INTRODUCTION

You’re all set for the new year. You have your goals. You have your new running gear. You’re ready to hit the road or the trails, but you wonder which is the best way to track your progress throughout the year.

What would a running coach advise me to track? Should I just use Strava or the couch to 5k app? Should I book a VO2 max test? Shall I do timed laps on a track? Shall I run a kilometre as fast as I can?

In this episode I’m going to give you some professional advice on the best ways to test and track your progress throughout the year… Let’s get started…

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO TEST AND TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

If you listened to the last episode of the podcast about how to create goals this episode goes perfectly hand in hand with how to test and track your progress throughout the year.

The more tools you have to test and track your running/fitness progress the greater knowledge you have of yourself and where you are at form and health wise.

I would always recommend that you don’t use these tools to beat yourself up throughout the year if you aren’t making progress. They are a great insight into what is actually happening as you run throughout the year. If something isn’t improving as expected then it gives you a red-flag to explore that area. These are handy review and analysis points.

All too commonly I see clients get downbeat, then into a negative mindset because they aren’t making progress. We then look into these specific areas that we’ve tested and we usually find out why the progress has plateaued. So these are valuable tests to look a little deeper, please don’t be overly harsh on yourself.

Let the perfectionism go… that’s as much a message to myself as it is to you haha! Perfectionism is something I really have to just let go! I’m working on it, so should you!

WAYS TO TEST AND TRACK YOUR RUNNING PROGRESS

Let’s have a look at the many tools we can add into your testing. Some are really easy, some are a little more complex with a cost to them:

Are you able to run further? A really obvious one, I know! The distance you are running regularly will show you how you’ve progressed.

If the distance you are running on your long run has improved, your endurance is improving because you are now comfortably able to run for longer distances than you previously could.

That’s a really easy simple thing to track if you have an app on your phone or watch or maybe you use a route planner online.

Likewise, looking at any red-flags around this if your goal was to run for longer. We would look at, if you are not able to improve the distance you are running. If you was not going for longer we would need to figure out why?! I can’t go into your specifics here but there will be a reason.

Track your Park Run time. Measuring yourself against your local Park Run is a great way to track your progress throughout the year. You can come back to the same route and test to see where you at running form wise each time you visit the Park Run.

Park Run’s are huge in the UK and growing around the world with over 5 million registered runners. The courses are 5km distance, usually around a park with volunteers on hand to set up the course and logistics on the day.

Be cautious about the time of year and the day you run as weather and time of year can influence your 5km time so be considerate of this.

There are variables that we can’t always control when running outdoors so this would make testing not as accurate. Again, this is where we can put our perfectionist hats to one side and understand it’s a loose test that we can gain some useful information from.

What does your heart say? The data from your HR device, whether that be a chest strap or a fitness watch will show that there may be a lowering of your heart rate on your regular runs. This shows that your body is working less to do the same distance. This clearly shows progress.

Go back through your HR data if you have a HR device and compare runs that you have done and notice the patterns. As you increase your endurance your heart becomes stronger.

Your heart is then able to cope with greater demands placed upon it. Therefore the runs you normally do become easier for your heart to cope with.

Be cautious of a higher resting HR as this will likely indicate that your body is working hard to fight something off, you may be getting ill or you may have just had a coffee!

You can hold your body at a higher lactate threshold than before. What does this mean? How can you track lactate threshold?

Two of the main ways to track your lactate threshold specifically are the good old ‘20 metre beep test’ and the VO2 Max test in a performance lab.

The VO2 max test involves you running at different speeds wearing a face mask to measure the gas concentrations as the intensity increases. You will have blood taken at regular intervals and will be pushed to maximal effort to give a result of your VO2 max. This will demonstrate how much oxygen your body can consume whilst exercising. The greater amounts of oxygen you can consume the higher amounts of energy you can produce so therefore can go for longer. This is what is known as the ‘Gold standard’ of tests.

It is expensive. If you are interested in the VO2 max test, most universities have the facilities to do this test but it does come at a cost.

A much easier test to do is the good old ‘20 metre Beep test’. This has been studied and shown to have high correlation with the VO2 Max test.

So if you are looking for a much cheaper and simpler way to test your lactate threshold measure out a 20 metre distance, get your phone or an outdoor portable speaker, find the 20 metre beep test on YouTube or Spotify and see what score you get running from each 20 metre station. You will repeat 20 metre shuttle runs until you can no longer get to the station as the beep sounds. This will give you a level that you can check.

Your perception of effort will tell you if you how you are progressing. This is another very simple way to track how your running is ‘feeling’.

How your body feels when running, how hard it is working, how are you breathing, are you feeling light or heavy.

When we go through our Personal Trainer teaching we are taught to use the RPE scale. The RPE scale basically is how hard out of 10 you feel like you are working.

10 being insanely hard, something you could only maintain for less than 10 seconds. 5 being a comfortable, brisk walk. 1 being stood up with just the postural muscles working to support you standing.

You can use this in your own head. As you run, ask yourself ‘how hard out of 10 do I feel like I’m working right now?’

If you are on your usual run at your usual pace and this run used to feel like an effort level of 8 out of 10 and now you are running the same route and pace at effort level 6, this shows you that you have made progress.

There is the issue that what is going on in your life influences how you feel. So, if you are stressed, tired, ill or overtrained you will be starting from a higher RPE and your run will ‘feel’ harder. Knowing what is your default or base level is really the key to making RPE more accurate.

This is why it’s important to develop your body awareness. Improve how well you sense your body. Become a more connected runner.

Create a training logbook. There are a few ways you can do this. If you’re like me, you can use an actual book with pen or pencil, very analogue.

Maybe you’re a bit more high-tech, you can use Strava, Garmin Connect, Nike running app, an Excel spreadsheet or a Word document.

A training logbook is good to have to review after each session so that you can write down any feedback, how you felt, what the session was like, what you could do next tie etc etc.

This gives you a great journal to look back on throughout the year. You can see your progress as well as your thoughts on your progress.

20 metre time trial. This is another really simple but very effective way to track your progress. Make sure you are able to repeat this on the same bit of road, track or field for consistency.

Basically, start your watch, app or timer and then run. Run for 20 minutes at whatever pace you feel like you can maintain for 20 minutes and then stop the timer at the end of the test and see the exact distance you have run.

Repeat this at 6 week intervals to see where you are at. How simple is that?!

Ensure you are getting adequate rest to allow the training adaptations to happen. Your body needs time to recover. If you are always stressing it something is going to give.

Take regular breaks, anywhere from every 6-10 week or lower intensity during one of these weeks to allow the body some rest. You will ruin your gains if you don’t rest well!

Which of these tests do you currently take? Which ones are you going to start adding into your running schedule? Are there any that you do that I’ve missed here? I would love to hear from you, send me a message on Instagram or email me.

SUMMARY

• Testing gives us good information that we can retest regularly throughout the year to track progress.

• Try not to use the tests to beat yourself up for not performing as you had expected. Use the tests as a representation of where you are at and where you would like to be.

• Use as many of the tests as you think are relevant for you. Test every 6-8 weeks to allow your body to adapt to the training stimulus.

• Ensure you get adequate rest to allow your body to adapt and recover from training loads.

• Get yourself a logbook either physical book or online logbook where you can write down your thoughts after each session as you go throughout the year. This will give you insights and help you make alterations if needed to your training.

HOW TO CONTACT ME

If you need any help with any of this testing or your running in general then contact me through the following ways:

Instagram: @runbetterwithash

Email: ashfoster1983@gmail.com

Online: runbetterwithash.com

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I shall speak to you in the next episode of the Run Better podcast, speak soon my fellow runners!