TheRunZone

wolde- For what it's worth, I notice maximum fitness gains from doing workouts at moderate pace with a slight progression over the last few minutes (only if I'm feeling good). On other days, I respond well to short (10 - 30 second) build-ups on the flats and short (7-15 seconds) bursts up hills. I d...

1:1 is absolutely fine. You will find little to no benefit with shorter recoveries, regardless of your fitness level.

In fact, longer recoveries allow you to listen to your body better and determine how you're feeling and know exactly when enough is enough.

I am hoping this community can help me overcome my limiter. Over the past two years, my calves / soleus area have significantly hindered my ability to conduct quality training. 99% of my running has been restricted to EZ or V.EZ running, which I generally get 7-8 hours / week. I've tried less volume...

1) Is this training schedule sustainable for you -- not necessarily for the duration of your build-up, but for the long-term; i.e., for many years? 2) Have you been improving over the years with that type of training? 3) Do you have all of your life stressors in check? 4) Do you have a history if in...

You're thinking WAY too hard.

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2016/12 ... asics.html

Fantastic post, Dilluh! I so often see schedules posted and think: how many runners are going to change their current routine and try the perceived "sexier" schedule? It seems so infrequent that I see a schedule with prescribed progression over a period of time. This allows the athlete to progress a...

dilluh wrote:Steve Magness has considerably less experience as both a coach and as a scientific student of the sport. I'll leave it at that.

Bravo, you're absolutely correct! Steve Magness does not have as much coaching experiences as someone like Joe Vigil or time in the lab like JD. What's your point?

Why CVs the day before a long run? I own a copy of Ron Daws' "Run Your Best" book. All of his schedules have an "effort" run the day prior to the LR. It would seem to add some density to your training; just curious if there are other reasons. Also, what is the pace/effort association with Lydiard 1/...

And to some extent, it's just going to suck sometimes. I definitely found myself having to dig fairly deep for mental fortitude on a few occasions to finish out a long run that had 4-6 miles at MP at the end while the temps started to soar. Mental fortitude (stick-to-it-iveness as I like to think o...

I have one day per week that I do a very easy hour run with strides on a grass field after about 30 minutes to warm-up. What do people feel is an appropriate number of strides (i.e., 1 mile - 5k pace for ~ 100 meters) to build towards? Is this something dependent upon performance level, similar to v...

At the end of the day though, if I were a talented 18 year old distance runner, I would surely take a scholarship and work my butt off to get an education at a reduced cost while running within whatever system put in front of me. For better or worse, getting that degree is increasingly important an...

CraidD- Take no offence, but your training schedule is insane! Your approach is the epitome of the "no pain no gain" mentality that NEVER works over the long-term. Where did you come up with this schedule? The best recommendation I have for you is to read through many of these threads. You should pa...

Tinman, Yes, I do believe that my inability to recover properly is associated with some difficulty getting to sleep. I didn't intend to infer that you scheduled 3 high quality HARD sessions + a LR. I was counting the fartlek session the day prior to my tempo run as a FASTER session. These sessions w...

dilluh - You dropped a casual comment about how big workouts may not work as well for some runners. I would be curious, from your experience, why that has been the case. I have employed big workouts for six of my marathons. I had insomnia, bad moods, low energy/motivation, and midnight cravings the ...

First of all, this is not an uncommon issue. You perceive your problem to be a strength shortcoming. I would't stop looking there. Your issue is equally likely to be associated with muscle imbalances, mobility restrictions, as well as raw power. The first thing I'd do is modify the 3-day rotation si...