Run Training
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outexan posted 2 years ago.
Well almost all SMART training programs around suggest a recovery week every fourth or so week. I am currently studying Health and Exercise Science in school and a lot of research has been done on this area and all of it shows that in order for your body to get the most out of the physiological benefits you must let it recover....increasing like you have been doing without ever taking an "easy" week is a sure bet to overtraining and injury...
just my two cents
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PJT posted 2 years ago.
OUTexan is right.
Not only do you have to recover, if you want to build speed it really helps to vary your runs during a week from shorter, more intense efforts to longer slower runs. I run long & slow 1x per week, taking every 4th week to recover by going a shorter distance. But I also do 2-3 shorter runs every week. These are at a higher intensity and may incorporate more hills or intervals or just be a short run off the bike to work on the jelly legs.
Check out The Triathlete's Training Bible by Friel to get a better picture of what a training cycle should look like.
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fredmoss posted 2 years ago.
I'm not trying to injure myself -- but, I was really overweight and all this training is getting my body back into a better shape (but, my weight isn't falling that fast for some weird reason).
I run one day, swim the next, and ride the third -- repeat the cycle and one day off in 7. Given that each day is a different set of muscles, do I really need to slack off periodically to recover?
I'm scared of losing my momentum.
These might seem like basic questions but, I'm not sure where to get training advice here in Singapore. The boys and girls who work in sporting stores here aren't very knowledgable.
"Then where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within" -- Eric Liddell
558
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1396 days
vanjames posted 2 years ago.
Recovery is not slacking off. Think of it as active recovery. You mentioned that you are training 6 days a week. In the third ofr fourth week try training 4 or 5 days and cut back the mileage of each of the other workouts by 15-30%. You may think you don't need it and are seeing many gains at present but you will hit the plateau soon enough or worse get an overtraining injury. Recovery weeks will help your body adapt and get you through the plateau.
There are some great books that outline training and the various phases: prep, build, peak, taper and yes, they all have recovery weeks in there.
Check out Triathlon 101, Triathlete's Training Bible, Going Long ( for Half to Full Ironman info) and I'm sure amazon has many more.
23
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861 days
BMF175 posted 2 years ago.
Well you are going to have to come back down in distance. Once you start building your distance and your stamina you are able to run further.
But a lot of running programs tell you to go down in distance because that is how you improve your speed.
Its like this say you get up to 5 miles and as you say you do not want to pay for the same real estate twice by going down to 2 mile runs, correct.
But say your 5 mile time is 45 miutes, thats pretty slow. A way to build speed would be to take shorter runs with a quicker pace. So your split would be 9 min/miles. So you take a 2 mile run and quicken the pace. And then three miles with a fast pace. Build your way up in distance and fast pace runs. But before you do that you need the stamina.
Thats why they are telling to go up and then come back down.
This will improve your long distance times, this and OBVIOUSLY throwing in some long distance runs. I used to have slow/ long days and also FAST/ short days. You have to have both in order to increase times. Until you get to where you want to be in the low 30s or even lower and then you can just maintain.
And yes a couple days off is mandatory, every body that pounds their body as a way of life either knows that or is going to learn that lesson the hard way.
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909 days
fredmoss posted 2 years ago.
OK --- I couldn't find any of the books you guys recommended in my local Borders (the largest bookstore in town), but I did find a couple and the one that had the best training plan for my situation (8 weeks to the race, not a total beginner) was "Triathlon Training" by Michael Finch.
The recommendation here was 6 days on to 1day off (I've been doing 9-10 to 1) and one short fast day (35mins at highest speed) and one LSD (60 mins). Swim and cycle are pretty consistant at one hour per session (except a 1.5 hour ride on the weekend).
Thanks for the advice. This is where I come for encouragement
"Then where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within" -- Eric Liddell
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807 days
usasportstrain posted 2 years ago.
If you'd like, you can take a look at our site. We're fairly new and continuing to add manufacturers all the time.
We do carry among the largest selections of triathlon books and dvd's anywhere.
Our site is https://www.usasportstraining.com
:)
We currently don't ship to countries beyond the U.S., but that could change in the future. Drop us a line via the Contact Us and we'll take a look at other options.
http://www.usasportstraining.com - Triathlon Training Gear, DVDs, Books
I've looked at several run different training plans since I started running about two months ago, but I have never adopted one and have been using my own judgement.
Most of them increase gradually to a certain distance or time and then pull back to a shorter distance or time before attempting the next increase. To me, this seems like paying for the same real-estate twice.
I have increased gradually in the last couple of months from 3km up to 8Km, increasing both speed and endurance a little every week. But, once I have achieved a distance, I never again run less than that distance in a subsequent workout.
Am I wrong?
Also,
I live in a very hot and humid place (Singapore). I find I can run longer on a treadmill (for an hour) than I can out in the sun. Is a treadmill an acceptable alternative for training? I use a 1% incline during the entire run. One month before my next race, I will forgoe the treadmill completely to run outdoors to better simulate the race conditions.
"Then where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within" -- Eric Liddell