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Some ramblings on training structure and consistency
Posted by
vat
,
18 April 2012
·
140 views
As mentioned in my return post yesterday, my intended theme for my running in 2012 is consistency, and so far I've stuck to it, and it's paid off.
I've always had a bit of a theory that a solid 8 week block of training will see you step up a level, and this has been evident this year. January and February were just a case of getting out the door and moving, and there are a lot of 3.2k and 5.7k runs in there (my two local neighbourhood 'minimal' runs) - but I got out and ran them. Since mid-March, though, the 10-15 km tempo runs have been steadily improving in speed, and now it's a rare run that isn't under 4:40, and more often than not sun 4:30.
In the weeks leading up to the Wild Horse Criterium, there was a block of runs in the 10-12km range at paces of 4:20 to 4:33 over fairly hilly terrain, so speed and strength were certainly returning and I think the good results at Wild Horse and Pinnacles came out of the consistent 12 weeks, which gave strength and speed.
With those events out of the way and nothing on the radar for a few weeks (next event is the BRRC 7k Championships in early May), I'm gradually trying to return to my old training pattern through the week, which is essentially:
M - tempo run of 45 mins to 1 hour 15 minutes
T - short intervals, generally 400m
W - tempo run of 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes
T - longer intervals, generally 1km
F - easy half hour run
S - do local cross country races, kind of makes it a combined speed/fartlek session
S - long run, 2 hours+
All running through the week is being done on the gravel path next to Sir William MacGregor Drive next to the University of Queensland. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons:
- less impact
- you need to be efficient with footstrike on the gravel surface, which should provide benefits on the road
- it's a known 2.25k or so lap, and I have a rough 400 metre section and a 1.1k section so it's easy to do reps in a straight line (I'm of the opinion track training contributed to my OP and back issues in 2006)
- the path isn't overly crowded, and there are toilets and taps around
I'm working through the sessions at the moment to get a feel for where I am so I can work out a starting point, finetune my sessions, and develop a progression plan. I'm trying hard not to over-reach too early, so I can continue training effectively and hopefully stay relatively injury free.
Main focus is probably the tempo runs - I will return to roads around home with either of those sessions shortly. As mentioned, it is quite hilly around home, and running regularly on hilly roads never goes astray for training. That said, I'm aiming for around 2 1/2 hours on Sunday. That should give 30km+ provided I'm sensible with pacing.
My body seems to be holding up okay at the moment. Regular stretching (with use of a theraband for hamstrings) and use of a roller particularly on the quads/ITBs and calves seem to be working wonders. I had slacked off with core work over the last month, but that has been restarted, with bridges on Monday, the ab roller on Tuesday (the little wheel with handles, not those stupid frame things that don't work) and bosu board on Wednesday. Hopefully I can keep that three day cycle going - it helps having a strong core, plus when you're getting a bit leaner it looks good!
Well, as good as it can on a balding greying guy in his early 40s, in any event.
I've always had a bit of a theory that a solid 8 week block of training will see you step up a level, and this has been evident this year. January and February were just a case of getting out the door and moving, and there are a lot of 3.2k and 5.7k runs in there (my two local neighbourhood 'minimal' runs) - but I got out and ran them. Since mid-March, though, the 10-15 km tempo runs have been steadily improving in speed, and now it's a rare run that isn't under 4:40, and more often than not sun 4:30.
In the weeks leading up to the Wild Horse Criterium, there was a block of runs in the 10-12km range at paces of 4:20 to 4:33 over fairly hilly terrain, so speed and strength were certainly returning and I think the good results at Wild Horse and Pinnacles came out of the consistent 12 weeks, which gave strength and speed.
With those events out of the way and nothing on the radar for a few weeks (next event is the BRRC 7k Championships in early May), I'm gradually trying to return to my old training pattern through the week, which is essentially:
M - tempo run of 45 mins to 1 hour 15 minutes
T - short intervals, generally 400m
W - tempo run of 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes
T - longer intervals, generally 1km
F - easy half hour run
S - do local cross country races, kind of makes it a combined speed/fartlek session
S - long run, 2 hours+
All running through the week is being done on the gravel path next to Sir William MacGregor Drive next to the University of Queensland. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons:
- less impact
- you need to be efficient with footstrike on the gravel surface, which should provide benefits on the road
- it's a known 2.25k or so lap, and I have a rough 400 metre section and a 1.1k section so it's easy to do reps in a straight line (I'm of the opinion track training contributed to my OP and back issues in 2006)
- the path isn't overly crowded, and there are toilets and taps around
I'm working through the sessions at the moment to get a feel for where I am so I can work out a starting point, finetune my sessions, and develop a progression plan. I'm trying hard not to over-reach too early, so I can continue training effectively and hopefully stay relatively injury free.
Main focus is probably the tempo runs - I will return to roads around home with either of those sessions shortly. As mentioned, it is quite hilly around home, and running regularly on hilly roads never goes astray for training. That said, I'm aiming for around 2 1/2 hours on Sunday. That should give 30km+ provided I'm sensible with pacing.
My body seems to be holding up okay at the moment. Regular stretching (with use of a theraband for hamstrings) and use of a roller particularly on the quads/ITBs and calves seem to be working wonders. I had slacked off with core work over the last month, but that has been restarted, with bridges on Monday, the ab roller on Tuesday (the little wheel with handles, not those stupid frame things that don't work) and bosu board on Wednesday. Hopefully I can keep that three day cycle going - it helps having a strong core, plus when you're getting a bit leaner it looks good!
Well, as good as it can on a balding greying guy in his early 40s, in any event.
