Keeping Pace Training bLog June 6 - 12
Happy Monday my running friends. I hope you enjoyed the weekend and were able to run, rest and reset.
Last week was a down week for me. I discussed the benefits of a well planned down week in by last blog, but to recap:
Down weeks are scheduled weeks in your periodized training training plan that have you decreasing the volume and/or intensity of your running and absorb the accumulated fatigue.
You should plan to take a down week every 2-4 weeks. When to schedule these week is highly individual and based on factors like running age, injury history, intensity, and venturing into new mileage territory.
Reduce you mileage by 10-40 percent - again, this is highly individual. A higher reduction percentage will be needed for a runner at a lower mileage (30 miles/week and below). What is most important is that you take an adaptive approach and reduce your mileage so that you feel refreshed and recovered.
Reduce your long run mileage. Don’t make the mistake of cutting out 1-2 weekday runs to lower your overall volume and then go out and hammer a long run. I like to try and take mileage off of all training runs, and reduce the long run by 30-40 percent no matter what weekly mileage looks like.
Keep some intensity. Just like with peaking, cutting out all intensity is likely going to leave you feeling flat due to reduced muscle tension. Keeping in hill sprints or strides (provided you were already doing hill sprints or strides), and/or running a less intense, lower volume workout can help with this.
So, what did my down week look like?
- 49.7 miles // 79.5 km
I cut my weekly mileage back by 22%, keeping some intensity in the form of a a short 6 x 1 min. hill repeat workout, hill strides and 20 min. of moderate running at the end of my long run.
I capped my long run at 90 min. which is typically the longest I will run on a down week. It was a little shy of a 30% decrease in distance, however represented a 30% decrease in time on feet (due to the progression portion which I ran at a 6:42 min/mile average).
Personally, I enjoy a good cutback week and was fortunate to be able to plan it to line up with a visit to my sister house.
By the time my rest day rolled around on Sunday, I was feeling a little stir crazy. I did the usual mobility and foam rolling session and went for a walk.
I'm looking forward to a fresh week of running which will start a transition from the base/introductory phase of my build, to pre-competition. The purpose of this phase is to train systems directly connected with the specific training that will need to be
done during next phase.
I'm looking forward to sharing more of what that looks like!
Run until you fly,
Coach Lynsey