VICKY HOLLAND: RUN SECRETS
June 2019 / / 51SPEED FOCUS
“I love track running. It’s my favourite type
of training and sharpens my speed”
GET ON TRACK
I love track running. It’s my favourite
type of training and sharpens my speed
for racing, but it’s also the easiest place
to get injured. I don’t do it through the
winter, although I did put in a tiny amount
of track work before Abu Dhabi so as not
to turn up like a rusty old diesel engine.
My first session will just be a taster of
strides for familiarisation. I’ll then split
running half-and-half between road and
track, before gradually moving fully to
track as I progress into the season.GO REALLY HARD
I’ve adopted a polarised training
programme from Leeds so all my track
sessions are relatively short – 4-5km
in total – and all well above race pace.
Many triathletes tend to train more in
race-specific zones, but we go over and
above. I run 400m reps in 67-68secs
and 1km reps as close to 3min/km as
possible. It helps generate speed for race
day and an ability to flush lactic acid only
accumulated at those speeds. It’s also the
best type of training to develop running
mechanics under pressure, which
ultimately I need for the race.LIMIT INJURY
Introducing fast running means being
wary of niggles. To minimise the risk, I
build up the intensity session by session.
There are also plyometric-based drills
we do year-round, including foot stability
and balance work to make sure the whole
kinetic chain is robust. It could be
something as simple as ‘pogos’ – jumping
on the spot spending minimal time in
contact with the ground and trying to
improve hang time in the air.HOLLAND’S KEY RUN SET
Warm-up 15mins jogging; 5-10mins of
activation exercises, followed by 10 sets
of high knees and hamstring pistons
transitioning into strides of approx. 80m.
Main set 5 x 800m trying for best pace
with 200m jog recovery.
Cool-down 10-15mins jogging, followed
by stretching focused on calves and
hip flexors.
This session was the last one I did before
the Rio Olympics in 2016. I started at
2:26mins per 800m and dropped to
2:21mins by the final effort. It was
significantly faster than I’d been
previously, and I knew I was ready to go.