How I Reinvented My Training – Nuts and Bolts

So 1984 had been a wash. I had taken a step backwards from the previous two years. I started up that summer with no base and only had built up for about two months, from 0 to 45 miles. I started in (too early) with some interval workouts that did not suit my goals, and my races were sub par.

I focused on XC skiing for almost three months over the winter into 1985. Skiing a few days a week and running on the off days. Over the next eight or nine years I followed a similar pattern. I developed a training program that kept me in active in the sport, but it was moderated to keep injury free and gainfully engaged with my graduate studies and career.

The Salad Years 1985 – 1992

These were great years and being in my late 20s to early 30s, my physical prime. If I could do it again, though, I would have done a few more half marathons and marathons. To mix up the training and to test what I could do. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the running over those years.

Goals and Objectives

Rather than the marathon and half marathon, I decided to refocus on 5K and 10K road races, and some track racing in the summer. On average I ran just 1 hour to 1:10 a day.

Macrocycles

I had two primary cycles a year depending on how it all worked out. A winter XC ski cycle, and summer-fall running.  Most years the XC skiing would go from December-March and summer racing from late May/June into September or October. I usually had a small reset in late summer, where I’d take an easy week or go on a trip for a few days, and then have a month or so of build up or easy miles before hitting it hard again for fall races.

XC ski phase. This is where I got aerobic volume. I usually started the season later than my Nordic peers, and did a minimum amount of dryland training (rollerskiing on roads, ski bounding or ski walking, plyometrics and upper body conditioning). But by mid- or late December I’d be focused on getting on the snow as much as possible. I used the same principles of training as with running, base phase, long repetitions, and long races. For many years I did not incorporate threshold effort in the typical sense, but would do moderate effort over hills, so would get the somewhat of the same benefit, using a fartlek approach and something like doing cruise intervals (3-5 minutes climbing at moderate-sustainable effort, and then the downhill would be a short recovery).

Nordic skiers like to race a lot. Typically we’d do four or five races a month of 5K to 30K, and in the late season (February or March) one to a few Loppets (long races/marathons–mostly in 40K to 65K range). You recover much more quickly with ski racing. Over winter I would build to a volume of 9-15 hours a week for about two months (sort of equivalent of 70-110 mile a week of running), which is actually lower end for Nordic racers. And race 10-15 times a season, with the last month cut back on volume to maybe 6 or 7 hours but a more intensity.

Running phase. Following ski season I would take a short break and start building up miles and within a month I would be up to 40-45 miles a week of mostly easy running.

I referred to some training guides over those years (e.g., Self Coached Runner) but mostly developed a system through trial and error. Trying new things and seeing what worked. By the late 1980s it was not much different from Jack Daniels training (although he would not publish his first book for another decade). He did visit our club in 1989 or 1990, and while I had been doing tempo runs by feel for several years, I did incorporate his pacing formula for threshold type workouts.

I’d start out with a threshold effort every week to 10 days, and hill reps of 1-3 minutes also about every week to 10 days. The tempo runs were by feel, and would be at 5K to10K effort, with recovery about 2/3 of the repetition. This phase was usually about 4-5 weeks. And I might throw in a road race or two (5K to 10 mile) to test fitness and for some motivation.

Mileage was fairly moderate, 40-55 miles a week, sometimes up to 60 but not very often.  Longer runs would be from about 80 minutes to 2 hours (11-16 miles), but usually in the 13-15 mile range.

A typical week in the build up phase would be:

Monday – rest
Tuesday – hill reps, something like 6X 2 to 3 minutes with 1:30 jog recovery with 2-3 mile warm up and cool down.
Wednesday – easy run 6 to 10 miles
Thursday – moderate or hilly run of 7 to 10 miles
Friday – easy 5 or 6 miles
Saturday – tempo run of 18-25minutes at 15K to 20K race effort
Sunday – long run of 13-15 miles

Race phase. By late May or June most years I’d be set to race. I’d cut back the longer runs to every other week, and keep them under 1:50. I also cut back some on tempo runs to every other week.

I would do one day of longer reps on the track (or athletic field), and another day of shorter speedwork (often barefoot on soccer fields), that was usually fartlek. Although sometimes (not that often). I would switch it up and do the long reps on the fields and short fast workouts on the track. Overall, I would keep track workouts to once a week.

The longer reps were at 3K to 10k pace and I would focus on pacing. I’d run not much beyond the distance I’d be racing at that particular pace (so a 3K workout would be something 4X800 or 3X 1200 at race pace), 5K was 5X 1000m  or 3X 1600, with a couple of fast 200s-400s to close out. A 10K workout would be 4-5X 1 mile. I still see runners doing very hard workouts like 5K of reps at 3K pace, or 8-10Ks of reps at 5K pace, and think that’s too much intensity and counterproductive.

The purpose of these workouts is to prepare you to be ready for the event, not to Prove to yourself or anyone that you can do the work. Let your races do the proving.

Speed work was more by feel and usually a progression effort, starting with a rep or two of about 2 minutes at 3K pace, and then working down to mile and 800 pace with shorter reps but longer recovery. I would do no more than 10-12 minutes of faster running in these workouts, and often just 8 minutes or so.

For recovery days I would do 35 to 70 minutes easy. Easy days were easy. My 5K pace was +/- 5 minutes a mile and I had no problem running 7:30 to 8:00 pace.  At the time I didn’t do much ancillary speed work (strides) other than before/after a scheduled workout or race.

So a typical week during the race phase might be:

Monday – rest
Tuesday – long reps at 3K, 5K, or 10K pace (described above)
Wednesday – easy 35 to 60 minutes
Thursday – speedwork on the turf
Friday – easy 40 minutes
Saturday – race or tempo run (alternating every other week)
Sunday – semi long run of 10-13 miles

If I was tired I’d skip either the tempo run or fast speed work.

I would race through most of the summer, but usually got tired/a little burned out by August so would take a very easy week of 30 or so miles to recover and then do a 3 or 4 week build up without any speedwork, but maybe a tempo run and some pick ups every week or 10 days. And then would extend racing into mid-late fall (by November I’d be pretty cooked! But might enter a race or two).

After the last race I’d take a few days off, and start thinking about skiing!