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I see you break up the tempos into 3x6 minutes and such. I just started up with those and have done mine at a sustained effort, usually somewhere in the 2-3 mile range @estimated 10k pace (I'm doing a 10k in early january sometime for a better benchmark). Do you see any advantage in one way vs. another? Looking forward to the next installment!
Cool, sounds about right. I'll probably do mile repeats or something from time to time just for the sake of mixing it up, but mostly I'll stick with the sustained tempo efforts. Like you said, you don't get those recovery opportunities in a race, so I feel more value in the longer effort. And it's 'troggie'!
And it's 'troggie'!
Oh and to your original question. The shorter tempo reps are just a way to introduce yourself to faster than easy running so that's why they're in there. More continuous stuff in the peak volume and specific phases.
Rog, is it okay if I go for a certain time per week - say 4 hours week one - but mix it up differently? I'm really slow, largely because I'm old and pretty fat right now, so for me to get any mileage in it's time consuming.
Rog, is it okay if I go for a certain time per week - say 4 hours week one - but mix it up differently? I'm really slow, largely because I'm old and pretty fat right now, so for me to get any mileage in it's time consuming. [/quote
Thanks, Wilson. This is good stuff. My concern is that it may seem intimidating and complicated for a lot of new runners who want to improve but also want to just run for fun and enter races without the pressure of ensuring they are in perfect race condition for doing so.
You get out of it what you put into it. I don't know if there is any other sport that this holds more true for. If you're starting from scratch and going up to 20-30 minutes a few times a week, then naturally you'll have a big improvement curve at first. You'll likely plateau a bit sooner than others who delve further into the training plans, but you'll at least be able to do the distance in respectable fashion. From there you need to decide what the improvement is worth for you. Lots of people are perfectly content with the few days a week plan and they're not exactly going to be world beaters, but thats fine and it works for them. Running for an hour plus can seem daunting to many. You could vomit and stuff. I don't think that's the sort of person Wilson had in mind when he was drawing this schedule up anyhow. Intimidating I could see, but is it really that complicated to follow a daily schedule that's been laid out for you? When all else fails, just listen to Bowerman: "Take a primitive organism, say a freshman. Make it lift, or jump or run. Let it rest. What happens? A little miracle. It gets a little better. It gets a little stronger or faster or more enduring. Thats all training is. Stress. Recover. Improve. Youd think any damn fool could do it. But you dont. You work too hard and rest too little and get hurt.
If someone wants to enter fun runs and not be in perfect race condition, then they aren't really the target market for Wilson's advice, right?
5.25 in unexpectedly warm conditions.