Training Questions

Sky is the limit

Rule #1, don't get hurt.

Think about that every run and everyday.

Best advice, get you a personal coach that never fails whatever age of the runner, Get JS ! ))

Already broke that rule a few times (ankle, calves, hamstring), but I think I was able to come through stronger. I took it as a learning experience figuring out how my body responds to increased workloads, as well as how to recover. It also made me realize the importance of getting properly fitted for shoes.

For the vast majority of semi serious-runners out there, a training week would look something like the following. I personally include a rest day each week to let myself recover, but others don’t.

Monday: easy run

Tuesday: speed work

Wednesday: easy run

Thursday: tempo work

Friday: off

Saturday: easy run

Sunday: long run.

You type like a British person, so I presume you are British. Most athletics clubs do speed work sessions on Tuesday nights - just go along and join in, alternatively do your own sessions. You don’t need a track, but t can help. Sessions might be:

400m repeats

800m repeats

1k repeats

1 mile repeats

Ladders

Thursday sessions are usually tempo sessions. This is when you run fairly hard for a sustained about of time, but most people start with ~20 minutes.

It is said that long runs should be ~25% of weekly milage, so work out what sort of distance you should be running that way. I believe marathoners often break this rule as it’s important in marathon training.

For paces, you can use something like this running calculator to give you a rough idea:

https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/

. Put in a recent PB and it’ll give you a rough estimate. Probably best to go off feel on easy days though.

Good luck!

The good news is you should be able to race one sub 5:30 mile right now.

GrinderX said: I've tried to do a bit of research (it's how I found this forum), but I am unsure of how to structure a plan or even whose or what plan to follow, JD, Tinman, McMillan, Higdon, Galloway, etal. Are there any plans or approaches that take into consideration the circumstances of an older runner who doesn't have history of paces and zones?

technically, you are not yet training, you are just playing with your new toy and experimenting to see what you can do and how far this can go. there is absolutely nothing wrong with this and I encourage you to continue with this approach as long as it interests and amuses you to do so.

the next step is to choose a goal. this should be something that motivates and inspires you to lace those trainers on day after day and get out the door when it's wet and cold and windy to do the training required for you to achieve your goal.

while you are choosing your goal, or waiting for your goal to choose you, you can start to think about training methods.

basically, there are three approaches to training for the range of events you are interested in. to explain the differences let's just introduce some simple terminology.

easy pace - the kind of pace you would set out to do an easy forty minutes or so. a pace you can easily maintain for a long time where you are not getting out of breath and can easily talk to someone you are running with.

moderate pace - this is a range of paces that are a little faster than easy pace, but not as fast as your race pace. at these paces you might be able to answer yes/no type questions but you cannot speak in cogent grammatical sentences. you would be able to sustain these paces for up to around half an hour, and for some of these paces not as long as that.

race pace - this is running at the pace at which you race your main event. this is your goal event. if your goal is to break 18:00 for 5000m, then race pace is the pace at which you currently race 5000m. if your goal is to break 40:00 for 10k, then race pace is the pace at which you currently race 10km.

hard paces - this is anything faster than race pace.

note: these terms relate only to this thread. individual training programs tend to have more specific terms that they employ, but these few terms permit us to have a more general discussion.

type 1 - Lydiard, Cerutty, Wilson, Bowerman, etc. these programs say that you should do a prolonged period of mostly slow running to develop an aerobic engine before trying to run harder or faster. this period is sometimes referred to as base, and the training is called base building. it is not true to say that there is no faster running, but it is not emphasised to the same extent as other systems. fans of this approach tend to get a bit carried away with how much mileage is required.

type 2 - Tinman, Horwill, Daniels, Timmons, Hanson, Coe and lots of others. these programs mix varying degrees of moderate pace training in with the easy-paced base building. this then transitions into a phase where the mileage is reduced, the pace increases a little, but you are still not, or not very often, training at race pace, then you finally layer a brief period of race pace training on top to bring you to a peak in time for your goal race. hard paces are introduced at different points in different systems.

type 3 - Salazar, Igloi, Harbig, Holmér, Gerschler, Elliott, Stampfl, Magness and others. this group adhere to the idea that progress is made by working towards race pace from both ends of the speed spectrum at, essentially, the same time. training is divided into phases, but a distinct "base" phase with very little faster running does not appear, or is diminished, and work is done at a wide range of paces throughout the year.

as a kind of one-off, the Italian coach Renato Canova applies a system where the idea is to train the athlete to run fast, and then extend the distance over which he can run at each speed. it sounds bizarre when explained like that but he has enjoyed a lot of success with his system, which, it must be emphasised, cannot readily be adapted for use by beginners.

the details obviously vary, but that, broadly speaking, is the idea behind the different training philosophies.

good luck.

Ronson wrote:

The good news is you should be able to race one sub 5:30 mile right now.

Not quite there on the mile time, but maybe someday.

They had a clock at the track tonight so I took the opportunity to see how I might do at the event coming up in 30 days.

1 Mile- 5:51

400- 65

800- 3:17

100 - 15.2

There were two heats for each event, so basically the rest period between each event was the time of a heat. Did OK i think, but definitely hoping to improve the 800 time (kinda surprised myself with the 400 time and I dont think I was fully recovered by the 800 start). Regardless it was good because I didnt tweak anything and I now have baselines at the various distances I can work with to measure training progression and/or age regression.

Any one have any suggestions or what I can do over the next 30 days to prepare. Was thinking about running some 1k repeats but am open to suggestions.