Do I need to change my summer training plan?

We should bring back our LetsRun.com summer training. I coached 3 or 4 people that summer and 1 was an All-American. I'm 1 for 1 in terms of male college all-Americans.

Email me if you want advice.

+1

The mileage seems low. 50 mpw is what I might expect from a high school junior, not someone who is headed for college. It would be easy for you to throw in a couple of doubles (e.g. an easy four-mile run in the morning) to get you closer to 60 than 50.

Your "down week" should be about every fourth week. Plan on it if you can.

For example, the week of 5-July, plan the lower end of the volume, (30) and keep the faster workouts.

Your 10-Aug week seems like you are adding both intensity and volume. Don't try to increase both at the same time.

Are you in the gym at all? Summer is a great time for it. If you go into the gym and do deadlifts, squats, you'll need to figure in some more recovery, maybe a little less intensity, but keep the volume targets.

Definitely do some core workouts and plain old push-ups. Plan them.

It's the middle of June, did you hit your goals in the first three weeks?

That makes sense. I think I'll increase the mileage with some doubles as the summer goes on if I feel good.

That sounds good about the down weeks, I'll try to stick to that.

I'm doing strength (upright rows, squats, deadlifts, lunges) and core (planks, push ups, hip bridges, other hip exercises) 3 times a week, I'll work on having a more formal plan though.

So far I've hit what I've wanted to mileage- and workout-wise and feel pretty good. This week will be a bit over 30 miles, the tempo was 6:00-5:55-5:50 and the workout was 5:30-78-79-79-78, and both felt smooth.

Thanks for the advice so far

SOM Training? wrote:

So far I've hit what I've wanted to mileage- and workout-wise and feel pretty good. This week will be a bit over 30 miles, the tempo was 6:00-5:55-5:50 and the workout was 5:30-78-79-79-78, and both felt smooth.

Thanks for the advice so far

You should see those paces improve at the same level of exertion over 4-6 week intervals. As you add the volume, it's going to get harder. Just stick with it and be sure not to train through injuries.

Remember nothing is set in stone and don't train through injury and get plenty of rest.

Keep us updated over the summer!

My apologies.

A few quick thoughts.

1) I wouldn't do a gradual progression maintaining the same total mileage each week and/or increasing.

I used to do a higher week and then a lower week and ramp up that way.

Sometimes it was just a matter of stacking 2 longer runs in the same week say Sunday and Saturday (week starts on Saturday) and then starting the next week off with an off day. So 7 days with 2 longer runs vs 6 days makes quite a mileage difference. I think it lets your body also get used to running a little more.

2) Now coming from a guy who thinks a run is like 20 minutes I too think the mileage is pretty low. I don't think the total mileage should be the focus.

But what would happen if you went out this weekend and ran an hour and 30 minutes? Go slow. That's not doable? What about an hour?

You're trying to become a distance runner. And distance runners can go jog around for an hour 30 no problem. If its too taxing go slower. If that really is too much then go 1:15.

Maybe I've forgot what it's like to be a high school kid who is constantly injured (that's how I was). But I bet I could go out today and run for 1:30 and I'm not sure I've run over 30 minutes in a month.

3) Can you share a specific week? Maybe I need to read up on SOM but my thoughts are 1) one longer run a week. Usually I try and pick it up at the end of these or do strides during the last mile. 2) One Run for sure where you pick up the pace. Doesn't have to be a formal "Tempo run". Just where you try and go faster than you would. 3) I would often do 2-3 sets of 6 strides during runs. say 20-30 seconds. light jog for say a minute. Repeat. Jog a mile inbetween or something. Or just do unstructured fartlek.

4) Personally I'd do this way more informally. When you have down 3-4 mile 400 jog are you going to a track and doing that? That personally would be torture for me. Plus, I'd freak out about the pace. Maybe a couple of times a summer you can do something where the pace is important but then it probably should be a really hard effort but outside of that I wouldn't step on a track. I'd much rather do 3-4 x5 minutes 2 minutes off than 3-4 x a mile 400 jog.

5) Don't forget you are trying to teach your body to relax and use as little energy while running faster. With that in mind I personally wouldn't go to a track because when i step on a track a lot of times the time became more important than how I felt.

Does that make any sense?

Here's to a #summerofgreatness.

1) So throughout the summer, you'd suggest 1 week up and then 1 down, instead of 3 weeks building up and then 1 "down" week? I can try starting that next week.

2) I'm on the more cautious side mileage-wise because of injuries, but I've realized my plan might be a bit too cautious. I'll try increasing the mileage a bit more, maybe hit 60 by the end of the summer?

3) I'll use this week as an example:

Monday: Off (I've only run 6 days a week for the past year, but I could start doing 7 days some weeks like you said)

Tuesday: AM: 3 miles @ 7:40/mi; PM: 10x200 @ (38, 38, 38, 37, 36, 36, 35, 36, 37, 36), 1 warm-up/cool-down

Wednesday: 5 miles @ 8:10; Strides

Thursday: 4 mile tempo @ (6:05, 6:00, 5:55, 5:50), 1 warm-up/cool-down

Friday: 4 miles @ 7:45

Saturday: 6 miles @ 8:00; Strides

Sunday: 7 miles @ (8:00, 7:30, 7, 6:50, 6:30, 6:35, 6:30)

Everything this week felt very easy.

4) Should I change the interval workouts to fartleks instead?

5)^

Thanks for the detailed reply!

If you do the 7 days a week one week and 6 the next, the 7day week will be longer even if on the 6 days you are running more each day.

How about one week slightly higher, next week slightly lower (because you have an extra day off or one less run), one week higher, one week (down).

Essentially the same thing but just calling it something else.

Do not run on the roads. The surface can make more of a difference than anything else. But if you'll be on roads in school, I'd say run a little on them. But try and run on people's lawns if that's the case.

I couldn't really run a lot until I got off roads.

3)

Here's how'd I'd do your week.

Monday: Off (I've only run 6 days a week for the past year, but I could start doing 7 days some weeks like you said)

Tuesday: AM: 3 miles @ relaxed morning run pace (not wear a watch); PM: 10 x pick it up for what I think it roughly 200m, trying to go faster as I go. @

Wednesday: 5 miles @ relaxed pace; Strides

Thursday: 4 mile at a decent effort. 1 warm-up. 4miles at a decent effort. 1 mile cool-down

Friday: 4 miles (shorter run for you I see) at a relaxed pace.

Saturday: 6 miles at what feels good with Strides

Sunday: 7 miles pick up.

Everything this week felt very easy.

I see NO reason to measure the pace of your easy runs or really any of your runs. But if you want to measure something as a guide, I guess I'd go with the 4mile run.

The key however is not to force a pace. I used to just run loops in the off season. I did a loop in 8:30 on my hard effort when I Was out of shape and by a few weeks later it could be a lot faster 7:30 but I never was forcing it. During the run, just run. Worry about the pace later.

You need to learn how to run and gauge your body's effort.

Everything should be faster at the end than what you start pretty much. If you can't do 4 miles up tempo like this you are doing it wrong. Feel free to take mile splits but don't look at them until after.

I would workout and almost always said, "that was a good workout" because I did what my body could do that day, not forcing it to hit a pace someone else it could do. Sometimes sure you need to really go after it but not that often.

Now the easy day paces I'm saying might be problematic when you get to school and everyone is killing it on the easy days. Pretty much guaranteed to happen and you'll want to try and keep up. Remember there aren't bonus points for how you do on Tuesday.

How about a compromise. Once a week you do a fartlek, next week intervals. I just think you have so much mental energy to go around so I'd save it for the season.

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5)

Thanks for the detailed reply![/quote]

Sure

And read this if you haven't: http://www.letsrun.com/news/2006/09/wejo-speaks-why-i-sucked-in-college/

I'll agree with everything wejo has said, other than the alternating big/small weeks. I prefer a gradual buildup, but it doesn't matter too much as long as you're consistent.

your original google doc plan is not gonna work out. you can't really plan that far ahead and expect to follow through, it's just not realistic or smart. you need to wait and see how your body will feel.

the key is to plan something that you can realistically accomplish with enough flexibility to account for bad weeks and good weeks.

I am going to provide with some links of articles/videos I think you should read/watch and let them process in your mind.

My advise also wouldn't be to so much focus on the "schedule".

But what is your "philosophy" behind what your doing.

You want patterns with a purpose.

Summer of Malmo:

http://www.bunnhill.com/BobHodge/rtp3.htm

Hodgies-Sans 10 week Starter Kit (I would advise following something as simple as this)

http://www.bunnhill.com/BobHodge/BaseTraining.htm

Nic Bideau (Modern version of training built on old school running Philosophies)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O42MSA7fv_Icomlo--vffoGEm4q4lXnrmOxdmx2QHHs/edit

Brad Hudson video on why aerobic development is important. (Regardless of what people say of Brad I think he does a great Job at explaining this)

http://distancesummit.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=1051&do=videos&video_id=22574

Also Wejo's "Why I sucked in College" is a great one as well

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2006/09/wejo-speaks-why-i-sucked-in-college/

Most of all I would say enjoy the process :)

if you're struggling with injuries one thing i found is to build in blocks. the constant up and down never worked for me. a down week can be less intensity, but same volume. its the change in volume that can get to you. ditto with intensity, i always do hard efforts (mile, 5k etc) but on easy periods of training just do shorter times with more rest (so say 1 min @ 5k effort with 3-4 min recovery instead of 2-3:1 work:rest).

so for building: if 50 mpw now, do 56 miles the next week and HOLD for 3-4 weeks (add 1 mile for each run you do a week, so if singles on 6 days add 6 miles. the add 6 more miles the next build, hold 4 weeks. do 3 times max and hold for at least 6 mo if not a year and see if you stay healthy and repeat.

(i had horrible injury problems, still not the most durable, but better now)