Hello all,
I'm returning from yet another injury and doing pretty well. I've taken some time to do some research, check the old logs, talk to some coaches, and really reflect about what has worked and what hasn't worked in my own training and in the training of people that I've coached or trained with. I've also enlisted Desert Dude's help in monitoring my training.
A major problem I have is that I am coached by two people. They are really small, look a lot like me, and sit on either shoulder. The one on my right shoulder wears a halo and is very practical, sensible, and doesn't really care how fast I am, only that I am doing what's best for me at the moment. I always listen to this coach when I give advice or coach other people. When I see a 19 minute 5K runner he agrees that its a 19 minute 5K runner and we devise a plan to turn him into an 18:30 5K runner.
The coach on my left shoulder, OTOH, has a real attitude problem. All he cares about is going fast, he has no patience, and will not tolerate a wussy attitude. He doesn't coach anyone else when he works with me because he has no reason to care how fast they run. He'll focus soley on me, and for some reason he thinks I'm an elite athlete. This is the guy who taunts me when I'm running 30 miles a week and causes me to ramp up to 70 in the same month. This is the guy thinks I should do 8,000 meters of intervals even when I'm out of shape. This is the guy that once told me to add 12 miles a week of LT training to my usual training load. This is the guy who thought that a 5K in 4 weeks was so important that, even though I hadn't run in two weeks, that 3 track workouts a week could make up for the loss of fitness from the two weeks off.
I've worked with this guy in the past and I have seen him coach many many other people, and HE IS ALWAYS WRONG!!!
These guys are the inspiration for this post that I call "Gradual Progressive Training." Athletes fall into one of three camps; people who train too little, people who train too much, and people who train just right. Since the third camp has their act together, this is intended for people who belong in one of the former camps....you know, the other 95% of you.
The idea is that a properly trained athlete will continue to get more and more fit as their training progresses. However, this fitness does not change in leaps and bounds. It is always gradual. No one ever wakes up one day with a 10% increase in their Vo2max, 10 lbs less bodyfat, and a resting heart rate lowered by 10 bpm when compared to the previous day (at least not as a result of improved long term fitness). Improvements are always very very gradual. There is no single magic workout that can make this happen.
Often the question is raised, "what does it take to run 15:00 in a 5K?" (as an example). That's a very easy question to answer. What it takes is being able to run 15:15 and then doing the workouts necessary to take off another 15 seconds. Then there's the obvious follow up question: "Then what does it take to run 15:15?" Can you guess what the answer is? Yes......you need to be able to run 15:30 and then do the workouts to take off another 15 seconds. Once you do that, you can start working on the 15:00 5K.
So the point is, you don't want to train for how good you wish you were. You want to train for how good you are.
Now regarding Gradual Progressive Training, I want to break this into the two camps.
UNDERTRAINERS
An undertrainer is one who very tyicaly gets into a routine that "works" for them. They decide, "I'm going to run 30 miles a week with 5,000m of intervals every Tuesday and run with the 8 mile group that meets at the park on Saturday." There's nothing wrong with that. Many of us started out doing exactly the same thing, and you will get faster doing this, but it won't be long before you plateau. The fact is, a person who has improved their fitness through a training routine will want to increase their training load in order to improve to the next level.
The undertrainer often begins as an optimal trainer, but their fitness surpasses their training plan. These people get into a routine and stick to it, hoping that the improvements will continue as they become faster, but often they fall well short of their potential.
My point is that some sort of progress needs to be figured into the overall longterm plan. A 30 mile a week runner needs to think that at some point they are going to become a 31 mile a week runner. And then that 31 mile a week runner needs to think about becoming a 32 mile a week runner. Adding just 1 mile a month will make him a 42 mile a week runner in just 1 year.
OVERTRAINERS
Often the unertrainer gets frustrated with their lack of gains and they turn into an overtrainer over night. This person might, for example, meet someone who has run a 13:40 (true story here) and ask, "What do I need to do to run that fast?" This person is then told what type of training is done for someone who runs 13:40 and then proceeds to train their ass off, hoping that this no pain, no gain mentality will work wonders and drop minutes off of their race times. It rarely happens. In fact, they usualy get slower or, eventualy, injured.
However, once they taste blood, they can't get it out of themselves. They bounce back and continue to train hard. They may not do the killer sessions they did before they got injured, but their desire to run fast is just so strong that they continue to push too hard.
This person needs to step back and take a long look at the big picture. Is 13:40 a realistic goal to begin with (or 18:00 or 21:00 or whatever your goal is)? He should take a look his goal and decide how big is it and then give himself ample time to work toward it. It might be a 4 to 5 year goal. In the mean time he can set smaller goals that work him toward that big one. They don't even need to be race goals, but rather "training goals." Most importantly, these goals need to be on the order of 6 months to a year or more in advance....and they need to be flexible. Don't get locked into the notion that you, at one time, said you wanted to be running 50 mpw by May. You need to constantly reasses your training and make adjustments accordingly.
One of the first things I tell the overtrainer is to just plain back everything off. Lets say this person is running 60 miles a week (I'll stick to the mileage metric for simplicity) and is clearly doing too much. I'll suggest backing off to 40 miles a week and then pick some point in the future to work toward 50, then potentialy 55, maybe 60, and maybe even 65. Depending on the person, this process could take anywhere from 6 weeks to a year or more.
The idea is that even though 40 miles a week may be undertraining, an undertrained person can slowly progress toward optimal training. It might even be that this person should have simply backed off to 50 mpw. Okay....big deal. So they'll be at 50 in 3 or 4 weeks. Problem solved. That's certainly better than sticking with 60 and getting slower, sick, or injured, right?
HOW GRADUAL?
This question simply cannot be given a cookie cutter answer. You have to listen to your body and continualy do your research to see if your training is in the ball park of what others of your ability are doing (hopefuly others who know what they are doing). All I can provide is a limit to not cross, and that is no more than a 10% increase from one week to the next. I've heard recommendations of 10% every 3 weeks or even 10% every 6 weeks. It really just depends on where your training is compared to your bodies limits. Keep in mind that even though 10% is a relatively small change from one week to th enext, it can add up fast (mileage will double in 2 months).
CAVEAT
I was once told that if you wanted to be the strongest man in the world to work on a farm. When a calf is born, pick her up and carry her around the barn. Do this every day and you will eventualy be able to carry a full grown cow around the barn.
The obvious flaw to this is that the cow grows faster than you do. It won't be long before you can't pick the cow up any more (reminds me of the time my little brother wasn't so little anymore....he's 6'5", 260 lbs now). The point is that we all have limits and, if you continue to progress your training, you will eventually reach your limits. A 30 mile a week runner can't simply add 10% a week and expect to run 300 miles a week in 7 months. You need to carefuly monitor your progress and make adjustments as necessary. 10% every week or two will eventualy become goals of 10% every year.
Desert Dude has to remind me that you need to see where you are and move from there rather than run a certain mileage just because you planned it out that way. So don't make that mistake. The goal of this post is to point out that rather than being stagnant or overambitious in your training, that you should look at long term improvements and slowly move in that direction.
PERSONAL GOALS
I've now worked my way from 0 to 33 miles a week in the last 3 months. My original plan had me at 50 by the end of August, but I was wisely talked out of it. I'm hoping to be a little over 40 by then and then gradualy work my way up throughout the fall and race a half marathon in Novemeber. From there I'll reasses again, but if all goes well, I'd like to be at 60-65 a week by spring and ready to run the broad street 10 miler. I'll certainly reasses again. My biggest mileage in college was 85 miles a week, which was a little too much at the time. I'd like to see that again some day, but I'm thinking that the soonest I should attempt that would be in the summer of 2010. Who knows what will happen between now and then, but its certainly a better plan than to shoot for 85/week this winter.
Anecdotes or input will be appreciated.
RunTraining19
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
I'm returning from yet another injury and doing pretty well. I've taken some time to do some research, check the old logs, talk to some coaches, and really reflect about what has worked and what hasn't worked in my own training and in the training of people that I've coached or trained with. I've also enlisted Desert Dude's help in monitoring my training.
A major problem I have is that I am coached by two people. They are really small, look a lot like me, and sit on either shoulder. The one on my right shoulder wears a halo and is very practical, sensible, and doesn't really care how fast I am, only that I am doing what's best for me at the moment. I always listen to this coach when I give advice or coach other people. When I see a 19 minute 5K runner he agrees that its a 19 minute 5K runner and we devise a plan to turn him into an 18:30 5K runner.
The coach on my left shoulder, OTOH, has a real attitude problem. All he cares about is going fast, he has no patience, and will not tolerate a wussy attitude. He doesn't coach anyone else when he works with me because he has no reason to care how fast they run. He'll focus soley on me, and for some reason he thinks I'm an elite athlete. This is the guy who taunts me when I'm running 30 miles a week and causes me to ramp up to 70 in the same month. This is the guy thinks I should do 8,000 meters of intervals even when I'm out of shape. This is the guy that once told me to add 12 miles a week of LT training to my usual training load. This is the guy who thought that a 5K in 4 weeks was so important that, even though I hadn't run in two weeks, that 3 track workouts a week could make up for the loss of fitness from the two weeks off.
I've worked with this guy in the past and I have seen him coach many many other people, and HE IS ALWAYS WRONG!!!
These guys are the inspiration for this post that I call "Gradual Progressive Training." Athletes fall into one of three camps; people who train too little, people who train too much, and people who train just right. Since the third camp has their act together, this is intended for people who belong in one of the former camps....you know, the other 95% of you.
The idea is that a properly trained athlete will continue to get more and more fit as their training progresses. However, this fitness does not change in leaps and bounds. It is always gradual. No one ever wakes up one day with a 10% increase in their Vo2max, 10 lbs less bodyfat, and a resting heart rate lowered by 10 bpm when compared to the previous day (at least not as a result of improved long term fitness). Improvements are always very very gradual. There is no single magic workout that can make this happen.
Often the question is raised, "what does it take to run 15:00 in a 5K?" (as an example). That's a very easy question to answer. What it takes is being able to run 15:15 and then doing the workouts necessary to take off another 15 seconds. Then there's the obvious follow up question: "Then what does it take to run 15:15?" Can you guess what the answer is? Yes......you need to be able to run 15:30 and then do the workouts to take off another 15 seconds. Once you do that, you can start working on the 15:00 5K.
So the point is, you don't want to train for how good you wish you were. You want to train for how good you are.
Now regarding Gradual Progressive Training, I want to break this into the two camps.
UNDERTRAINERS
An undertrainer is one who very tyicaly gets into a routine that "works" for them. They decide, "I'm going to run 30 miles a week with 5,000m of intervals every Tuesday and run with the 8 mile group that meets at the park on Saturday." There's nothing wrong with that. Many of us started out doing exactly the same thing, and you will get faster doing this, but it won't be long before you plateau. The fact is, a person who has improved their fitness through a training routine will want to increase their training load in order to improve to the next level.
The undertrainer often begins as an optimal trainer, but their fitness surpasses their training plan. These people get into a routine and stick to it, hoping that the improvements will continue as they become faster, but often they fall well short of their potential.
My point is that some sort of progress needs to be figured into the overall longterm plan. A 30 mile a week runner needs to think that at some point they are going to become a 31 mile a week runner. And then that 31 mile a week runner needs to think about becoming a 32 mile a week runner. Adding just 1 mile a month will make him a 42 mile a week runner in just 1 year.
OVERTRAINERS
Often the unertrainer gets frustrated with their lack of gains and they turn into an overtrainer over night. This person might, for example, meet someone who has run a 13:40 (true story here) and ask, "What do I need to do to run that fast?" This person is then told what type of training is done for someone who runs 13:40 and then proceeds to train their ass off, hoping that this no pain, no gain mentality will work wonders and drop minutes off of their race times. It rarely happens. In fact, they usualy get slower or, eventualy, injured.
However, once they taste blood, they can't get it out of themselves. They bounce back and continue to train hard. They may not do the killer sessions they did before they got injured, but their desire to run fast is just so strong that they continue to push too hard.
This person needs to step back and take a long look at the big picture. Is 13:40 a realistic goal to begin with (or 18:00 or 21:00 or whatever your goal is)? He should take a look his goal and decide how big is it and then give himself ample time to work toward it. It might be a 4 to 5 year goal. In the mean time he can set smaller goals that work him toward that big one. They don't even need to be race goals, but rather "training goals." Most importantly, these goals need to be on the order of 6 months to a year or more in advance....and they need to be flexible. Don't get locked into the notion that you, at one time, said you wanted to be running 50 mpw by May. You need to constantly reasses your training and make adjustments accordingly.
One of the first things I tell the overtrainer is to just plain back everything off. Lets say this person is running 60 miles a week (I'll stick to the mileage metric for simplicity) and is clearly doing too much. I'll suggest backing off to 40 miles a week and then pick some point in the future to work toward 50, then potentialy 55, maybe 60, and maybe even 65. Depending on the person, this process could take anywhere from 6 weeks to a year or more.
The idea is that even though 40 miles a week may be undertraining, an undertrained person can slowly progress toward optimal training. It might even be that this person should have simply backed off to 50 mpw. Okay....big deal. So they'll be at 50 in 3 or 4 weeks. Problem solved. That's certainly better than sticking with 60 and getting slower, sick, or injured, right?
HOW GRADUAL?
This question simply cannot be given a cookie cutter answer. You have to listen to your body and continualy do your research to see if your training is in the ball park of what others of your ability are doing (hopefuly others who know what they are doing). All I can provide is a limit to not cross, and that is no more than a 10% increase from one week to the next. I've heard recommendations of 10% every 3 weeks or even 10% every 6 weeks. It really just depends on where your training is compared to your bodies limits. Keep in mind that even though 10% is a relatively small change from one week to th enext, it can add up fast (mileage will double in 2 months).
CAVEAT
I was once told that if you wanted to be the strongest man in the world to work on a farm. When a calf is born, pick her up and carry her around the barn. Do this every day and you will eventualy be able to carry a full grown cow around the barn.
The obvious flaw to this is that the cow grows faster than you do. It won't be long before you can't pick the cow up any more (reminds me of the time my little brother wasn't so little anymore....he's 6'5", 260 lbs now). The point is that we all have limits and, if you continue to progress your training, you will eventually reach your limits. A 30 mile a week runner can't simply add 10% a week and expect to run 300 miles a week in 7 months. You need to carefuly monitor your progress and make adjustments as necessary. 10% every week or two will eventualy become goals of 10% every year.
Desert Dude has to remind me that you need to see where you are and move from there rather than run a certain mileage just because you planned it out that way. So don't make that mistake. The goal of this post is to point out that rather than being stagnant or overambitious in your training, that you should look at long term improvements and slowly move in that direction.
PERSONAL GOALS
I've now worked my way from 0 to 33 miles a week in the last 3 months. My original plan had me at 50 by the end of August, but I was wisely talked out of it. I'm hoping to be a little over 40 by then and then gradualy work my way up throughout the fall and race a half marathon in Novemeber. From there I'll reasses again, but if all goes well, I'd like to be at 60-65 a week by spring and ready to run the broad street 10 miler. I'll certainly reasses again. My biggest mileage in college was 85 miles a week, which was a little too much at the time. I'd like to see that again some day, but I'm thinking that the soonest I should attempt that would be in the summer of 2010. Who knows what will happen between now and then, but its certainly a better plan than to shoot for 85/week this winter.
Anecdotes or input will be appreciated.
RunTraining19
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485