In which I tell you lucky, lucky readers about my usual approach to training and whether there'll be any changes (SPOILERS: not really).
This week has been a bit of a 'meh' week to be honest. Running hasn't really happened due to calf issues, and lockdown has taken it's toll a bit. Last April, when we were in a similar situation, it was significantly easier, I think because I was on the school holiday. I wasn't expecting this at all, but I'm finding it more difficult while teaching all day everyday - I think the exhaustion at the end of the day is making seeing the positives, etc much more difficult. Anyway, I've got a physio appointment next week and I'm hoping she'll be able to magic away all issues (ha) or at least give me some peace of mind, so that's good.
Right, enough of me whinging, and onto the training plan. This is the basic plan I have followed, with slight adjustments, every time I've trained for a 100km+ race and it seems to have served me well. It is an amalgamation of various plans I found online, with any new knowledge I pick up along the way being used to alter it as needed. I feel like I should use this moment to point out that I am not a coach by any stretch of the imagination, nor do I have a coach, so this plan could be totally misguided. But it does seem to work for me, so here goes:
Monday: 45 mins recovery run
Tuesday: Track Tuesdays (or just intervals if a track is unavailable)
Wednesday: Midweek long run
Thursday: Probably the day most prone to variation - maybe tempo, maybe a little bit of speed work, maybe a short easy recovery run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long run
Sunday: Bike ride and/or shorter run
There are variations along the way, but this general outline remains pretty standard throughout. I have heard many people, far wiser than I, say that consistency is key. Some things (well one thing) remains the same every week - Monday is always 45 mins of recovery. It might be stupidly slow (think walking a km, jogging 10m) or it might be done at a reasonable pace (well, you know, reasonable-ish, it's got to be easy), but I will always try to 45 mins easy on Monday. I really find it helps loosen up my legs after the long runs on the weekends.
Track Tuesdays is another routine I try really hard to keep up. I don't really like track that much, but I do like the results that come from doing it regularly. Usually at the beginning of a training plan I will focus on short, super (ha!) speedy intervals, such as 400m repeats. As I get closer to the race I will usually make the intervals longer, perhaps mile reps at a more sustainable pace. I do find that this really helps build strength, and I have noticed my "easy" pace get significantly better since making this a regular part of my training.
Wednesdays is almost always a longish run. It's usually at a fairly steady pace, although I may try to add in a few strides, or 10 minutes at a slightly faster pace, depending on how the week is going and where I am in my plan. Last year, in the run up to my 100km races, I was aiming to do around 20-24km on this midweek long run by the end of the plan. This was tough though, as I am not fast. 24km would often take 3 hours, which was tricky to fit in before work. I am glad I did them, as I had two great races last year, but I also know I don't look forward to these insanely early starts.
Thursdays changes a lot. I like to try and do a tempo run, or find some bridges/stairs/similar to do some hill reps on. However, depending how the rest of the week has gone and how busy I am with work, life, etc., this is the day that might be turned into an easy recovery run at the last minute. Occasionally it also becomes a hash run, which is a lot of fun and a great way to make training less monotonous.
Friday is rest day. Some people like to have Monday as rest day, but my thinking is this: if Friday is rest day and then something comes up during the week, or it's just turning out to be a mess of a week and I'm struggling on another day, it's very easy to use that rest day and shuffle things around a bit. If I've already had the rest day on the Monday, then I find the guilt of missing another run later in the week can worry me a bit - silly, I know. I just feel better with that rest day card up my sleeve.
Weekends depend on whether we can get to trails or not. The best weekends are weekends away from the city where we can get a couple of nice long trail runs in. Sometimes we might only make it to a trail for a day, then the next day might be a bike run. Some weekends might just be long runs in the city. Whatever the plan is, I always try to judge weekend long runs by time on feet rather than distance. Especially on the trails, there can be so much variety with regards to pace and it can become very disheartening when you're 25km run suddenly seems impossible because it's taken 4+hours to do the first 15km (true story, this
has happened, the trail was intense).
Anyway, that's enough of my waffling on about training plans despite the fact I am totally unqualified to do so. Obviously I alter distance, times, paces, exact workouts depending on where in the plan I am, and always try to build up slowly. She says as she nurses a calf injury from getting too excited too soon. Fingers crossed that by this time next week I'll have a magically healed calf muscle and be ready to jump back onto that training plan train...
(Pictures from today's run in the park)
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