One note on the above 12 week schedule - I type 12-11-10 etc. - this is the number of weeks before you want to race, or how many weeks out until the big race.
I also remember dr. dave drawing a circle in front of me, and then asking me how many hours I slept, worked out, ate, drove to and from the workout, 2nd workout, etc. Each time, he would fill in the circle, which represented 24 hours, that part which related to how many hours I did an activity. Slept 8 hours - fill in 1/3 of energy pie ... drive 30 minutes each way to practice, fill in another hour of time. Lift weights, massage - all took up the pie. After he had finished, we both looked down and I had 25 1/2 hours filled. His question to me:
"Where did you steal from to stay within 24 hours? You can't expand the size of the pie - it is contstant." Of course, the area that I cheated on was sleep.
I ran in high school in the mornings 5 days a week, 2 miles, but my coach was able to get me to do it in gym class in the fall of my junior year, and study hall my senior year. I am sure their are coaches reading this post, and know this would be against school policy. I would counter and of the 478 kids that graduated my high school in 1978, only 30 had scholarships to go to college (academic or athletic), and I think of the 30, only 2 received athletic scholarships (one wrestler). It helped my parents not have to pay for college - they would have qualified for financial aid, but I don't believe that they knew how to apply. A different era.
To get up at 6am to get your 2-3 miles in, is dedication. I coached at two top 20 colleges (Chicago, Vanderbilt), and the kids thought 6.5 hours a sleep a night was enough. You can't do this - your body does not recover. I even had 1 athlete at Vanderbilt state that (neuroscience major) when your body enters REM sleep, of over 7 hours, is when you lay down new bone. Anything less does not allow your body to heal itself.
If a high school athlete was disciplined to go to bed at 9am, get 8 hours sleep, then I would let that individual run in the morning. Think of swimmers - they usually are in the pool by 6am. This is a case by case issue.
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