When we profiled Gordo Byrn earlier this year, he took us through his transformation from a relatively sedentary fellow into an elite triathlete. A man of many talents, Gordo is also a highly sought after coach, particularly in the field of optimizing an individual's peak running performance.
Gordo was very innovative in his own quest for faster running times, which he was kind enough to share with us in this follow up Q&A.
Nature Gym: When you began pursuing the path of an elite triathlete whilst living in New Zealand, how did the environment benefit you in terms of training and the people around you?
Gordo Byrn: For an athlete, the best thing about New Zealand is the culture. Throughout the coaching and athlete community there is a clear understanding of the link between work and performance.
Based in Christchurch, I had every type of terrain available. Particularly useful for my development as an Ironman athlete was the easy access to hills and trails.
NG: Would you say that the improvement in your running performance could partially be attributed to Kiwi running culture?
That makes it easier but my improvement was built solely from building the tolerance for increased run load. I did this via increasing frequency, chronic weekly mileage and average pace (in that order).
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| Hills and dales: a key to better running. |
GB: I was trying to get faster at everything, particularly the swim. When I was racing, the elite draft zone in NZ was 5m between bikes. That’s a draft legal race at 38-45 km/h on a time trial bike. As a result the swim played a huge role in likely finish position - for the men. For the women, back then, you wanted to come out surrounded by the age group men.
I always appeared to run “fast” but, in reality, I was running optimally. The run is the best place to put speed into an Ironman.
The greatest thing about using New Zealand for my development was staying put for 13 weeks and rolling a simple, high-volume base week. I was swimming, biking and running five days a week; a long run day, an open day and strength training 2-3 per week. The swimming was nearly all open water or long course. My winter would “set-up” my entire year.
NG: You’ve had some great running gurus influence you over the years. To name three – Bobby McGee, Scott Molina and Clas Bjorling – what were you able to take from each of these guys in your improvement as a runner?
GB: Bobby taught me about the power of simple, but excellent, running form. He does this via simple cues - hands up, chin down, quick cadence are mine.
Scott taught me that if you want to run well then you need to run nearly every day. Most athletes that fail to develop their running lack the patience to use a run program that will let them remain healthy for 1,000 days. The 1,000 day benchmark is a good one.
Clas is a great friend and a far more talented runner than me (2:42 off the bike after a solo time trial chasing us at Ironman New Zealand).
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| Scott Molina and Clas Bjorling: Two great running influences. |
GB: Nobody has trouble understanding - that’s a smoke screen. Everyone has trouble with their ego, at least when they start.
The main benefits are faster overall pace in workouts, more miles at race pace, quicker recovery and less fade in races.
Simple long run protocol....
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PowerWalk ten minutes
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Split run into thirds
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First third use 15 second PowerWalk segments
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Second third use 30 second PowerWalk segments
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Final third use 45 second PowerWalk segments
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PowerWalk ten minutes
Use anywhere
from a six to a twelve minute cycle, including PowerWalk segments.
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Walk is fastest comfortable pace - like you are late
for an airplane but don’t want to run in an airport.
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Arm carriage remains the same (high hands).
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Cadence remains up.
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You should also work on PowerWalking hills to avoid
large spikes in heart rate.
NG: Could
you give us an example of your using the Run/Walk protocol in a race situation
where you had great success? What pace can you efficiently walk at?
GB: 1:15 off the bike at Vineman 70.3. Chased a guy for 10km, caught him, did a 30 second walk break (letting him go) while a relaxed and drank four glasses of cola, re-caught him in a quarter mile and finished five minutes in front of him.
For Ironman
athletes, every-single-time you need to take aid, you should be using a
PowerWalk segment:
GB: 1:15 off the bike at Vineman 70.3. Chased a guy for 10km, caught him, did a 30 second walk break (letting him go) while a relaxed and drank four glasses of cola, re-caught him in a quarter mile and finished five minutes in front of him.
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| Big smiles despite mega-miles. |
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Transition to PowerWalk
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Settle
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Get Aid
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Drink Aid as you exit the station
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Resume running
I got up to 12 min miles in terms of pace. More important is what pace can you sustain with your running. On race day, hardly anyone is able to run well relative to their training. Some of that is silly swim pacing and a ton of power spikes on the bike. But some is also peripheral fatigue that would be reduced by training, then applying, run/walk.
NG: What was your highest running training volume over your period as an elite triathlete and subsequently, your optimal load for peak performance? What lessons did you learn with regard to volume/intensity/injury prevention?
GB: I’ve done back-to-back 115-mile run weeks, with light swimming and biking. All of those miles were at altitude and at least half were over 7,500 feet. That was excessive and I might have been better in the 90-mile range. However, 100 is a round number and appealed to me at the time. Further, it’s important to remember that “it worked” and I ran great in my A-races.
My optimal load was 45-60 miles per week including altitude runs (easy/steady at ~8,000 feet), a long run (with blocks 8-10s per mile faster than race pace) and a threshold run. I’d do that for five out of the eight weeks ending two weeks out from IM race day. That’s what it took to run 2:46. It’s important for people to remember that they need to run 3:50/3:30/3:15/3:05/2:50 along the way. Most people rush their development, end up hurt, and never reach their full potential.
For injury prevention:
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Build mileage through frequency
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Get strong via gym work and hills
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Run downhills relaxed (most of the year)
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Choose your parents wisely (bio-mechanics matter)
NG: Share some interesting and/or humorous tales of your quest to become a top-class triathlon runner.
GB: Four days out from Boulder 70.3 (a decade ago), Clas and I were on a huge training camp in the Rockies. I had taken the previous day off. I was very tired and simply ate and slept all day. The next morning, I woke up and felt bloated. I skipped breakfast and headed out with Clas for a long run. I took an apple with me, Clas had a single gel. Somehow we got lost (Clas claims I did it on purpose) and ended up on the Continental Divide. A 1:45 run turned into a four-hour endurathon where we looped up, and over, the Winter Park ski area. It wasn’t ideal for our race but it was memorable.
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| Clas Bjorling: Swedish running supremo. |
At Epic Camp Australia, I ran more than 50km one weekend to get some bonus points and, at the same camp, Clas run a sub-2:50 marathon just to show us he could. Clas remains the strongest runner that I’ve ever seen. He had a rare combination of strength and speed. I think he could have done very well at a race like the Comrades Marathon.
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