on a track regularly may not only be problematic in terms of inaccessibility but in addition it has considerable demands in terms of mechanical loading particularly for masters athletes who may have a high training age and could be more susceptible to impact related injuries. So grass or flat trail is an option to undertake your TESLA runs on. If so this means working according to time rather than distance. So to improvise, for example, you many choose to accelerate to reach 80% of maximal speed for say 13 seconds and then maintain this pace for 2 more seconds and then decelerate for 5 more seconds.
As with any mode of training, progressive overload must occur in order for gains to continue to be made. So you don’t just run more than one TESLA one but you can work at building up to 90% or 9 out of 10 RPE by 80 metres and then ultimately up to 100% or maximal speed by 80 metres. Whilst its safer to start at 80% of maximal speed when you feel comfortable over a period of weeks or months in terms of your mesocycle of training, you can progress your runs in such a way when you have ‘earned the right’ to progress.
When
TESLA runs are best effected before a formal training session such as an interval or repetition based session. Why? Because these sessions require you to go through the whole RAMP acronym (Raise, Activate, Mobilise and Potentiate) whereas many athletes simply use activation and mobilisation drills before heading out on an easy run. So the TESLA runs would fit best under the Potentiation (see Jeffreys, 2007) phase of the warm up. They can be used to prime you whilst you are fresh and able to focus on your biomechanical form, for the ensuing session ahead which is likely to have considerable aerobic and lactate demands.
The above leaves us with the following questions for self-reflection:
- How do I currently train my alactic energy system?
- Why might TESLA runs help me with my speed development?
- How can I best effect my TESLA runs in terms of track, grass and trail based surfaces?
- When are the opportunities in my training cycle to best effect TESLA runs?
References
Jeffreys, I. (2007) Warm-up revisited: The ramp method of optimizing warm-ups. Professional Strength and Conditioning. (6) 12-18
Long, M, Reevell, D. and Brace, M. (2021) Beach of biokinetics. Fast running. 9th June. Available at https://www.fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/beach-of-biokinetics/32562/am
Thompson, P. (2022) TESLA Runs and Flying Sprints. BMC News Volume 19.Issue 2.
Thompson, P.J.L. (2021) ‘Biokinetic energy – identifying the fourth energy system for all track & field events’. Techniques for Track & Field and Cross Country, USTFCCCA, 14 (4): 8-13
Thompson, P.J.L. (2016) Current perspectives of Biokinetics in middle and long-distance running – an examination of the ‘Elastic Response’. IAAF New Studies in Athletics 31(1/2): 25-40.
Matt Long is a New Levels Coach based at Loughborough University who has served as an England Team Manager and Coach for the last 4 years. He has guided two athletes to become world champions.
