Two days of HARD workouts in a row...

TrackGod! wrote:

Two days of HARD workouts in a row with same amount of recovery days! Have you ever done that before? How did it go? Would you recommend it?

Thanks a lot

Currently doing this in college. Runners get injured frequently. Overtraining abound even though we're crazy low mileage for college (45mpw). Jaded veterans. Men and women quitting yearly. Everyone has pretty constant aches and pains if they're healthy enough to run, and the training staff and our coach hate each other. Also we underperform not only at conference but also meets leading up to and after conference year after year.

My advice, and this is what I do, is ease into both workouts, and never hammer the first one. Live to fight another day.

Don't do it unless you have to. Unless you have autonomy and are allowed to listen to your body when it's screaming at you to stop.

There's nothing inherently wrong with back-to-back hard days, as long as there is solid reasoning behind it and enough recovery is allowed. I'm a firm believer that if you do back-to-back hard days -- such as a VO2Max interval workout on Monday and a speed repeats session on Tuesday -- during the middle part of the season, and then give more rest between a hard day and a race day during the late-season competitions, you see results. The runners have been taught to work hard with tired legs and then have an opportunity to run fresh for their biggest races.

Again, though: coaches should take into account that more intensity in a short period of time also requires more rest.

I have done two hard days in a row plenty of times.

usually different types of workouts.

One day will be a track workout and the next will be hills or a good tempo run.

Then an easy day after that.

I've had success doing a short hard VO2max workout followed by a longer threshold workout 3 - 6 weeks out from a 15K or HM 'A' race. The last time I did this I was training for a 15K with a goal of sub-55. I used a Pfitz inspired 12 week training program maxing out at a bit over 70MPW with most weeks around 65. I ended up running 55:21 which I was satisfied with. I pulled this from my old training log, 5 weeks out from race week.

Sat: Long Run (18 miles, Start at 7:30 pace and cut down to 6:15 for the last 5 miles)

Sun: Off

Mon: Easy Run (8 miles, 7:30 pace)

Tues: 4m WU, 8 x 800 @ 2:40 w/ 1:30 jog recovery, 2m CD (11 miles)

Wed: 4 miles @ 7min, 6 miles @ 6min, 2 mile at 7 min (12)

Thurs: AM: 5 Recovery (8min), PM: 5 Recovery (8min)

Friday: Easy Run (8 miles, 7:30)

Total: 67 miles

This week really helped train my body to run on tired legs. The 8 x 800s left me pretty spent and then I followed it up by a 12 miler with 6 miles at LT pace. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to recover. Thursday was pure recovery, my legs still felt super heavy on Friday, and I was still feeling it on next Saturday's Long Run so I slowed the pace down.

I think there is definitely a place for back to back hard workouts put you should vary the type of hard workout (fast hard/ long hard seems to make the most sense to me) and afford yourself ample recovery time.

Full disclaimer... I'm a pretty average runner with no high school or college experience. Everything I know comes from books, forums, and what little experience I've gained since I started running 4 years ago.

I always am sore and tired 2 days after a hard workout, so 2 days in a row is better than 2 with a day in between. It also helps you train for 2 day meets.

I haven't read much around the physiology of doing back to back workouts. Canova has his "special block" but that's two in a day. But when I've seen it done it usually involves logistics of a person's schedule. But if you're able to achieve the required volume and intensity on back to back days, I don't see a huge reason not to do it.

That's nothing. I run hard six or seven days a week -- just like El Guerrouj used to do.

i don't know if it was part of igloi's original training, but smtc's merle mcgee, coach of johnny gray and others, did back to back track days--i think his regular schedule was either mon/tue track, saturday long run (fresh/tempo), or tue/wed track, saturday long run (fresh/tempo)...

I have done this, and 90% of the time I do better on the second day's workout. I think there is a certain neurological benefit gained through back-to-back hard days, especially if the intensity is high but the volume is low. Look up "greasing the groove" to see how this might apply to running.

I have only done this as a last resort and had success. Never in xc as never have a had a hard time scheduling around Fri/Sat meets. With indoor track and snow/cold and access to facilities and weird meet days i have done it. But i have only done a threshold type workout following a meet day so cruise intervals or a tempo run and always was followed by two easy days. In outdoor track had the issue of some of my athletes missing Saturdays for church so if i had a thursday meet i would do monday workout, thursday meet and friday tempo run and saturday easy run day.

Look at the training of the best runners in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of them were on the track several days in succession, working hard each day. A fit athlete should recover overnight provided they refuel adequately and get sufficient sleep. Plenty of runners make a point of working very hard over the weekend - both days - especially if they work 9-5 Monday to Friday it makes sense. you only have to put in one hard weekday, say Wednesday, and you have a reasonably solid weeks worth of work done.