lease wrote:
xcrunner1337 wrote:Thank you so much for the replies, I will try to get more miles in with no break, and also get a tempo. Does the swimming actually hurt me? I thought it would help if anything. I was wondering if there were any suggestions for long interval workouts, that are a bit different, since I get bored of the usual tempos, 3000's, and mile repeats. What kind of fartleks are the most effective?
OP, the swimming probably *is* helping you long-term. I would suggest you stay with it, and avoid an all-running regimen, particularly in the first half of the summer. Couple other things:
1) You don't need to be race-ready at the beginning of the season. (That's one of the principles of the Summer of Malmo, which I recommend to lots of people.) You just need to be ready to start specific training, which you seem to do very well: your time drops a ton over the course of the season.
These other guys who are faster at the beginning of the season: do they stay ahead of you? Or do you pass by them as the season progresses? I'd bet the latter--which is a sign that your summer work is pretty productive for you. You should judge a summer's effectiveness by the last week of the fall season, not the first. From that standpoint, you already seem to be doing pretty well.
2) Related to the above. When you run a race or time trial at the beginning of the season, let me guess: you recover almost instantly, and five minutes after crossing the finish you're kicking yourself for not having pushed harder. Meanwhile, some of your teammates are still on the ground puking. Am I right?
This is not an automatic sign that their summer prep was better than yours, or that they're "tougher" in races than you are. To get everything from yourself in a race, you have to be very well trained--or almost not trained at all. You seem to be the former--by the end of the season, though not at its beginning; some of your teammates seem to be the latter. All else equal, you're the one who's going to coming closer to his potential in the meets that count the most.
3) You sound like the kind of runner (I was another) who benefits from a *mix* of different kinds of running. The Summer of Malmo builds on that concept, of course, but I'd also like you to investigate "true" fartlek--the kind that Holmér came up with, way back in the day. (Google is your friend.) I think you'd find that beneficial, maybe once or twice every week or two, especially if you don't have training partners you can do SoM with. Seriously, give some old-school fartlek a try.
OP, I think you're doing fine. I understand (and have shared) your early-season frustration, but a) I don't think it'll be quite as bad this year, and b) the way you progress through the fall is something to be proud of.
Please keep us posted periodically on how your summer and (especially) the following season progress.
PS When I was in high school I routinely got my pulse over 240 (60+ beats in a well-timed 15 seconds) when I ran the longer stuff hard. The poster who said that's impossible might be right--but for himself, not for you (or me). Some runners just have a higher "setpoint" for their maximum pulse.
Well, you told me to keep you posted, so I will. This past weeks running was:
Sat: 45 min easy
Sun: 55 min easy
Mon: Off (But a 10x2min swim workout)
Tues: 64 min easy with 10 min in middle at 5:45ish
Wed: Off (squat workout and long swim)
Thurs: 3 miles (17:56)
Fri: 45 min easy
Sat: 12x400 on grass w/45 sec rest
From now on I will run 6 days a week.