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Training Advice/Discussion General

7 years ago 09/28/2016 9:30pm EDT

Start at 5

Add or subtract one point for each of the following...

No injuries during build up

Ate healthy all the time

Training went perfect

Taper went perfect

Strength trained

Mileage was all time high

So maximum points is 11 = PR city

Lowest is -1 = you're probably still out of shape

Somewhere in between like still at 5 and you're just a true hobby jogger with no ambition or maybe you need to rethink your training method a strategy.

Personally I'm at 9 for my upcoming race. I'm excited for this. I hope to strive for at least an 8 on the scale for the rest of running. Otherwise why bother?

Discus.

7 years ago 09/28/2016 9:35pm EDT

re: Amateur Coach

I'm not going to argue that these all can't help, but hitting your highest mileage ever is hardly a necessity. Furthermore, I doubt even Matt Centrowitz would call his training or taper leading up to the Olympics as "perfect" (meaning everything was 100% according to plan). As for the hobby jogger comment, that's probably true, but everyone eventually becomes one unless they live a totally unbalanced life.

7 years ago 09/28/2016 9:40pm EDT

re: Silky Johnson

My name isn't Pro Coach.

I hear you though. But, by saying training went perfect I should clarify that perfect is individualized. If you think you chose the absolute best training decisions you could have made, like no regrets type training, then that is perfect. Plans will lead to imperfection so you have to be able to adapt on the fly to avoid injuries. Even one injury while sticking to a plan is worse than zero injuries deviating a plan.

7 years ago 09/28/2016 9:42pm EDT

re: Silky Johnson

And maybe the scale can have something there with base training/mileage instead of high mileage.

7 years ago 09/28/2016 9:49pm EDT

re: Amateur Coach

Interesting so on a -1 - 11 scale

-1 injured

0 injury prone

1 rehab

2 return to running

3 base building

4 introduce training methods

5 start training plan

6 introduce race specific training

7 start peaking

8 race testing

9 race ready

10 PR

11 PR city

7 years ago 09/28/2016 11:49pm EDT

re: Amateur Coach

No injuries should be worth 5 points. Perfect training should be worth 3. Diet and strength training should be worth .1 point.

Other things that should probably count for a point:

Successfully evacuating your bladder and bowels before the race starts

Knowing the course and hitting all the turns just right

Knowing your actual fitness and hitting the first 1/3 of the race with sensible splits

7 years ago 09/28/2016 11:58pm EDT

re: OK tough guy

OK tough guy wrote:
No injuries should be worth 5 points. Perfect training should be worth 3. Diet and strength training should be worth .1 point.
Other things that should probably count for a point:
Successfully evacuating your bladder and bowels before the race starts
Knowing the course and hitting all the turns just right
Knowing your actual fitness and hitting the first 1/3 of the race with sensible splits

The last one is SO underrated. Just watch any high school XC race!

7 years ago 09/29/2016 5:27am EDT

re: Amateur Coach

Start scale at 6. That way you end up somewhere between 0 and 12. Now it is much more pleasing to the eye and easier for numbskulls to understand. Good?!

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