First off, note that there will be no in-person MITHACAL MILERS workout this week—various things make it infeasible—but we hope to return to the Arboretum next Tuesday.
Given the worsening weather, the lack of an indoor track, and the paucity of races, I’m going to drop down to a single workout per week for middle-distance runners. If you’re looking for a second workout, check back in the forum for more ideas. Or beg for ideas with a particular goal race in mind.
Workout: After your warmup, start with 15 minutes at M pace, then 10 minutes at T pace, 5 minutes at I pace, and 2 minutes at R pace. In between each pickup, jog for 5 minutes.
Long Run: 25-30% of your weekly mileage at E pace
Long Distance Workouts (Half Marathon to Marathon)
Workout: 20 minutes at M pace, 20 minutes at T pace, then 20 minutes more of M pace. 5 minutes of E-pace rest between each change of pace. Don’t forget the minimum of 10 minutes at E pace for a warmup and cooldown.
Long Run: 25-30% of your weekly mileage at E pace
Resources
Introduction:Background and advice, particularly for those not running 20-25 miles per week
Ran the marathon workout this morning after a few weeks off recovering from time trials and birthday miles. Struggled near the end of T pace segment but overall felt pretty good!
I’m sure there are many opinions out there on how often workouts should be run and how often “down” weeks should happen. I like running workouts because they provide nice structure to the week, have been doing them weekly for 4-5 month stretches but will take a break if my legs feel fatigued. Thoughts?
There are lots of opinions. For many scholastic or competitive runners, the seasons provide some easy breaks, since you can take a couple of weeks really easy after any championship meet or race.
I’ve heard some world-class marathoners will take a month every year completely off.
And there’s also the approach of periodization, where you ramp for a few weeks, and then take an easier week, then ramp up again. That should probably be combined with some general time off as well.
The most important thing is to listen to your body. If you’re starting to hurt more or get more nagging injuries, that’s a sign that you might need a break. And even more important is realizing when you feel stale and tired for days at a time. It’s really important not to train through burnout like that, since injury is really likely and worse, you could just start disliking running.
But if you’re having fun and feeling good, keep on keeping on and just stay sensible.
@gplwoo Definitely listen to your body as Adam said. I find it useful to have some periodization/structure throughout the year so you don’t get stuck in the every-week-the-same slog, or end up getting burnt-out. For example, you might plan to do about 2-4 main fitness tests per year (these might be “peak” races if they exist, or your own time trial or fitness test). To prepare for each fitness test, I normally do a block 2-4 weeks only easy running no workouts, and then 4-10 weeks including weekly or bi-weekly workouts, 1-2 weeks “taper”, and then your test. After the test, 1-2 weeks off, plan your next goal, and repeat!
