I just came off both a cold and a mild hamstring strain from running a bit too hard on a hilly test 10k race. Took about 1.5wks of on bike/run and just moderate intensity Vasa training outside the pool. Am taking this week to reacclimate to training - fortunately doesn’t look like I’ve lost much but I’m not ramping up too fast.
Was thinking I may have tanked my self-made training plan (based on Friel’s bible mostly) but turns out I had predicted winter colds/etc. and added 3 weeks of extra base training to my schedule. So after this week, unless I’m limited in some way,should be back on track.
Anyone else add extra weeks to their training schedule plans to accomodate for unforeseen colds, etc.? I feel like I should for winter training especially, since I have had 100% of catching at least one, if not 2-3 colds nasty enough to limit or prevent training.
I’ve never used a training schedule in my life. Part of the reason for that is that there are weeks in every buildup when “sh*t happens” and you just have to adjust
I definitely get better results with a schedule. I just find it way safer and easier to buildup past perceived limits when I plan it rationally over a long period - I find when I do instinctual training, I either end up blowing myself up and getting injured during build phases, or just training to my old levels and not improving past that.
I believe in structured training, but I also think any sort of plan needs to be fluid to accommodate life. When I, or my coach, set up a yearly training schedule, it’s done with the knowledge that it will likely be changed 15-20 times throughout the year. There are no “extra weeks”. Just focus on where you currently are and what you need to do to prepare for your races, then update your plan to reflect that.
I believe in structured training, but I also think any sort of plan needs to be fluid to accommodate life. When I, or my coach, set up a yearly training schedule, it’s done with the knowledge that it will likely be changed 15-20 times throughout the year. There are no “extra weeks”. Just focus on where you currently are and what you need to do to prepare for your races, then update your plan to reflect that.
True, but it could require a lot, lot more work to reconfigure an annual schedule after a 2-week layoff completely, rather than having a prebuilt buffer 2-3 week period in there that would mostly take care of that.
I know for sure there is a 100% chance I catch a cold every winter that requires time off training. That’s part of my buffer weeks.
I will add however that any more than 3 weeks fully off, and I’ll be writing a new plan completely based upon where I am at that point - I don’t think at that point you can just jump in again.
Sounds to me like you’re way too wed to your plan. Put some thought into your training. Sticking blindly to the plan, to the point of needing to schedule off weeks, means you’re probably not maximizing your training. Changing up your schedule shouldn’t be a huge exercise.
If you miss two weeks due to sickness, you must be really really sick. Hopefully that’s not happening every year. A cold may impact training 3-5 days, and while that may happen multiple times in a year, it can be managed without a huge interuption in training.
If you miss some time, you need to take a look at what key sessions you missed out on, how they play into the overall plan and where your fitness is. If you missed some key long rides or threshold sessions that you need to progressively ramp up for a big race, then I’d probably reschedule those for the following week. That would compress your schedule leading up to your race and maybe cut out the length of your build. But if it were a relatively easy week or if your fitness was progressing nicely, then just stick to the schedule and continue your progression.
I disagree with your ‘wed to your plan’ consideration. I was ok with taking 2 weeks off training - doesn’t sound like I’m blindly sticking to a plan. Furthermore, I made the plan, so I at least know the underlying considerations that guided me to make it anyway.
The one thing I’d change in retrospect to avoid the 2 weeks off is to do a few fast speedwork sessions even in base training prior to any test race - that leg tendon strain I got was almost certainly started with that race I did, and then made worse with some fairly good intensity R+B on top. But honestly, even in retrospect I wouldn’t have been able to predict it based upon my lack of such strains in years past.
Two weeks is a lot, but that’s a cold for one week+, and a leg strain for the other. I actually trained through a cold in November that was a week long, but this one was bad enough that the quality of workouts was so bad that it was pointless.
I still have 11 weeks to race day - and have been base training for 4 months prior to this point, so I’m willing to stick with my game plan for now even with the 2 week hit. I’ll obviously scale back if I’m not hitting target workout paces/effort.
And I still think redoing an entire schedule because of a 2 week layoff is wayyy more work than building 2 week buffer into it.
I never get more than two weeks at a time from my coach. You can plan a global idea for the year but trying to plan specific workouts is just a guess that’s probably going to change.
So to answer your question, no, we do not put in buffer weeks. He simply assesses where I am and where I need to be every two weeks.
I never get more than two weeks at a time from my coach. You can plan a global idea for the year but trying to plan specific workouts is just a guess that’s probably going to change.
So to answer your question, no, we do not put in buffer weeks. He simply assesses where I am and where I need to be every two weeks.
I actually do that myself. I don’t put in actual workout specifics until 1-2 weeks, but I do plan the base/build/sharpen/taper phases in advance a la Friel. Still does cause some changes to the overall plan with the time off, particularly with the ‘rest and test’ weeks every 4th week in the Friel cycle, as well as to planned target test races during those weeks for me.
I don’t put your kind of extra weeks in a training plan. Usually someone asks me how I’m doing with my buildup and I go “holy crap, I’m supposed to be building up by now” and cram to get some training in before the gun goes off.
My kind of “extra” weeks are when I actually do a proper plan for say an IM. About 2, 6 & 10 weeks before IM, I take a week off work and do big 9 day training blocks. The first one is just really ramping up my distances but not pushing the pace at all. The second big week I add some pace but not all workouts are killer speed/endurance workouts. In the final big week that finishes 2 weeks before the race, I absolutely shatter myself, pushing the distance and pace on as many workouts as possible. By the end of the week I can barely see and all I want to do is eat and sleep! My taper is a 1 week recovery after the big week, then the week before IM I absolutely NOTHING. I don’t do a single workout. No improvements are possible in the final week and training just risks injury etc. That last week there is so much else to do, I just don’t pressure myself by training. By the time the race comes around, I am really chomping at the bit for the gun to go off so I can use all the pent up energy.
Now for the fine print.
I’m 53, I’m fat and I’m exactly MOP. I work for a living and I like to see my wife from time to time. If wifey wants a sunday lie in with benefits, that trumps any 5 hour brick workout and I don’t stress about that AT ALL ! I drink beer (although less while training) and each chocolate.
I’m decent but not a true speedster, and also work for a living, see my wife, and spend almost all my home time being the main caretaker for my toddler as wife works a lot. But I’m admittedly much more type-A with training than what you describe - I prioritize it enough that it’s 4:30AM or earlier every day, including weekends so I can get it out of the way before getting sidetracked by wife/child (inevitable during the day.) Although I often do wonder why I continue to do it, since it’s never exactly fun done in this schedule!
! I drink beer (although less while training) and each chocolate.