One enjoyable aspect of running is the constant tinkering with training methods and racing strategy. Even after years of running, there are still plenty of small changes to consider. While there are certain constants and while it’s important to find an overall plan that suits you, it’s also important to evaluate and adjust based on results and your style of running and preferences. I’ll use the 5K as an example.
For training plans, up to a certain race distance you’ll want to do a long run that’s triple your competition distance. For the 5K, that would mean a 9 to 10 mile run a couple of weeks before your race. There are also the middle distance runs to do and there’s speed work. This is where you can start working with the methods and training.
Some people may do a high number of 400 repeats, others may do 800s, and others may do medleys of those distances and longer ones. A couple of years ago, I went with 400s and 200s for my primary speed work yet I wasn’t getting as fast as I thought I should have. This surprised me since those had always formed the core of my speed training. I reflected on recent experiences of spots in races where I was struggling and also remembered that I had done more all-out longer runs in the past. These were either full 5Ks or I would spend the last segment of a longer run going hard. I switched to using these for speed work in training to better acclimate myself to racing. My times improved and yet, I’ll still be exploring different training strategies.
In a time trial recently, the course had several small dips and rises of 10-20M in length. In the past, I would charge these small rises. In this trial, I didn’t. My reasoning was that it didn’t boost my time significantly but even small uphill bursts at elevation can wear on you. My final time was about what I expected but I also felt better in the final half-mile, which is worth a lot. Even though steady pacing is ideal when going for a certain time, on a road or trail course, there will be different ways to achieve that.
In spite of my times going down over the past couple of years, I’ll still be trying out different techniques in training. If they don’t work, I’ll go back to what I was doing, or try something different. In races, I’ll try different tactics to see what may yield better times, or even a similar time but where I’m more in control of the pace. While there are many things that are steady in training, race prep, and racing, there should be constant evaluation and possible alterations to plans, even for a sport as “simple” as running.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One enjoyable aspect of running is the constant tinkering with training methods and racing strategy. Even after years of running, there are still plenty of small changes to consider. While there are certain constants and while it’s important to find an overall plan that suits you, it’s also important to evaluate and adjust based on … <\/p>\n