I'm having good success with a 9-day training cycle. Anybody else do this?

This is EXACTLY what the Hansons have been doing for 20 years.

Yes it makes sense.

Think Meb's been doing 9 or 10 day cycles. Personally I think it's just a different way to look at things. You can do alternating weeks to a very similar effect. Good on you for finding what works though, that's key.

Day 10 would be... ? Rest day?

Coach Scott Christensen does this as well. A quick google search will give you his ideas (see below).

http://www.runnersworld.com/high-school/the-stillwater-system

http://www.completetrackandfield.com/downloads/Scott%20Christensen%20Middle%20Distance%20MC.pdf

http://www.ustfccca.org/assets/symposiums/2013/Christensen%20-%20USTFCCCA%20%202013.pdf

Darren Vandit wrote:

Day 10 would be... ? Rest day?

10 would be the same as day 1.

The body only recognizes training stimulus. The idea of a cycle is actually irrelevant.

cyclone wrote:

The body only recognizes training stimulus. The idea of a cycle is actually irrelevant.

And this is why every run should be at 100% effort.

hurricanes wrote:

cyclone wrote:

The body only recognizes training stimulus. The idea of a cycle is actually irrelevant.

And this is why every run should be at 100% effort.

Except it doesn't take 100% to be a stimulus.

cyclone wrote:

The body only recognizes training stimulus. The idea of a cycle is actually irrelevant.

Yeah, but you need time in between to adapt to the stimuli.

The exact workouts are kind of irrelevant here, the main thing is that I am not trying to do 3 workouts in 5 days like I did for most of my high school college days:

Sunday LR, Tuesday track workout, Thursday tempo

Instead sometimes my long run is on Wednesday, and then my tempo is on Saturday, then speed on the following Tuesday. If I miss a run, I just do it the next day. The training revolves around stimulus-and-recovery