Is it ok to do 400m repeats at mile pace once a week in off season?

theres no need for it.

200m reps would be fine

I think it would be fine.

You said 200m reps so instead of doing 6x400m should i do 12x 200m?

Either type of interval workout is fine.

200s are a better test of speed because unless one is in form, the 400s become mile pace.

Maybe do two weeks of 200s, then one week of 400s, and then repeat the cycle.

I am wanting to build a base for track season, so what you are saying is i should do 200s at 800m pace and the third week do 400s at mile pace and just cycle that.

Right now im feeling kind of tired, i want to know if this schedule is

overtraining and maybe how much caloric intake i need to avoid overtraining.

Monday AM: 5 miles 5 sets of pullups, 5 sets of rows PM:5 miles 5 sets of pushups, 5 sets of dips

Tuesday AM: 5 miles, 6x400m@mile, core workout, PM 5 miles Pistol squat workout

Wensday AM: 5 miles 6 hill sprints, 5 sets of pullups, 5 sets of rows PM 5 miles 5 sets of pushups, 5 sets of dips

Thursday AM: 5 miles, core workout PM 5 miles PM 5 miles pistol squat workout

Friday AM: 5 miles, 4 mile tempo, 5 sets of pullups, 5 sets of rows, PM 5 miles, 5 sets of pushups, 5 sets of dips

Saturday 10 miles, core workout

Sunday 15 mile longrun

Am this schedule a ticket for burnout or am i fine?

This is just base season, so i don't know if i show do the speed work, but i really want to reach my highschool potential for the mile, also the strength training is for a calisthenics program i am doing.

Sorry for all the gibbergabish im really anxious and i feel tired, i believe my body is adapting but

how much protein and carbs should i eat a day on this schedule?

You're in HS? Geez, who are you trying to beat with that mileage, Rudy Chapa?

That is way too much training for HS, and I wouldn't do it in college either.

Yes...run 200s at 800m pace and 400s at mile pace.

Replace Saturday 10 miler with warm-up, 4 x 200m with 3 mins recovery.

Replace Sunday 15 with only a 10 miler.

Replace M-F mornings 5 miles with 3, or replace evenings 5 with 3.

Run faster, which allows faster intervals, which allows faster runs.

In HS, nothing was slower than 7:30 min pace, and that should be the 10-miler on Sundays.

When you run 3 miles, get it under 6:30 min/mile. If not at first, that is the goal.

When fast enough, the long run is 7 min/mile or faster, and the 3 mile runs are under 6 min/mile.

+1

If you want to keep the mileage, I think you should more evenly disperse it throughout the week. But 70 a lot of miles. You say you feel anxious. That is a HUGE red flag IMO. Eat as much food as you need, no need to feel fat doing big mileage. Make sure you get iron (meat is a good source) so that your body makes more runner blood.

A huge sign of overtraining is your brain starts to break. If you are feeling anxious and losing sleep that’s a big red flag that you are screwing up your hormones.

IMO, winter base should be lower mileage (40-50 per week) with work on rebuilding your raw speed and turnover. I’d do stuff like 100-200m strides at 400-800m pace after easy runs, and hill sprint workouts as well. If you need to scratch that 400m repeat itch do 1-4 of them at mile pace (no faster) after an easy run if you are feeling good.

Most high schoolers get very lazy during the winter offseason, and the fact that you are building a proper base is enough. If you overtrain your mind and body won’t make it to the season and you’ll be very stale so just play it safe.

Good luck!

Should i stop doing the strength excersises, they become pretty rigorous for me at times, I know they are effecting my recovery for running, I do them because i want to maintain a strong body. But I don't want it to hinder my running performance.

I do not recommend doing 400m x ??? at one mile race pace in off season once a week. A person can only physically & psychologically lean forward in the saddle so long. Do something else. Stay off the track in off season. Do hill repeats. If you live below 40 north latitude, do sprints on Am. football field &/or do sprints on futbol/soccer field.

Strivetobebestcanbe wrote:

Should i stop doing the strength excersises, they become pretty rigorous for me at times, I know they are effecting my recovery for running, I do them because i want to maintain a strong body. But I don't want it to hinder my running performance.

The strength exercises should not be a problem. In fact, they would be a bonus.

I still workout with core exercises before I run, and many times afterward.

You can chose only one or two days to do core or weights, or both, especially as the season gets underway. Right now, the schedule you listed seems okay.

One coach in college made exercises part of the warm-up, such as push-ups and working the stomach, along with stretches and jogs between the exercises.

As to those who caution against burnout, they speak for themselves. I ran year round, and probably took only 1 week off after summer track and before CC. We only ran 3-4 times a week during the holidays, but those runs were at a good pace. We didn't take breaks after CC, so the holidays were the only time of running 3-4 times per week. The pace of the runs was not easy, and one day of the week had quicker paces within the run.. After school started again, we were back to training.

do 100m repeats at mile pace

That amount of strength exercises seems excessive, and I'm someone who does something daily. One set for each exercise to failure, once a week is adequate, with other sets thrown in at your leisure. Instead of all those heavy sets, do more hills of various lengths and intensities.

For protein on a heavy schedule, aim for one gram per pound of lean body mass. The rest is either fat or carbs to your liking, unless you want to lose a few pounds then pick either lowfat or low carb (that's what I do).

You've got plenty of gumption, just stay loose in the saddle.

Two things come to mind:

1.) You're in high school. (Remember to be a high schooler.)

2.) You're overthinking your running. Just run.

I would have your read some Arthur Lydiard books or Keith Livingstone (Lydiard training). Just get your miles in via TIME.

* Let your morning runs be a shake-out...30+ minutes

* Let your morning runs go for time...60+ minutes

We tend to overthink our running. We want to plug in fancy workouts & schedules. But, really, we just need to get our mileage in. Let the miles come to you safely. Don't worry about pace either. Your pace will sneak up on you before you know it!

Since you're anxious & tired, cut back your mileage a wee bit. (It's a big red flag that something is off.) Then, you can return to safely increasing your mileage.

HRE Wannabe wrote

Two things come to mind:

1.) You're in high school. (Remember to be a high schooler.)

2.) You're overthinking your running. Just run.

I would have your read some Arthur Lydiard books or Keith Livingstone (Lydiard training). Just get your miles in via TIME.

* Let your morning runs be a shake-out...30+ minutes

* Let your morning runs go for time...60+ minutes

We tend to overthink our running. We want to plug in fancy workouts & schedules. But, really, we just need to get our mileage in. Let the miles come to you safely. Don't worry about pace either. Your pace will sneak up on you before you know it!

Since you're anxious & tired, cut back your mileage a wee bit. (It's a big red flag that something is off.) Then, you can return to safely increasing your mileage.

]

OPPS!

* Let your morning runs be a shake-out...30+ minutes

* Let your afternoon runs go for time...60+ minutes

Should i stop running untill Monday or just lower the mileage, I know im over training when my body craves caffein for stimulas which is just waiting for disaster, I had a previous experience. about this. I know if i stop i will recover and feel better but im worried about eating food because it's the holidays.

yhwh wrote:You're in HS? Geez, who are you trying to beat with that mileage, Rudy Chapa?

I wonder if the OP, a high school runner, knows who Rudy Chapa is?

Don't run 200's or 400's at mile pace during the office, there's no point. If you want to make sure you don't lose speed, then build your muscles that help you run fast. Run hills, lift weights, stuff like that. But don't do flat stuff with a quick turnover. You want to save that fast stuff for when you're actually trying to run the fast race. Doing quick workouts rapidly increases your speed, but only for a certain amount of time. Don't waste it during the off-season or else you'll be stale during the actual season and not have a proper peak.

Off season should be building general fitness and base, and is the time that you can get away with lifting weights a little more because it doesn't matter if your muscles are a little sore.

You’re getting burnt out. Run every other day for 30-45 minutes this week and until New Year’s and don’t sweat the holiday food—enjoy a bit of a break. If you feel good in any of these runs, feel free close the second half of the run faster, or include 4-5 x 15-20 second mile-to-800 effort pickups in the second half of the run. But no need to push it.

When you get back to it, yes, take Mondays off, and don’t do mile-pace 400s. A standard week could look like this:

M— off

Tu- AM- 5 easy PM- 5 w/ 5-6 x hard short hills (8-10s steep uphill run hard, 3-4 minutes easy jogging in between) for speed development (and do your circuit exercises)

W- AM- 3 easy PM- 7 (1 warm-up, 4 tempo, 2 warm-down)

Th- AM- 5 easy PM- 5 easy w/ 5-6 x 100m strides between 800m and 400m effort

F- AM- 3 easy PM- 7 (2 warm-up, 12 x 200m starting @ mile effort and picking up a little bit the last 3-4 w/ 200 slow jog (60-75s) recovery, 2 warm-down)

Sat- 5 easy (and do your circuit exercises), no double

Sun- 10-13 miles with the first half easy and the second half faster if you’re feeling good, no double

This, with a down week (during which you drop a couple of your doubles, do only 50-67% of the volume of the workouts, drop your long run to 55-65 minutes) every 3-4 weeks, should be pretty repeatable for 2-3 months. If you feel yourself adjusting to the workload, you can lengthen your PM runs on your easy double days and your AM runs on your workout days by 1-2 miles and/or add 1-2 miles to your tempo run. Don’t lengthen the long run or add volume to the speed development stuff (strides, hills, 200s), as you don’t want to overcook it with that stuff in January.

Make sure you’re sleeping and eating plenty, and do some stuff other than running, both physical and mental (read a book, play an instrument, join a non-sports extracurricular club, hang out with friends when it’s safe and play pick-up basketball or frisbee, etc). Enjoy the process, and know that this routine will have you well set-up to rub *fast* when real, race-specific work starts after spring break.