I'm tired of being mediocre. There's a big 5k race coming up in 2 weeks. Previously I've run around 70 mpw. Right now I'm running around 55. Next week I'm going to jump up to 80-90 for a week and the week after that stay on track for that mileage but cut back the last 2 days before my race. I've never had a running related injury even when I've jumped up a lot before. What's the worst that could happen? It's worth a shot isn't it, I'm tired of being mediocre.
And if I don't get injured it should make a small difference
If you train really hard for one week, you will get a lot better and break through to a new level; in fact, you will be a much faster runner the week after that.
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If that statement sounded believable to you, you have no understanding of the sport.
crash training approach? wrote:
I'm tired of being mediocre. There's a big 5k race coming up in 2 weeks. Previously I've run around 70 mpw. Right now I'm running around 55. Next week I'm going to jump up to 80-90 for a week and the week after that stay on track for that mileage but cut back the last 2 days before my race.
What the hell, OP, why not give it a try. If you get the extra mileage mostly by adding doubles (and NOT adding an extra-long long run or two), you'll probably be just fine. If you stick to your plan, then cut back those last two days, you might race very well. (Assuming this is not your first race in a long time, your training has prepared you to race, yada, yada--always lots of assumptions.)
But here's the flip side: training is a process of stress *and recovery*. How about making a total commitment, by making sure you go to bed and wake at pretty much the same times every day--including the weekends/holidays--and getting a total of 5-10 more hours/wk sleep than you usually do? This way, you'd really be giving the added miles a chance to benefit you.
Similarly, clean up your diet. Avoid caffeine for those weeks (except on race day--see WeJo's discussion of this); and cut back or eliminate soda/fruit juice/sugars and other simple carbs.
Anyway, good luck. Please let us know how things work out.
Maybe you're mediocre because you can only hype yourself up to stay dedicated for a week. Why not try "crash training" for a year and see what happens.
There is a lag time between doing workouts and perceived fitness gains of around 2 weeks, which means that you probably won't reap any benefits from the increase in mileage in a race that's only 2 weeks away. If anything, you'll probably run worse than normal, as you'll be more tired than usual. This isn't to say that you shouldn't increase your mileage, but your fitness won't improve immediately after completing a workout. You have to be patient and consistent to see an improvement.
I dont drink caffeine already and I'll do my best to get more sleep. I would of course increase with doubles.
To the OP,
Keep running. Train smart and race hard.
In most things in life, where success, mediocrity and failure are possibilities, it takes more than two weeks to rise from mediocrity to success. By contract, one can go from mediocrity to failure in seconds.
Mediocrity is something to build from, not jettison as if it is nothing. It's not a starting point. It's a midpoint. With a plan, and more than two weeks, success can be yours.
Good luck.
Typo: meant "by contrast," not "by contract."