Read "Gold Rush" by Michael Johnson.
Read "Gold Rush" by Michael Johnson.
After years of running 75mpw, I recently cut down to shorter high intensity running due to time constraints and the fact that I was working a lot and I'm married.
I'm only at 30-35 mpw, with long run of 10 miles on weekends. The rest of the week is a mash of intervals on the road + tempos + some easy miles. Admittedly, I'm not as fast as I was years ago, but at least the turnover is there and if I want to go back to higher mileage it will be just adding more easier miles.
OP - Stick with it! Just do an abbreviated version of what you are doing now. Run 5 days a week instead of 7.
Skuj wrote:
Meb FTW wrote:Oh, and good luck with the goals for 400m you stated!
For forming an opinion on them (since you asked for it :), what are your 400m PRs - all time and Masters?
Thanks Meb FTW. I will get into hills. Recent achilles issues scared me away, but I'm fine now. Maybe today!!
I jokingly refer to myself now as a recovering distance runner. 400 PR 54.8sec back when Reagan was Pres. In the last 3-4 years I might have run a 63 or 64 but I didn't focus on it.
If you're going to use a pseudonym to converse with yourself and prolong a thread, wait longer before replying. Readers here are very savvy about trolling and will immediately assume that Skuj and Meb FTW are indeed the same person.
Good luck and welcome to letsrun.com.
Now a Coach wrote:
Read "Gold Rush" by Michael Johnson.
Thanks.
5K to Half.
I have a half coming up in April, so I tailor the 30 miles mpw to be race specific. If I'm doing a half I've got a 7 mile harder tempo and an "uptempo" long run 6:40-ish pace for 10-11 miles to do that week. Or at least try to throw in a few of these during the weeks building up to the race. At my age, I'm very unlikely to win but I feel like I'm putting some effort into training which makes me feel better about it.
A workout I do every week is 7x1000 at tempo with 1 minute standing recoveries....I try to hammer the last rep to keep the workout exciting.
I focus on a lot of speed three times a week and run by feel (7:45-8:30 pace ) the rest of the week to recover.
After running heavy miles for years on end, I felt "lazy" cutting to 30 mpw, but the results have been good and I don't stress about getting in all those miles. I just won't be running marathons on that mileage.
Awesome.
You recently cut down to 30-35. Do you see yourself staying with 5k-Half, or might that focus go down the spectrum later on?
At first I also felt very lazy doing sessions well under 10k, but that is because of where we come from, and what we have been used to doing for eons. Some people quit, some people become triathletes.....I still love running, but not distance running.
I'm happy that you are enjoying weekly 10 miler, 7x1000 etc. In my case, those sessions are the last thing I want to do now. I now consider my running to be "400 specific". I really want to go sub64 this year, so that I can say that I am in the low 60s haha. Yes....that is really slow. I'm a pretend sprinter. But I'm enjoying this.
Today will be 150m, hopefully feeling good in 23 something, big bouncy trainers......
I see no reason to reduce further. 30-35 is, I think, the minimum required to maintain a modicum of fitness at my age.
It's not so much about the race distance as it is about my own personal health goals. I fear if I cut back any more, I would be delegating myself to the "couch potatoe" niche.
I'm not ready for that. My own self-image and self-worth is closely tied to my fitness. I fear if I were to eliminate the bulk of my training and assume a program akin to yours, I would be sounding the death knell
But we are all different and it may work for you. Just heed thus advice: stay away from the scale.
Good luck to you, my friend.
The guy above is not the original Icarus 50.
That being said, disregard my thoughts on running 30-35 mpw - especially if you want to sprint. I was simply coming up with ways to do workouts that were fun and kept you reasonably fit incase you ever got the bug to do some serious blocks of training.
That was not me.
How can someone use my registered name?
Skuj,
I too have a 54.X 400 m time from the Reagan era. If you have run 63 or 64 recently, that is encouraging. I haven't been able to beat my daughter for 100 m since she was in the 4th grade. A couple of years ago, I did 4 x 200m at the end of workouts twice a week and the best I did was 34 across the entire summer. I'm sure I could have run 68 at the time but I'm slower now...
Skuj...you still doing speed sessions..ohmygoodnessgraciousme, no wonder you're packing it in...please say neva!
I haven't done a workout workout in about ten years .
I do however, enjoy my distance runs. Anything over an hour and a half I consider long.
Perhaps you need a break.
Please no name calling. Be nice.
Hi Patti
Well, Skuj has been running for maybe since the 70's long before Ronald Raygunzapp was the prez :)
He ran some pretty creditable times on the track as well as on the road.
Yes, running a regimen year after year, the long run on the road as well as a fulltime important occupation plus family committments - this does tear one down.
Injuries, which unfortunately are a part of this game can be demoralizing as well as painful. Debatable whether any running injury can be avoidable.
So, what Skuj is doing is enough to suit his present needs.
Question? How does one stay healthy? Chance occurrence of sustaining a *dislocated shoulder avec torn rotator cuff as well as what now is a two week cough/cold sans fever (thank God).
Some time we all need to take a break. Sure, like Skuj I saw the need for a break. I also couldn't see x-fit-training, tossed the idea of triathloning around. Took a year off & cycled.
>>>sustaining a *dislocated shoulder avec torn rotator cuff as well as what now what is a two week cough/cold sans fever (thank God).
T-Rex wrote:
>>>sustaining a *dislocated shoulder avec torn rotator cuff as well as what now is a two week cough/cold sans fever (thank God).
This wasn't running related, a nasty wipeout on some ice!
Dolomite wrote:
Don't you miss your boy the430miler? Where has he been? You were one of the few posters that he looked up to.
Living in El Paso and winning a lot of local 5k's in both El Paso and Juarez. Trains and coaches with utep xc/track team.
Married a Navajo/Apache/Mexican woman.