Quote:
there are two ways for me to insure injury: do these miles, or even shorter distances at a high rate of speed; and run 7 miles a day instead of 4-5 miles a day. each is inappropriate for my fitness right now (and i'm talking about anatomical ability, not just physiological ability). I added a little emphasis for you up there...just again making my point about individuality of athletes.
Quote:
but it's a false choice to say that you pick your poison: overuse or speedwork. i think you're playing with fire to imply that speed training is the alternative to speed after basework. to do so you must conflate base training with overusage, and that's a straw argument. Perhaps you misunderstood me. I made no argument regarding picking poison. In fact, I never even used the term "speed".
I think the mistake is conflating base training and "long slow distance" training. In my opinion, base training is a period where you have a broad focus on all relevant physiological adaptations. IOW, a runner would be well served to do some appropriate, directed distance running, and some 200's, 400's, 800's at appropriate paces during the base period. The mix is determined on an individual basis, based upon the individual strengths, weaknesses, and injury history of the athlete. Then, as the season progresses, you develop what is most critical for race success at the distance they are focusing on. It doesn't mean you drop anything wholesale. The mix simply changes.
Quote:
i mentioned that an easy way to get injured is to start your running campaign off by doing speedwork sessions in place of basework sessions. every running coach will tell you this. I think perhaps you and I are talking past each other, i.e. our respective definitions of "base" and "speed" are pretty different. Given your history (you were an 800M runner, right?), I suspect your idea of speed work is probably a lot faster than mine.
Phil
--
Dr. Philip Skiba
Scientific Training for Endurance Athletes now available on Amazon!