Monday, March 15, 2010

My "no plan" training plan

This winter I had a training plan of "no plan" and I am following it quite well. I decided to put consistent effort into an (almost) daily workout to strengthen the core muscles, then fit some quality runs around that.

I really had no idea what I would end up doing for weekly mileage but had thought of getting a long run in each weekend, getting in some long snowshoe treks and topping about 25-30 miles a week. I hoped I could progress into a few 2-4 hour runs by the end of March while still fitting in some speed runs to strengthen my attempt to PR the Irish Rover 5K.

Wait a minute.....that whole thing sounds dangerously similar to a training plan....doesn't it? Well my "no plan" plan really was a plan after all but luckily (or unluckily) depending on how you look at it, I didn't seem to be able to follow the plan and I ended up with the results of a no plan.

As I reflect back on the last three months, I realize I didn't get many long runs in, my two longest runs were two hours max, I didn't work on speed or even run the Rover 5K, there was very little chance to snowshoe because of lack of snow, I averaged 20-25 miles a week and I didn't race once, I didn't manage to lose any weight and actually gained a few pounds.

On the plus side, I had absolutely no injuries, I have what feels like a more solid base going into the spring this year, even though I gained a few pounds, I have actually trimmed up and most of what I gained is apparently muscle, my core feels strong and on the few short long runs I had, I felt less fatigue and much stronger, I am looking forward to the spring running and expect a good year.

I did my first real speed run of the spring on Saturday and it was pathetic. Well let me rephrase that, (the pace was slow compared to what I have accomplished in the past), but it actually felt pretty good to be pushing the speed a bit, I didn't slow down on the fairly large hill of this route and I worked in two fairly strong kicks. Now that we have set the clocks ahead, I hope to get in at least one speed run a week after work.

Sunday, I didn't run at all. Actually I didn't do much of anything other than laze around. You know it felt good to give the body a break and not feel guilty. This will end up being a step back week and I have no regrets at this point.

Week's stats:

Tues-Thurs. Abs/weights each day
Friday: Hill run on the treadmill 10% grade 3.02 mi, 39:06(12:57 pace) then .5 cooldown
Saturday:Tempo run 4.4 miles
2.95 run 24:28 (8:26pace)
8:40...154-160
8:39...157-164(hill)
8:16...159-165(7:30kick) continued running
1.45 run 12:16 (8:45pace)
9:36....149-155
8:36....150-163 (7:40kick)

Sunday: Watched the rain fall

1 comment:

Laurel said...

I've always believed every athlete needs an off season to allow the body and mind tpo heal from hard training and racing. Any good coach would say the same thing. I haven't always been good at training that way, often doing 4-6 hour long runs at least once a week, year round. Because of this I've also often been injured and tired. This winter I took an off season. It was painful to read everyone else's blogs full of Fat Asses, races, and epic long runs but now I'm back training with a good plan in mind and a goal race on the calendar. My mind and body are ready to go! You're ready, too! Let's go get'em!!!