Training Question

Hey. for anyone out there in the RBF who still listens, I’ve got a training question.

For San Antonio, I’ve been on the following Schedule pretty regularly:

  • Monday – Easy run (Say 40-50 minutes)
  • Tuesday – Cross Train (Say 40 minutes bike or swim)
  • Wednesday – Tempo run with Fartlek (50-60 minutes with ~8 one minute accelerations)
  • Thursday – Cross Train (Say 40 minutes bike or swim)
  • Friday – Easy Run (30-40 minutes)
  • Saturday – Long Run (Standard marathon build up; two 20 milers planned)

At the end of this month, I’ve got 14 miles planned on the 30th by the schedule. BUT, there’s two events that weekend – the Nike+ Human Race on the 31st and the New Haven 20K on the first. So my plan for the weekend is as follows:

  • Friday – Easy run, 40 minutes
  • Saturday – Rest
  • Sunday – Nike 10K (replaces Monday’s planned run, I’m not planning on going 100% hard)
  • Monday – New Haven 20K (Replaces the week’s long run)
  • Tuesday – back to the schedule with the cross training and the regularity.

I end up giving up two miles, but get the 20K race. So, whadda y’all think? Does it work?

5 thoughts on “Training Question”

  1. So basically you are switching the positions of the long run and the easy run, and taking out the rest day in between.

    If it were me, I would 1) rest on Friday and 2) make SURE that the Nike 10K is a run not a race. I know its hard to hold back when you’ve got numbers on your shirt, but you have a marathon to run eventually. You wouldn’t want to get injured for the sake of a 10K, and miss the marathon.

    I like to go conservative on the training, but maybe that holds me back. Your mileage may vary. :)

  2. personally i wouldn’t worry too much over the schedule change because you would be running on consecutive days. you probably should take a rest break day after the 20k though before resuming schedule. you sound like you’re doing great. have you tried protein shakes to supplement your diet? i found that it works for me and i don’t feel so hungry after vigorous workouts.

  3. I agree with Jon. I would rest on Friday too. The key thing is to run the races at the right pace and not to overexert yourself. It’s so easy to get caught up in the excitement and to run harder when you know you can.

    I like replacing long runs with races. It helps break up the monotony of the training schedule. Longer races help build mental toughness too.

    I wouldn’t worry about being a couple of miles short for the week. It’s more important for you to make it through training injury-free.

    Have fun.

  4. Well I’d follow your new plan and make adjustments as necessary. I am sure that helps a lot.

    Have fun in New Haven. Knock knuckles with Jon for me.

  5. I don’t think an easy run on Friday will hurt you all that much. If you are really concerned, maybe cross train instead. And I wouldn’t worry at ALL about the ‘long run’ being two miles less – the race effort will make up for the shortage. You could always do a really slow and easy warm up and cool down if you wanted to get in those two miles.

    And I hate that you got to see Rudi. You Jerk. Hip and Rudi. sigh. Email me if you want to meet up for dinner before New Haven. Jon’s coming down, and I’ll be there too!

Comments are closed.