coming off base phase/when to up the pace.

[JonathanWardley]

Hi Ed,
Happy new year to you and family just wanted to touch base with a few things that ive been up to of late...Firstly i thought it would be nice to end the year with a 4k time trial which was a bit of a struggle to be honest my legs where feeling it after 400 meters,maybe set off to fast..Anyhow ive got a time for you 13.45 not great but ive had a good hit on the miles prior to this run so not too disappointed,I am getting 60-65 miles per week so pleased about that.The second thing is that come the end of January i would like to go back to base phase as work commitments are going to get in the way for approx 6 weeks or so plus i am starting to feel a bit tired with it all.Think i mentioned 13th of January i have a trail race and then on the 27th probably my last 10k road race before wanting to take it easy and go back to base phase,well that's all for now best wishes and regards Jon.

[TheEd]

A fine happy new year to you Jon .. when on the base and coming off it, always be aware not to start off to quickly as you have no fast running in your legs, so always advisable for you to start off at an even pace

we can juggle the sessions around with 1 week of tempo running etc, so you don't stay too long on the base without variation

this is an example of the variation

Sat: 4k time-trial

Wed 8k tempo run

Sat up to 12k tempo run

what you do in-between sessions is entirely up to you, though the idea behind this is to keep everything enjoyable

please give me your thoughts on this

TheEd

[JonathanWardley]

Hi Ed,
I think we are on the same script here which is great,i threw in a 5k this morning at tempo pace this morning 3.40 per kilometer felt ok i know next time ill go up to 8k but just doing a light session as i would like to get some 5 or 6 1k reps in before the weekend,i will race next sunday as i mentioned before so no real pressure to run a time as its offroad and hard terrain..Would you say 3 weeks on base is enough before coming back to what you said in your last thread..I think 6 weeks last time without out was a touch long and thats why its taken so long to get it back but no problem,i know now what works better and will build on this,Just to let you know i threw in some hill reps also 3 times a week i double up with an extra 10k easy,i think its all in there and will come good later down the road.Ive had a half idea after seeing the vet 35 marathon results for last year..2hour.44mins would see me in the top ten in the uk for the marathon for that age group so might be intrested in stepping up and taking it on,but not until my 10k times have come back to at least 33 mins..Well thats all for now best wishes jon.

[TheEd]

Hi Jon, try to believe in less is better for now and feel good with each level you work through

when you come off the base you meant to feel slower, as you then go through the cycles to be ready for the events that count

so planning your races is as important as the training

once you do 1 cycle of the 5 x 2k and 6 x 1k you should feel the difference

the 5 x 2k session still remains the most important session

I was recommending the week of faster running to benefit you psychologically, as I do believe you need to feel alive on occasion

have you your races planned yet?

so if you put those up, then we can see how we can plan forward

yes yes

TheEd

[JonathanWardley]

Hi ed,
just to let you know i will be going back to work sometime next week which means really going back to a break and then build up as i work as a diver offshore it means that i will be using a treadmill for all my runs for the next 6 weeks or so.To be honest my hips not 100 percent so the break might help.I might get a bit of work on it before i go to work.So really no race now as i got the call to go back,ive had 3 months off so cant grumble.I think after the 3 week of build up i would like to try and get back to the cycle with the less is better aproach cutting out the extra runs until i get home.Maybe the odd tempo run here and there along the way but not really hard training as i dont think the treadmill will stand it,hope this puts you more in the picture why i try and push things on my time off as its really ideal i dont have to work so i can throw down lots of training.would you agree that now i should run as i feel until next week then go back to rest and base training and follow on from there?thanks again for your help best wishes jon.

[TheEd]

Great Jon, good luck with the hip .. when you return consider doing a 4k assessment time-trial and from there we can take things

all the best

TheEd

[JonathanWardley]

Hi Ed,
Been a bit of a change of plan it looks like i will be home for the rest of the january now so ill race next weekend on the trails then try and hit a road 10k on the 27th..Then go back to the plan off off period and 3 weeks build up and take it from there,go to be able to fit a few more races in before i go back to work..all for now regards jon.

[TheEd]

hope the event goes well

Cheers

TheEd

[JonathanWardley]

Thanks Ed,
I had to rest an extra day felt so wiped out i could barely wake up the whole day so yes i will be going for less is better approach this week i was thinking of scaling down every run by 15 mins to be on the safe side,ive dropped the second run in the day also this week to give me a chance of running well Sunday. Really easy to get sucked into its never enough and loose sight of things,still lesson learned i am backing off big time regards Jon.

[TheEd]

good stuff .. here is a routine that can also help

1hr every 2nd day .. instead of trying to run everyday

this can often recuperate a person quicker than running everyday

cheers and enjoy

TheEd