I've added a cut-back week to my training regimen after a friend told me I was crazy not to. He said, in effect, "Every fourth week, cut back to 70% of your average training mileage for the preceding three weeks."
I did that one month back, and it worked beautifully. My average mpw was about 42; I cut back to 31 for that fourth week, then sailed back into the past four weeks, which have averaged 45 mpw.
I've raced two 5Ks during that period--first two races in 18 months--and won the grandmaster award in both. No complaints.
But yesterday's long run was a little creaky. I could just FEEL that it was time for a cut-back week. This time I've notched four weeks @ 45 mpw. So: definitely time for a break.
My question is: during the cutback week, assuming a 70% volume compared with the last 3-4 weeks, what sort of intensity do you run?
I can imagine two scenarios:
1) Everything easy/recovery pace: 70-75% of max. Maybe a few strides. Nothing more than that. Complete recovery.
2) Recovery+: easy/recovery pace, no "workouts," decreased volume, no hard hills or intervals or tempos, BUT: some brisker stuff and some strides in the mix. Maybe shorter-than-normal medium runs (6 instead of 8 for my Wed/Fri runs, for example) but with some harder stuff, like early season buildup stuff. Run as you feel.
What do you do?