RUN PERFORMANCE TRAINING FOR OPTIMAL FITNESS

Coach C
Dec 3, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Dec 4, 2025

If you are in the tactical space (military, LE, or first responder) or a combat sports athlete, you will do well with a streamlined approach to increasing your running fitness.

For individuals in these arenas, a big part of readiness is the ability to efficiently run for short to medium distances at various paces and efforts.

These warriors and athletes must possess relatively high levels of strength, endurance, and aerobic and anaerobic fitness compared to most others. Those not in these spaces, but who want to reap the benefits of increased cardiac output, may adhere to the following blueprint for dramatic results in overall health and fitness.

Perform resistance training on one day and a prescribed session below the following day (perform these sessions in numerical order for best results).

If you want to perform a strength workout and a cardio session on the same day, space the sessions by a few hours or an AM/PM split for maximum adaptations in each attribute.

SESSION 1 - Performance

A. Run 10:00 @ EASY - MODERATE effort/ Zone 2

B. Modified Dynamic Warm-up

-World's Greatest Stretch

-Walking Frankensteins

C. Max # of ROUNDS necessary to Run 3-4 Miles according to the following protocol:

-1:30 @ MODERATELY HARD Effort/ Zone 3-4

-Rest 1:30 or Active Recovery 2:30 @ EASY Effort/ Zone 1

Repeat for as many rounds as it takes to cover 3-4 Miles

D. Cool Down as necessary

Coaching Comments:

Zone 1 - Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 4-5 out of 10 and or 55-65% of max HR. Used to get your body moving with minimal stress and exertion. This zone might be used for an easy training day, warming up or cooling down, and recovery between repeats or intervals.

Zone 2 - Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 6 out of 10 and or 65-75% of max HR. Used for longer training sessions, you can sustain this basic effort zone for many miles, yet still hold a conversation with a training partner.

Zone 3 - Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 7 out of 10 and or 80-85% of max HR. This zone is where you push the pace to build up speed and strength; conversation is reduced to single words.

Zone 4 - Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 7 out of 10 and or 85-90% of max HR. In this zone your body is processing its maximum amount of lactic acid as a fuel source; above this level, lactic acid builds up too quickly to be processed and fatigues muscles; training in this zone helps your body develop efficiency when you're operating at your maximum sustainable pace.