Not An Expert wrote:
Without knowing your full training plan and lifestyle, it’s tough to say, but that sounds reasonable during your base phase. Four questions:
-what do the fartleks look like during your base phase?
-what kind of workouts do you do once you transition out of your base phase?
-how long is it from when you transition out of your base phase to your peak race?
-how frequently do you race, and do you go to the well in most or all of those races?
And a fifth, I guess: do you get enough sleep, proper nutrition, and appropriately manage your non-training life stress throughout your season?
To answer your questions:
1) fartleks of 1 min fast 1 min slow, 2 min fast 1 min slow, and 3 min fast 1 min slow. They start at LT and work down to 10k pace if I feel good. Fartleks are 30-40 minutes (including slow jog between intervals)
2) Same fartleks but increase the duration to 45-50 minutes. They naturally end up getting a bit faster as I'm more fit. And if I feel good I may run the last few intervals of a fartlek at 5k pace. 2nd weekly workout is still tempo.
3) Usually about 12 weeks. I usually peak about 8 weeks after base, give or take.
4) I try to race once every 3-6 weeks, and sometimes once every 2-3 weeks in last 2 months of the season.
5) 7.5-8 hours of sleep per night, okay nutrition, and yes I'm very good at managing stress.