Hi again,
I promised many of you that I'd follow up my last thread on balanced training with one on periodization. There is nothing earth shattering here and, though I've been accused of likeing to hear myself talk (and they are right!), I make no claims to bring ground breaking methods. I mainly just want to share some of the fundamentals of tried and true methods that have been used over the years and haev proven to be successful by most athletes.
I've also been accused of either "not saying anything new" or presenting information that is "not useful for 'such & such' type of triathlete" who may or may not be more common. To that I say that you are more than welcome to train how ever you want for what ever reasons you have. I'm not passing judgment or claiming that these methods are for everyone. I simply wish to get the information out there, open a line of discussion about training, and offer something for people to think about.
First, the slides:
EDIT: Graphs show fitness as a result of types of training. eg On this first slide the runner may do the same tempo workout each week, but his lactate threshold improves, thus his performance rises (faster times).
EDIT: Slides are meant to represent the basics behind a typical periodized program. Much of the details are left out including strides, hills, and early speedwork. IMO, aerobic running, lactate threshold training, and V02max workouts are still going to be you rhighest priorties for most events.
This is a very basic explanation for how a periodized program typically fits together. There have been people who have experimented with some "reverse Periodized" models for different events. There seems to be some success in the sprints. It also may not be a bad idea for an Ironman athlete to, for example, use the winter to get in their faster training and then focus on the heavy endurance training in the summer. I'll content, however, that this is a matter of logistics more than anything else. To ask an AGer to train 15-20 hours a week in the winter time is often asking them to hate training. Often times the training gets cut down during the dark and cold months, so as a result, the intensity gets piled on....which is perfectly acceptable.
I often suggest to people who want to focus on their running over the winter to use th e6 month model I have above. What they do is pick a race in early March to shoot for and then build base all Fall and then run workouts in the late winter to peak for a runnin grace. Then, the spring is back to base building, this time for triathlon, to work toward a key sprint of Oly in the late summer.
If you refer to my last thread:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...earch_engine#1600721
note that the "balance" in training refers to the entire 6 month cycle. So at the end of 6 months your total training will have a given balance of endurance, threahold, V02max, and speed training. However, the earlier "base building" months will be much heavier on the endurance than anything else.
What about Ironman training? Again, refer to the slides in the last thread. You *may* not do ANY faster training if you are of a level where you just simply don't have enough aerobic training in your lifetime to complete the event well. In this case, you may be well to the left of that graphic where ALL of your training is aerobic.
Keep in mind that the more miles you have under your legs across several years, the more and more of the intense training you'll be able to do. Less experinced runners *typically* need to focus more on educrance tyoe training.
Questions? Comments? Insults?
Runtraining12
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
I promised many of you that I'd follow up my last thread on balanced training with one on periodization. There is nothing earth shattering here and, though I've been accused of likeing to hear myself talk (and they are right!), I make no claims to bring ground breaking methods. I mainly just want to share some of the fundamentals of tried and true methods that have been used over the years and haev proven to be successful by most athletes.
I've also been accused of either "not saying anything new" or presenting information that is "not useful for 'such & such' type of triathlete" who may or may not be more common. To that I say that you are more than welcome to train how ever you want for what ever reasons you have. I'm not passing judgment or claiming that these methods are for everyone. I simply wish to get the information out there, open a line of discussion about training, and offer something for people to think about.
First, the slides:
EDIT: Graphs show fitness as a result of types of training. eg On this first slide the runner may do the same tempo workout each week, but his lactate threshold improves, thus his performance rises (faster times).
EDIT: Slides are meant to represent the basics behind a typical periodized program. Much of the details are left out including strides, hills, and early speedwork. IMO, aerobic running, lactate threshold training, and V02max workouts are still going to be you rhighest priorties for most events.
This is a very basic explanation for how a periodized program typically fits together. There have been people who have experimented with some "reverse Periodized" models for different events. There seems to be some success in the sprints. It also may not be a bad idea for an Ironman athlete to, for example, use the winter to get in their faster training and then focus on the heavy endurance training in the summer. I'll content, however, that this is a matter of logistics more than anything else. To ask an AGer to train 15-20 hours a week in the winter time is often asking them to hate training. Often times the training gets cut down during the dark and cold months, so as a result, the intensity gets piled on....which is perfectly acceptable.
I often suggest to people who want to focus on their running over the winter to use th e6 month model I have above. What they do is pick a race in early March to shoot for and then build base all Fall and then run workouts in the late winter to peak for a runnin grace. Then, the spring is back to base building, this time for triathlon, to work toward a key sprint of Oly in the late summer.
If you refer to my last thread:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...earch_engine#1600721
note that the "balance" in training refers to the entire 6 month cycle. So at the end of 6 months your total training will have a given balance of endurance, threahold, V02max, and speed training. However, the earlier "base building" months will be much heavier on the endurance than anything else.
What about Ironman training? Again, refer to the slides in the last thread. You *may* not do ANY faster training if you are of a level where you just simply don't have enough aerobic training in your lifetime to complete the event well. In this case, you may be well to the left of that graphic where ALL of your training is aerobic.
Keep in mind that the more miles you have under your legs across several years, the more and more of the intense training you'll be able to do. Less experinced runners *typically* need to focus more on educrance tyoe training.
Questions? Comments? Insults?
Runtraining12
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485