The phrase ‘Jack Daniels running formula’ has been echoing loud in the running world ever since the world-famous coach, Jack Daniels, launched his path-breaking book. The title of the book is “Daniel’s Running Formula” and it is considered by most of the runners around the world as their Bible. The book has been enriched with over fifty years of research and experience in sports sciences and training.
The book is surely a must-read for any runner who is passionate about the sport and wants to take more serious strides on the path to making a successful career in running. Upon reading the book, you will come out with advanced knowledge about running training and also be more confident in realizing your full potential.
This article will take you through the important parts of the book and give you a fair idea of the basic concepts of Daniels’ running theories.
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Know more about Jack Daniels and his work
Daniels has been hailed as a world-class coach with loads of experience and the required academic credentials that in a way validates his work. He has explained a lot of topics that are complex and difficult with such clarity and subtlety. Not only a running coach, but he has also been a physiologist, Olympic athletes coach, shooter, swimmer, and whatnot.
He made an indelible mark in the history of the running world by his outstanding research that modernized as well as streamlined distance and middle running training. Jack Daniels running formula combines the basic physiological components with specific intensity training for activating the components simultaneously. The idea is to keep doing the same during the training and that only pays off on the final race day.
Daniels focuses on being sure of what one wants to do. The 7 key principles of training that he rests his study upon are-
- Body reaction to stress
- Training specified
- Achievement rate
- Individual limits
- Decreasing returns
- Increasing setbacks
- Ease of maintenance
VDOT- Daniels’ most important invention
This concept is one of the most important inventions of Daniels which proves very useful to the runners in calculating an estimate of their performance rate. VDOT is an acronym for VO2max and the proper term is V-dot-O2max. This formula is designed to calculate the different training paces for any fitness level or VDOT.
VO2max is the measure for the aerobic capacity of the body and the derivation of the term from this denotes that VDOT is a measurement of running ability and fitness level of the runner. The VDOT is generally calculated from the previous racing performances and the output value is usually equivalent to the actual VO2max of the runner. This formula came out from the study of the VO2max values of three types of runners- middle, long, and elite.
The Jack Daniels pace chart, also known as the VDOT pace table helps you know the run intensity that you need to follow and also determine the approx time for any race distance. This method is considered better and lab testing. You only need to be clear about your training goals and Daniel’s pace tables will help you for the rest.
Essential physiological systems as deciding factors
The foundational basics of the book include the essential physiological systems that were believed by Daniel to be the reason why one would do specific training. Let us tell you more about these systems-
The basic training goals
The training elements involved in the Jack Daniels running formula are based directly on these six training goals that Daniels considered as the basics benefits for every runner. You can make out these are directly related to stimulating the above mentioned physiological components.
- Boost the oxygen and blood transporting capacity of the body
- Make the muscles more efficient at utilizing the oxygen available
- Enhance the lactate threshold for a faster speed
- Boost aerobic capacity
- Boost speed
- Improve the running economy or decrease the energy requirement
Training zones that are stimulators
One of the many Jack Daniels tables also includes the one for the training paces that are related to the different VDOT levels. Daniels devised 5 different training zones that aim at stimulating each physiological system.
Formulating a training or season plan
The training programs are devised according to the present fitness level of the runner. The Jack Daniels tables of VDOT can help you get a VDOT score for determining the run pace and the zone. Daniels suggests mapping of the season first and then its division into four different phases (in order of importance):
- FI or Foundation or Injury prevention- Steady and easy runs
- FQ or Final Quality- Preparing for the final performance
- TQ or Transition Quality- Specific race training
- EQ or Early Quality- Faster workouts and prep for different phases
You then need to decide the type of quality training that you will perform weekly. Daniel advises keeping 2-3 days of good running and varying workouts in a week. Lastly, plot the schedule for every week and also keep breaks duly planned.
You also need to factor in certain benchmarks that are-
- Fitness level
- Exercise intensity
- Race times
- Psychological strength
Watch this video to understand better.
The different Marathon running training plans
The Jack Daniels marathon training plan has been included in the third edition of his book and there are 6 of them. These can serve as model plans for the runner for building over them. Let’s see what they are.
2Q-
It calls for two good workouts every week and easy running as per choice. The longer runs can be undertaken at a variable pace.
4-week cycle-
Somehow similar to the first plan, one cycle spans over 4 weeks for a total of 26 weeks. There are two good workouts for the first three weeks and then the fourth week would have easy running. The running pattern would look like- casual run> long steady easy run> easy marathon segment> interval workouts at tempo pace.
Plan A-
It is the same as 2Q just without mileage variations.
12 week/ Elite plan-
It’s a difficult program meant for the advanced athletes that have a marathon time goal of 2:10 or lower. You can find more about it in the 2nd edition of the book.
To finish/ Novice-
This plan is for the beginners and combines a walk/run approach for initial weeks and quality workouts for later. The long runs have a specified time rather than distance.
Five-week cycle-
It specifies the workouts to be done for the initial five weeks with the desired repetitions until the final race. The nature of this plan is very general.
18-week outline-
These 18-week programs are three in number- two depending on distance and one as per the time. These plans also include quality workouts. You can use this as a base for your suitable plan.
Conclusion
Although Jack Daniels running formula is considered to be complex for the level of the beginners or low-mileage runners, his theories along with the Jack Daniels tables and Jack Daniels pace chart set a solid foundation for runners to devise their individual techniques. We brought to you the basic elements that intertwine to formulate his running theories. You can also use the VDOT calculator that is provided by many websites too.
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