How Ryan smashed his 10km & Half-Marathon PBs in only 4 months

Ryan Dixon has recently just dropped 2 massive results, a 39:28 at the Orewa 10km on the 22nd of July and an 86:06 at the Taupo half marathon on August 5th. A 5min & 2:46min PB in only his 2nd and 3rd races respectively as a Valiturus athlete.

Ryan joined Valiturus in late April, only 4 months since becoming a Valiturus athlete, and just over halfway through our current 6-month cycle, Ryan is already achieving impressive results.

WHAT WERE RYAN’S STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES WHEN JOINING VALITURUS?

Ryan is fit, and before joining Valiturus like most runners he spent a lot of time running in zone 2 around the aerobic threshold. Due to this being the intensity of traditional out-the-door “runs” for people of reasonable fitness.

Ryan is also a self-proclaimed shuffler; his hips go through a small range of motion throughout the gait cycle, and he has extremely low heel recovery, with initial contact occurring in front of the centre of mass. In comparison to technical models, this running style is considered highly inefficient and ineffective.

Ryan had quality aerobic fitness and could endure long periods of low-moderate intensities but was lacking the ability to access the higher speeds and operate aerobically at higher speeds.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Well, due to Ryan operating largely in the zone 2 intensity before joining Valiturus, his heart would have been a good pumper of blood, having a reasonable cardiac output, and pumping good volumes of oxygenated blood out with each beat. Meaning he could keep his heart rate low whilst delivering the necessary blood to the working muscles.

Additionally, mitochondria the powerhouses of the cell responsible for aerobic respiration (energy via aerobic means) would be high in content throughout muscle cells. However, its efficiency would have been lacking (how well the mitochondria can produce energy), which is improved by higher-intensity training.

Due to Ryan operating largely in zone 2 and having a prior half-marathon PB of 88:56, he rarely operated around race pace, so running 4:05 min/km or faster for prolonged periods would feel largely foreign to the body.

SO, WHAT DID WE DO?

We didn’t make any rapid changes that would shock the system, initially the runs were all zone 2 runs and we gradually accumulated higher-intensity efforts throughout these runs.

After this initial base period, whilst maintaining base sessions we transitioned to working above and below desired race pace throughout workouts. For one of the workouts a week, we would flux the intensity, whereby a higher speed would immediately precede a slightly slower speed. We also added in higher-intensity bursts throughout the Sunday long run.

We also completed work with a neuromuscular focus through maximal strength, sprints, locomotive drills and plyometrics. On top of developing physical capacities, this work would also encourage Ryan to use his hips more and improve postural control. We haven’t yet deliberately attempted to alter Ryan’s movement strategy, as he hasn’t had any chronic injuries, attempting to force a new movement strategy, and loading up structures differently could be problematic.

Alternatively, seeing if the newfound neuromuscular capacities, exposure to different movements and greater awareness of how best to perform these movements might organically encourage changes in Ryan’s movement strategy over time.

Additionally, whilst there are still plentiful gains to be made from improving physical capacities as seen from his recent PBs, altering movement strategy is not yet required.

HOW DID THIS ALL WORK TO IMPROVE RYAN?

Operating in and around race pace would have increased mitochondria efficiency, the mitochondria would have become more proficient at creating energy via aerobic respiration.

Working just above and below race pace would have concurrently lifted Ryan’s ceiling and floor. Meaning he improved his ability to feel comfortable at race speeds and progressively endure this intensity.

The flux work would’ve improved Ryan’s metabolic flexibility, where he can move in and out of using different substrates for energy more easily. Also, Ryan’s ability to regulate and buffer metabolic byproducts would have improved. He would also possess a greater ability to shuttle lactate from contrasting speeds within reps, whereby he can move lactate produced by muscles to other muscles or organs to uptake and utilize for energy production. Meaning, when he’s in a race and the intensity rises from going up a hill, a surge in pace or the initial start out of the gates, his body will be used to carrying on after that surge in intensity and not be bogged down by it.

Additionally, the flux work would make Ryan a more adaptable runner and not become a one-pace man, which can happen if you become too locked in on nailing one pace.

The above factors would have also elevated the intensity of Ryan’s anaerobic threshold, increasing the running intensity at which energy supply is predominantly occurring through aerobic respiration. Prolonging time to fatigue by minimizing the accumulation of metabolic byproducts that impair muscle contraction.

Lastly, the neuromuscular work that we do in the gym would have improved motor unit recruitment and firing frequency, along with improved system stiffness and contraction dynamics. These physiological adaptations would have also increased peak force, rate of force development and stretch-shortening cycle. Meaning he can produce more force, produce it quicker, be more elastic and contract & relax muscles more efficiently. Consequently, improving running economy (less energy expended at a specific running speed) and an increased speed ceiling by augmenting his maximal speed, ultimately making desired race speeds feel more comfortable as mentioned above.

The next and last phase of this macrocycle before we taper is the specific phase, whereby a high volume of weekly work is centred around specific race speed. This should give Ryan another gear to smash a few more events over these next couple of months.