What do you do for your first WINTER WORKOUT?

Runners are often in a bit of a dilemma about when to start workouts and what harder workouts to begin with after their fall marathon or half marathon. These first few workouts should be used as springboards into winter training and should be positive experiences to build workout confidence. A couple of questions you have to ask yourself before beginning that first winter workout is, "Do I even feel like doing the hard workout and am I ready mentally and physically?"  That extra pressure to rush back into structured workouts leads to a lot of long faces and questions after the first few workouts.  Runners usually end up with sad faces after those first few strict workouts where they are trying to hit specific times end badly. Don't fall into that timed workout trap.

Would love to hear about some of those first workouts that allow everyone to ease themselves back into training after their marathon or key 1/2 marathon.  It is pretty much a given runners do not need to go to the track for that first workout so let's look at some ideas for workouts for the roads. A progression run is a simple workout based solely on effort, you do not have to be tied to or pressured to running a certain time - just try to run a solid effort to finish off the run with each mile getting faster.  Or what about just running a negative split on your LONG RUN for the week. Another example of a safe first workout idea might be to do 5-6 (3) minute faster pickups within your 6-10 mile run every couple of minutes of the run.  After the confidence is there from these mini-harder workouts it is time to really get down to business, but skipping over these first few EFFORT workouts and confidence builders gets many runners into trouble.

If you keep things simple and take the pressure off of yourself in those first few post big race workouts you will be more happy with those first few weeks of training. Until that time comes for timed workouts listen to your body and just go the workout route that is all effort based until you have the confidence to really get after faster workouts or moving them to the track.

Summer Running

Here in Wisconsin there has been no transition from winter to summer with the temps, we pretty much went from 30-40's to 80+ degrees.  This type of shock to the running system is rough.  Runners go from easy 10 mile winter runs to summer 10 mile runs at the same pace that undoubtedly leave everyone totally wiped out due to the heat.  When you throw summertime racing in the mix the higher temps/humidity really play mind games along with the physical side of things as well.

I think if we all accept a few factors and training modifications our running mental state and confidence will not suffer during the summer training months of June, July, and August. When you look at your own running the average mile pace that it normally took you to run 5-10 mile training runs in winter/spring may be slower by 15-30 seconds per mile in the summer because of the heat.  Who cares. Let's just accept that as fact and not try to force it or stress about pace so much in the summer.  For workout days do not go out and be stubborn when it is so hot/humid if you can avoid it and press for fast times when it is 90 out, because your workouts & interval times will most likely be slower with way more effort. Then the mind games come into play again asking yourself questions like, "I thought I was in shape, " or "I did that same workout this winter way faster."

Be careful in your summertime race schedule and along with that your summer race plans & goals. If you are racing a 5k you might just have to pull back 5-10 seconds a mile to maximize your race effort or if racing a half marathon pull back as much as 20-25 seconds a mile.  Everyone is different in the way we handle they heat, but there is no way around logging the miles and racing in the summer so just do it smart and you will not be stressing so much.

A running/training Quiz.

This training dilemma has come up at least one time in every single runners training from 5k's to the marathon. Today I want everyone today to take this running quiz and decide what you would/should do.

Let's say you are 16-17 weeks into a 20 week training plan where you are looking to peak or run your key race around weeks 19-20. Up to this point training has been going great and you have hit all your weekly mileage goals, key workouts, and have logged your long runs.

Here is the training situation that in one way or another has come up for everyone:
The previous week you slogged home the last half of your Sunday long run and those tired legs are now spilling over into the next week and you notice early on that your legs are again sluggish on Monday through Wednesday's normal day runs. I don't mean just a little bit tired you are running 30 seconds slower per mile with a ton more effort than all other training runs up to this point. You know something is not quite right but what do you do at this point?  We will rule out that the tired legs are not due to lack of sleep, nutrition or stress.

What are you going to do Thursday your planned workout day with tired Legs? (QUIZ TIME)
1. You could pretend nothing is wrong and attempt to complete 100% of the 13 mile workout where 8-10 miles were to be at goal half marathon/marathon race pace..with this plan you are pretty much saying nothing is potentially wrong and you will be fine it is just a rough patch of training.
2. You could begin the workout and if things are not going well pull the plug on it/stop and try the workout next week...but complete the rest of the week's mileage as scheduled.
3. You could be cautious and admit there is something not quite right and bypass the workout entirely and just run 1/2 the mileage each day you had on your training schedule the rest of the week. (the last 4 days)
4. You could because you know your key race is in only 2-3 weeks try to put a stop to the tired legs by taking off Thursday-Sunday and get (4) full days off of running to hopefully save your key race and tired legs...and resume training as scheduled next week after the mini break.

That situation/quiz hopefully makes everyone think a bit.  This is why Olympian Kara Goucher has Alberto Salazar helping her through these rough patches. Or American 10k record holder Chris Solinsky has coach Jerry Schumacher to tell him to take a day off and what did 8 time USA Cross Country National champ Pat Porter do when he had his pre-workout meeting with coach Joe Vigil going over all potential options.  You will not find this individual training advice in online training programs or books.

Post your comments and thoughts.

Extra Recovery - Without a Day Off

There are times in your training that you just "can not" take a day off but you are tired and want max recovery before your next run possible.  Examples of this might be if you have to keep a running streak alive or if you have a training week where your mileage is too high to miss a day of running. 

There are a couple of different recovery tricks that you might want to try and still be able to log miles. Try splitting your 8 mile run day to a 4 mile run in the AM and a 4 mile run in the PM.  That way you still get in the mileage for the day but the training is split into what is supposed to be two baby easy runs. Another really good recovery trick so you can get around 36 hours of recovery time before your next run is to run in the morning one day and the following day of training log your mileage at night. That way you do not miss any mileage and you max that recovery time without having to take a day off.  This trick works especially awesome by doing your Sunday long run in the morning and then logging your Monday mileage at night.

Those two options sound very simple, but you would be surprised how many times I hear of runners just slogging through the same mileage every single day at the same scheduled time of the day.  Weekly schedules are tough to re-arrange but maybe first try these recovery tricks in your Saturday and Sunday training schedule.  You will recover much faster and get rid of stale running legs.

Running Routes - Get One

Here are my top 4 rules to running routes.

1. Make sure you have at least one running route that includes some hills.
2. Have at least one route exactly measured and where traffic is not an issue.
3. Have a winter & summer set of routes. 
4. Have a totally hard route so when your running friends come and play you can roll them.

I am open to a debate on the other side of this rule, but I really think that when runners run "on time" without a set course they run slower.  If you have a set course where you know exactly where you are headed, where the hills & turns sit ; you will get into a better rhythm and run faster.

When you set out to explore and just run around town on time it is easy to fall asleep, which is good, but not if you do it every single day of your training you are not running as fast as you should probably. For example on Monday I ran my normal 10 mile Miller Park route with a ton of hills in it for 10 miles at 6:25 pace without much effort, I followed that run up Tuesday with a brilliant 10 mile run at 7:19 pace "on time."  Mentally on Tuesday I was counting down every single minute which sucked too.

Your homework is to get out the door and make up a route you will be able to utilize and help get your training where it needs to be. I have stepped out the door and made up specific routes that I ended up using for ten years based on exactly where I ran that very first day. I had no idea I would be running those same routes for ten years.  Maybe I should have put more thought into planning but the routes seem to work.

Training - Rest Weeks

Ever notice when you take your foot off the gas and take a down week (lower miles a day  or two off) how terrible your legs feel that entire week. For example during that rest/down week where you cut mileage back to 35 miles compared to your 50 mile week, many times your legs just feel horrible.  You are not alone in that feeling.  Try this trick and you will be fine.

The down/rest week in training after two or three harder weeks in necessary. The problem is you may not feel the rest week is beneficial because of the way you feel out of sorts that down week.  Just be patient you will see the results the following week.  The rest/recovery results will be there and your legs will feel better and you will be refreshed mentally and physically...just not during the week you are actually resting.

If you are planning a down week for a key race.......try instead to take the recovery week the week before the race - not race week. Then begin race week as you would your normal training with regular mileage just tail things off on Thursday and Friday for a Saturday race. Seems opposite of what normally should work, but trust me on this one.

Stick to Your Training Plan - Race Goals during Base Training

There are many times where a race "gets in the way" of your specific training plan. This might mean wanting to cut out miles or cut workouts short so you are rested for a race that is at the end of the week.  The goal runners need to have when these races pop up during base training or very high volume training is a goal that is not attached to a specific time. What is the #1 thing you want to take away from the race that doesn't involve a time goal?  Your fastest times should come at the end of a training cycle or when you are peaking to run your best so now is not the time to worry about your overall time.

Sometimes in a race week you are actually on a reverse taper (not actually reducing your weekly mileage) and you just have to stick to your training plan. Be confident that you will find that one positive (not time based) out of the race.  I have been roughed up mentally by this reverse taper a few different times in my training over the past two months. This week of training during my visit to Colorado will end with the 10 mile Snowman Stampede in Littleton, Colorado.

My goal for this week of training is 105 miles. This will be my 7th consecutive week of running 100 miles. Week 8, my final week of base training, will follow next week.

This race week has played out like this:

Monday
10 easy miles average pace of 7:59 (1/2 of the run with a client at a slower pace)

Tuesday
Mini Workout day - 1 easy warmup mile - 12 miles over hilly course harder at 5:50 pace - followed by 1 mile cooldown for 14 miles total. Then travel to Denver.  (Medium Effort)

*WEDS-FRIDAY
-before the race all runs are in Denver/Altitude and I cannot seem to find a flat route.  Each 1st mile of the runs are always slower because I run it with my wife to warmup.

Wednesday
- AM - over hilly course -11 miles - 7:25 pace
- PM - 5 easy miles - 6:57 pace

Thursday
- AM - 12 miles over hilly course - 6:56 pace
- PM - 4 miles slow because I had a Burrito and Cookie 30 minutes before the run

Friday
 - AM - 10 easy miles, held back because of race on Saturday - 7:11 pace + STRIDES
 - PM - 4 easy miles

This week with logging higher mileage, not being as fit as I plan to be in May/June, and having only raced at altitude once before; I need to have a goal that gives me the best opportunity to compete yet take these pieces into consideration. My one and only goal is to compete over the second 1/2 of the race and not get caught up in feeling sorry for myself because my legs are tired (based on where I am in my training plan). I am flexible about the finishing time but do not want my effort to slack.

The Day After Your Workout - Pace

Here is the jackpot question of the day. Do I have to plan or think about the pacing on my post workout day runs?  The short answer is yes. Going by feel the day after your workout is a bad idea because after most workouts or harder efforts you feel the really tired legs and body two days later not always the very next day. So by going out that next day after a hard effort or workout and just rolling with the pace because you feel fine gets many runners into trouble because of that two day lag. What ends up happening is you have the interval effort day as a hard day, then you roll the next day because you feel good, and what you end up with are two hard efforts in a row and then on day three your legs are trashed. Just show some patience and discipline post workout day and you will be fine. Hold back on the run even if your legs feel just fine - allow for the slow active recovery run. 

Keys to Running Comebacks

I have been running for the past 20 + years and have never been surrounded by so many running comebacks both personally and coaching as I have been over the past year. Maybe all these comebacks have something to do with age and having more life responsibilities, being more susceptible to injuries, or younger runners just not having direction after college outside of the team environment.

The key to a comeback is having both daily and weekly goals - that you can log and check off. A goal that is one year down the road is awesome but make sure to have those short term running goals that are right in front of you on a daily basis. There are different comeback stages like the transition to running "X" days a week, to completing runs feeling good, to feeling fit, to being confident you can race.  The process all takes some time and try not to make the mistake of comparing fitness and race results to what you have done in the past.....train in the present. Each build up and training cycle takes on its own feeling and features.