AK-67 wrote:
After turning 40, Meb switched to a 9 day cycle very similar to yours. It’s interesting to see that you did it first. You are a training pioneer!
I think many have worked with 9- or 10-day cycles before me. The default to 7 days is because most have rigid work schedules, weekends only for long runs, set workout days with training groups, etc.
In my 40s, I used Pfitzinger's "Road Racing for Serious Runners" as a guide to my training. His plans were based on Daniels' training paces. His once-per-week workouts pretty much alternated between VO2max repeats and LT repeats/tempo runs.
At the time, it seemed to me that training at those specific paces only every 14 days was less than ideal. When I returned to serious training a couple years ago, I decided to include BOTH types of workouts every nine days. Plus a long run and a medium-long run.
In hindsight, at 57-58, I may well have needed 14 days to fully recover/absorb the specific training effects from each workout.
I read recently that it takes 10 to 14 to fully realize the benefits of a VO2max workout, and 7 to 10 days for a threshold run. Presumably, those stats are for relatively young runners.
Now, it seems to me the ideal frequency for each type of workout would be the time it takes to fully realize the benefits of the the previous effort. That way, you're building on the gains, and not tearing down faster than you're building.
So, maybe a threshold workout every week, and a VO2max workout every other week? Of course, I am assuming the validity of Daniels-based training.
Meanwhile, here I am at 60, have only run once in two weeks, am putting on weight again, and am still dealing with near constant knee pain. I guess I've given up, but not really ... still hope to run a few miles a few times a week. We'll see.