Black Hole Training

What is wrong with running pretty fast all the time? Why do I have to run slowly when I feel good? I have had many, many conversations about these questions, both as an athlete being coached, and as a coach. The answer: Because if you always train moderately, you will be a moderately good runner. Moderate training leads to the dreaded Black Hole.

Black Hole training is a term coined by Stephen Seller, an American exercise scientist teaching at the University of Agder, in Kirstiansand, Norway. Black Hole training is that which is moderately taxing (think of when you push a workout, but you are not giving it interval intensity), and puts your heart rate into that zone of 75-80% max – basically most of the runs done in running groups. What usually prompts Black Hole Training is pride – you want to be up at the front of the group on daily runs, or the simple belief that you need to push every workout to get something out of it. Unfortunately, both of these beliefs will simply cause your performance to plateau, and eventually decline.

According to Seller, the reason Black Hole training is so detrimental, is that by training moderately all the time, you don’t put enough stress to lead to adaptation, BUT you leave the body just as fatigued – day in and day out – leading to eventual breakdown. The answer: do high – and very low-intensity workouts, but few moderate ones. When you are supposed to run fast, run fast, but when you are supposed to take it easy, really take it easy. Don’t run in the middle zone.

Putting it into practice: Long runs should be run 1:30 to 2:00 minutes SLOWER than your 10k pace, according to Mikael Hanson, president of Enhance Sports, and recovery runs should be at an even slower pace. This means that on your recovery runs, you need to run SLOWLY: put your pride in your pocket and stay at the back. On hard days, crank it up – do intervals, get your heart rate above 80%. This type of training takes a lot of self-discipline, but the results will be well worth it.

For more information about the Black Hole, read a great article by Roy M. Wallack in the December 2010 issue of Outside Magazine. Happy Running!

Tagged as: Coaching, Outside, Overtraining, Performance, Professional, Racing, Running, Trail Running, Trails, Training