I am thinking something like:
Long, easy, easy
Intervals, easy, easy,
Tempo, easy, easy...
I am thinking I can train harder without having to take days completely off without trying to squeeze three hard efforts into a 7 day week. Will probably just do a double on days when the long run falls on a weekday.
Thoughts?
I say go for it.
I did the exact thing during the winter building up for and training for a marathon. I went into the race feeling amazing and ran a 13 minute PR. I did this for only 16 weeks.
Interesting. Would you be willing to paste an example of a 10 day block?
ALH359 wrote:
I say go for it.
I did the exact thing during the winter building up for and training for a marathon. I went into the race feeling amazing and ran a 13 minute PR. I did this for only 16 weeks.
Bump
What are you training for? With the marathon and the workouts being so long its a great idea and more the Hansons approach if you want to check out their book. With three hard days a week I like this pattern: intervals, easy, easy, tempo, short recovery run, LR, easy.
I'm pretty sure meb Keflezighi uses a 9 day training cycle. You can look up what he does and model your training off of that.
I recently completed a 15-week half-marathon program that I set up on a nine-day cycle:
Long run, Off, Easy, VO2max repeats, Easy, Secondary long run, Easy, Lactate threshold workout (repeats or tempo run), Easy.
During the training, I set an age-graded 5K PR and at the end, reached my Half Marathon goal (a modest 1:28 ... but I am 57 years old). I am working up a similar schedule now, looking toward an age-graded Marathon PR attempt in October.
Tries New Things wrote:
Will probably just do a double on days when the long run falls on a weekday.
That's not a long run. I did 5 workouts in 14 day cycles. I had to fit my running around my life, instead of my life around running.
Hi Allen, could you give a little more detail about your half marathon plan, I have just started to experiment with a 9 day training cycle and would also like to improve my half time, although if I could get your modest 1:28 plus 10 I would be a happy man, I will be 50 near year, thanks
Dave, my half-marathon training plan was based on this nine-day cycle:
Day 1: Long Run
Day 2: Off
Day 3: VO2-max workout
Day 4: Easy/Recovery
Day 5: Secondary Long Run
Day 6: Off
Day 7: Easy/Recovery w/strides
Day 8: Lactate Threshold workout
Day 9: Easy/Recovery
This is how it worked out in real life:
JAN 9-15
VO2max: 2-mi warmup; 5 x 880y w/2 min walk/jog recoveries: 3:10, 3:09, 3:06, 3:08, 3:06; 2-mi cooldown
Off: Off
LR2: 10.0 miles @ 8:11/mi, finishing with 7:58, 7:20, 7:16, 7:04
Easy: 5.0 miles @ 9:10/mi
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:56 w/6 x 100y strides
LT: 1-mi warmup; 3.6 miles @ 6:55/mi; .5-mi cooldown
Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:50/mi
.
JAN 16-22
LR: 13.5 miles @ 7:56/mi
Off
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:37/mi
VO2max: 2.6-mi warmup; 5 x 2:50 hill w/4:50 jog recoveries; 1.5-mi cooldown
Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:50/mi
LR2: 10.0 miles @ 7:25/mi
Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:50/mi
.
JAN 23-29
LT: 1.5-mi warmup; 2 x 2 miles w/3 min jog recovery: @ 6:58/mi, @ 6:48/mi; 1.5-mi cooldown
Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:44/mi
LR: 13.7 miles @ 8:12/mi
Off
Easy: 3.1 miles @ 8:10/mi w/2 x 60y strides
Easy: 2.0 miles @ 9:15/mi w/2 x 60y strides
VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 5K race @ 6:26/mi (19:48)
.
JAN 30 - FEB 5
LR: 12.0 miles @ 7:48/mi
Off
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:23/mi w/3 x 100y strides
Easy: 4.0 miles @ 8:24/mi w/2 x 100y strides
Easy: 3.0 miles @ 8:48/mi w/1 x 100y strides
LT: 1.5-mile warmup; 10-mile race @ 6:45/mi (1:07:27)
Easy 4.0 miles @ 8:31/mi
.
FEB 6-12
Off
VO2max: 1.5-mi warmup; 6 x 880y w/2:20 walk/jog recoveries: 3:15, 3:13, 3:12, 3:11, 3:12, 3:10; 1.5-mi cooldown
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 9:02/mi
Off
LR: 15.2 miles @ 7:49/mi (Miles 11-14: 7:27, 7:22, 7:16, 6:50)
Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:00/mi
Easy: Bike 23.1 miles @ 17.4 mph
.
FEB 13-19
LT:1.5 mi warmup; 2 x 2 miles w/3 min jog recovery: 6:39 avg, 6:25 avg; 1.5 mi cooldown
Easy: 4.6 miles @ 8:08 w/1-min uphill stride
LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:34/mi (Miles 8-14: 7:07, 6:44, 6:44, 6:31)
Easy: Bike 24 miles @ 18.4 mph
VO2max: 1.5 mi warmup; 3 x 1 mile w/4min walk/jog recoveries: 6:24, 6:24, 6:17; 2.5 mi cooldown
Off
Easy: 4.6 miles @ 8:32/mi
.
FEB 20-26
LR:15.2 miles @ 7:57/mi (even pace)
Off
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:51/mi
VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 5 x 3min hill w/4:20 jog recoveries; 1.5 mile cooldown
Off
LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:57/mi (even pace)
Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:45/mi
.
FEB 27 - MAR 5
LT: 1.5 mile warmup; 4.0 miles @ 6:40/mi; 1.9 mile cooldown
Easy: 4.5 miles @ 8:38/mi
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:51/mi
LR: 2 mile warmup; 5 x 3min hill w/4:20 jog recoveries; 1.5 mile cooldown
Off
LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:57/mi (even pace)
Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:45/mi
.
MAR 6-12
LR2: 13.5 mi @ 7:48/mi
Off
Off
LT: 1 mile warmup; 5 x 5min @ threshold w/90sec jog recoveries; 1.6 mile cooldown
LR: 16.9 mi @ 7:50/mi
Off
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:25/mi w/6 x 100y strides
.
MARCH 13-19
VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 3 x 1 mile @ 6:32, 6:28, 6:20 with 5min walk/jog recoveries
Off
Off
LT: 1 mile warmup; 5 x 5min @ threshold w/90sec jog recoveries; 1.6 mile cooldown
LR: 16.9 mi @ 7:50/mi
Off
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:25/mi w/6 x 100y strides
.
MARCH 20-26
VO2max: 2 mile warmup; 3 x 1 mile @ 6:32, 6:28, 6:20 with 5min walk/jog recoveries
Easy: Bike 25.0 miles @ 17.8 mph
LR2: 15.2 miles @ 8:28/mi
Easy: 5.0 miles @ 8:07/mi
LT: 2 miles warmup; 5.0 miles @6:58 mi; 2 miles cooldown
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:30/mi
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:22/mi w/5 x 100y strides
.
MARCH 27-APRIL 2
LR: 20.0 miles @ 7:49/mi
Off
LT: 1.5-mi warmup; 3 x 1.5 miles w/2min recoveries: 10:08, 9:45, 9:38; 2-mi cooldown
Easy: 4.0 miles @ 8:21/mi w/3 x 1min @ 5K race pace
Easy: 3.0 miles @ 9:23/mi w/2 x 1min @ 5K race pace
Easy: 3.0 miles @ 11:10/mi w/1 min @ 5K race pace
VO2max: 2.1-mi warmup; 5K Race - 18:57(6:06/mi)
.
APRIL 3-9
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:24/mi
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:19/mi w/6 x 100y strides
LR: 20.0 miles @ 7:41/mi (7:27/mi 11-20)
Off
LT: 2-mi warmup; 5 miles @ 6:55/mi; 2-mi cooldown
Easy: 8.4 miles @ 9:30/mi
LR2: 12.0 miles @ 7:19/mi
.
APRIL 10-16
Easy: Bike 23.8 miles @ 18.8 mph
Easy: 5.8 miles @ 9:08/mi
VO2max: 1.6-mi warmup; 4 x 1 mile w/4min recoveries @ 6:19, 6:15, 6:12, 6:07; 1.6-mi cooldown
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:43/mi
LR: 17.9 miles @ 7:39/mi (last 7mi @ 7:09/mi)
Easy: Bike 13.9 miles @ 19.8 mph
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:31/mi
.
APRIL 17-23
Off
LT: 1.5-mi warmup; 3 x 2 miles w/2min recoveries @ (6:39-6:36), (6:31-6:28), (6:28-6:25); 1.5-mi cooldown
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:01/mi
LR: 12.0 miles @ 7:42/mi
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:58/mi
VO2max: 3-mi warmup; 3 x 1 mile w/3min recoveries @ 6:18, 6:16, 6:00; 2-mi cooldown
Easy: 4.0 miles @ 8:14/mi
.
APRIL 23-30
Easy: 7.0 miles @ 8:06
LR: 7.8 miles @ 7:27/mi
Easy: 4.0 miles @ 9:35/mi
Offknee pain
Easy: 3.0 miles @ 8:46/mi w/2 x 1min @ 10K pace
Easy:knee pain
Race: Half Marathon - 1:28:41 (6:46/mi)
The half-marathon included a 52-second potty break at 7 miles ... and that knee pain noted in the last week never went away. Training the rest of the season suffered. Still, I ran 59:59 15K (6:26/mi) during the summer, and 3:07:23 marathon (7:08/mile) in the autumn (Age 58).
Have fun! Best wishes.
Thank you Allen, great detail, much appreciated Sir!!