I am looking to make some adjustments to my running routine as the season approaches, & I am looking for assistance. I am thinking of changing one of my routines to get some increased mileage. Here’s what I am doing now for a weekly run plan:
Sunday: long, slow distance run
Monday: short recovery run (about 1/2 hour)
Wednesday: intervals (40 min. run, 3x2 - 3 min. fast x 2 min. slow)
Friday: tempo run (20 min. run @ about 80-85% MHR)
I was thinking of not doing either my interval or tempo run in exchange for a longer distance run of somewhere between 7-9 miles. Any suggestions…thanks!
I probably should have clarified that my LSD runs are about 14-16 (currently), & peak season they are about 20-22. I get plenty of mileage–I’m just wondering if I should knowck off some of the speedwork in the interest of a mid-distance run?
It is always cool to learn someone else’s schedule. I think it looks great, but another 40 min. moderate run and/or brick (even just 20 min. right after a bike ride) would help.
Two ideas: 1. Run more intervals: Build up to 6 or even 8 (800s, right?) That’s still just 15 minutes of high intensity … 2. Tempo run could be part of a longer run: Say 60 minutes total: 10 min. at 60 % HR; 10 at 70 %; 10 at 75 %; then 20 minutes at 85 % with a 10 minute cool down. I don’t do this enough, but it worked well training last year for a half marathon: I did a few 10 to 14 milers with 3-5 miles (in the middle and toward the end) at goal pace. It served as a long run and a tempo run. good luck! -TB
I don’t know when your long ride is for the week but, if possible, separate it from your long run by a day or two. I moved my long run to thurs. or fri. night and ride long on sun. and it really makes the whole rest of the week go better. In addition the pacing of my long ride and run is much better.
I’ve found from experience that I tend to recover better when I use a 20 mile semi-casual bike ride as the sunday recovery. I alternate saturdays for either a long tempo/distance ride or run, this prevents me from running on tired or sore legs (a HUGE increase in injury chances). If you are concentrating more on running than biking then you could do what I did last spring:
Sunday: 20 mile recovery bike
Monday: 5k fast run (speedwork)
Wednesday: longish pacing run (started around 7 miles up to 15 miles near the end of the spring)
Friday: 20 mile semi-casual bike to get the glucose stored for…
Saturday: long run (10-20ish miles), partly race pace
I found that doing a little but not a lot of speedwork helped the most. If I did more than 1 speed run a week I would end up hurting myself or having to cut back on distance to prevent from hurting myself. If you are working on IM or 1/2IM distances then you should definitely work more on endurance running than speed for a while. Also don’t be afraid to rotate days, sometimes I wasn’t recovered enough Monday to run fast…so I did a 10 mile slow recovery bike and ran fast Tuesday/long Thursday. Or like last night I biked 20@20-22mph and then ran 16 @ 9:00 medium pace. Variety is the spice of life!