Making a Comeback-Advice Wanted

Any one willing to offer me some training advice?

Should be able to beat those times.

Roughly, <16 for 5000m on 30/week for a talented runner is about right before moving up or adding in too much volume.

Depending on current strengths and weakness, maybe 1-2h/week

cross training to set up the move to longer distances or the

middle distance focus. Basically, play the middle of the board and include all the elements to see where your heart is at.

You don't crack the whip on the speed side yet but do work some intensity again; and you don't flog yourself with overly long zombie jogs. Keep it fun and try to find out what you got.

From here it looks like you want to add in some casual 75's, maybe some humble 400m sets or some fartlek.

A <6' 2k goal might be a good call, along with the <16' 5000m.

You will need time, money...maybe both.

What is your history of running injuries?

How often did you try too much too soon and put yourself out of commission or competition?

Do you have money in the bank that will allow you the time to do triple digit weekly mileage?

For the next six months would you be happy to do just 50-60mpw and run local 5km's or 10km's or do you want to be winning races and prize money?

What kind of baggage do you have? Wife? Kids? Mortgage?

For a marathon give yourself at least a 12 month plan, maybe an 18 month plan. So, maybe look to run your first in the fall of 2009 or spring of 2010.

How many crunches can you do a day? Start out with 25 a day. Then work your way up to 25 for breakfast, 25 for lunch, 25 at supper. In six months you could be doing 100, 200, 300 sit-ups a day.

How smart are you about stretching both before and after your runs and are you mature enough to do warm-up and cooldown miles and not hammer yourself into the ground or push yourself where you are racing on non-race days?

Are you in an urban area where it would be easy to join a running club or train with other runners with similar goals?

In answer to your questions (assuming they are not meant rhetorically):

Injuries: Apart from a minor case of shin splints a few years ago which ended my last significant spell of running two years ago, I have never really been injured.

Money/Time: I have ample time to train since I am a graduate student working on a doctoral thesis in Europe ie. can organise my time freely.

Baggage: No wife/kids/mortgage

Crunches: Don't know but I imagine I could do 200 now if I tried. My muscular endurance was always good.

Stretching: Probably don't stretch enough and am relatively inflexible.

Urban area: Yes- Hamburg, Germany. I am not sure about the club situation here as I am quite new to the city.

I started back running in April and my training has been pretty light: 4-5 mile steady runs 5-6 times a week, usually at an average pace of 6.15-6.45 per mile.

I have never done a high mileage and my previous success as a teenager came off 25-30 mpw with 3 fairly intense sessions pwk.

Would anyone be willing to give me training advice or even suggest a training plan for the next few months? This could be either based on a return to middle distance next summer or for road racing/marathon which may be more applicable given the availability of races.

Thanks.

I would say that, for now, your #1 goal is just to put together a good stretch of continuous training. So, for this summer, take things slow and easy. For the next few month's I'd say you have 2 goals: get used to running more mileage, and get used to running fast again.

You should be able to get to 50 or 60 mpw by the end of the summer, which seems about right given your background. The pace may be a little slower than what you're doing now, but don't worry about that. This will be double what you're doing right now, so it's a significant jump, but if you do it gradually and carefully it should be OK. It's a lot of mileage, relative to where you are now, but in absolute terms an increase of 20-30 miles over 3 months is not so crazy. If you get to 50 and it feels like a lot, stay there; 60 would be nice, but it's not wort getting injured for.

To get back your speed, start by doing strides 2 or 3 times a week. Don't worry about being fast when you do these, just focus on running smoothly. Take full rest between them; the goal is to improve form, not fitness. After a few weeks of doing strides, you can move to some easy interval workouts. Again, don't go to the well in these workouts, jut use them as a way to practice running smoothly and comfortably at faster paces. One workout of shorter invtervals (could be replaced with hills) and one workout of longer intervals (could be replaced with a tempo run later on) should be good for each week. Shorter intervals should be, essentially, glorified strides; longer intervals should be not that much harder than going for a steady run. Do not force the workouts; your legs need time. Be patient.

If all of this goes well, you should find yourself feeling like a runner again by some time this fall. At this point, it would probably be good to join a club. I think your best bet is to try to run some decent middle distance times on the track next summer. Once you've got that speed, you can consider moving up to longer road races either that fall or the next summer; if you do, you'll find this much easier for having taken the time to work on the shorter distances.