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Striving for A+ workouts or a solid B-? (Read 880 times)


finally Sub-3!!!

    Let's say over the course of a month, the Run God grades your training.  The grades are given by how well you hit your paces on your intervals, track/tempo/long run/whatever.  

     

    Is shooting for perfection a good idea?

    when I do this, I can go 3-4 weeks nailing every workout, then I have 2 weeks of struggling and nailing them, then a week of falling short and needing a rest week.

     

    or 

     

    would it be better to shoot for a solid "good" run instead of "great" run.  

    I'm thinking this option would lead to more consistency without the need for the crappy last few weeks of struggling or the need for a rest week.

     

    In my mind, stringing together months of good runs is a better option then having a few weeks of greatness, a few weeks of burnout, and a week of rest. 

      My Run God wouldn't grade my training based on how well I hit paces in training.

      Runners run

      DoppleBock


        I agree a strict pacing grading is an artificial measurement of effort or correct pace to be running that particular workout.  By how you described the toll on your body it would appear you are having to give to high and effort level to hit the paces = the wrong effort level for the intended workout.

         

        Each day your body has something different to give.

         

        But that is from my prospective of being a "Run by feel" person. 

         

        My Run God wouldn't grade my training based on how well I hit paces in training.

        Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

         

         

          Let's say over the course of a month, the Run God grades your training.  The grades are given by how well you hit your paces on your intervals, track/tempo/long run/whatever.  

           

          Is shooting for perfection a good idea?

          when I do this, I can go 3-4 weeks nailing every workout, then I have 2 weeks of struggling and nailing them, then a week of falling short and needing a rest week.

           

          or 

           

          would it be better to shoot for a solid "good" run instead of "great" run.  

          I'm thinking this option would lead to more consistency without the need for the crappy last few weeks of struggling or the need for a rest week.

           

          In my mind, stringing together months of good runs is a better option then having a few weeks of greatness, a few weeks of burnout, and a week of rest. 

          My perfectionist side used to tell me that I needed to nail the same paces for every run type, regardless of any random factors which might

          otherwise impair my running ability. If it wasn't perfectionism driving me, I would get too psyched out during training and would run faster than I was really ready for. Between these two behaviors, I got hurt and was kept off the road with injury for several months. 

           

          These days I care more about getting out the door every day, going the distance, and I don't worry too much if I have a crappy day. I worry more

          about what's occurring after months of this. 

          if you're tired of starting over then stop giving up!


          finally Sub-3!!!

            My Run God wouldn't grade my training based on how well I hit paces in training.

             

            I have 3 basic workouts.

            1) 1x X mile at Threshold pace 

            2) some sort of tempo run at half marathon pace 

            3) long run is a mix of Easy, Half, and Marathon pace

             

            I run everyday (except during a rest week), I alternate easy/hard, and the other 4 workouts/wk are 30-45' as easy as I want to run.  

             

            Every 4 weeks, I do a 5k test and reestablish my training paces based on my VDOT score.  

             

            I try to do every workout without allowing myself to "race" the workouts, but ultimately I go too hard and have to take a rest.

             

            How do you evaluate your training?

              How do you evaluate your training?

               

              By race results, ultimately.

               

              But if I'm in a period without much racing I go by mileage, consistency, whether my training progressing, and how well I am recovering. I try to do workouts by effort, not pace. I fall victim to racing workouts from time to time (we all get greedy, and want some immediate feedback sometimes) and that's one reason I do most of my workouts over unmeasured routes or go by time only, not distance.

              Runners run

                My Run God wouldn't grade my training based on how well I hit paces in training.

                +312.

                 

                Your grading should ALWAYS be based on your race performance.  I'd rather get D- in all my workouts and get A+ in my races.

                  How do you evaluate your training?

                  What is your objective for "good training"?  I'd say; if you train well, the results (races) will be good.  How else would you grade your training?  How well you kill yourself so you'll have a crapy race?

                  DoppleBock


                    To me - Too much effort in training that breaks you down is a D+ for training ~ Maybe a C-

                    Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                     

                     

                    dennrunner



                       

                      ...

                      when I do this, I can go 3-4 weeks nailing every workout, then I have 2 weeks of struggling and nailing them, then a week of falling short and needing a rest week.

                       


                       

                       

                       

                      tdh

                      jeffdonahue


                        I would have to go with the others on this one - the only real grading of your training is how you perform in races.  I have a friend who constantly brags to me about how she ran this pace for this run and this pace for that run, but when I ask her why she doesnt really have an answer.  And truth be told, her racing paces never get better and I think its because she kills herself in too many training runs.

                         

                        If I am not training for a particular race, I dont worry about any paces on any days.  I go out easy and stay that way for as long as I have time for.  I may base a successful week on mileage (mainly try to keep it above 40 miles for the week, and really happy if I'm above 50), and whether or not I have more than one run that just felt like crap.  If I have more than one crappy run in a week I'll try to evaluate what I was doing those days that might have caused it and fix that.  I run my slow runs way slower than most of my running friends (real friends, not the made up online friends I have here), but I also run my 5Ks faster than most of them too.


                        finally Sub-3!!!

                          tdh

                           I had to look it up.  I am not sure if you are flirting with me or being a tool.

                           

                           

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                          by CougarSW2 Nov 10, 2004 share this add a video

                          2. TDH 12 up6 down
                           

                          Abbreviation for italian "Testa di Hazzo" (Dickhead) or "Teste di Hazzo" (Dichheads).

                           

                           

                          L Train


                            I'm going with "too damn hard". 

                             


                            finally Sub-3!!!

                                I am really surprised at the responses.  I knew some runners ran a lot of easy miles, and I am all for it.  Running easy sure makes it a lot more enjoyable.  But I have been operating under the idea that running faster in races involves running faster in training AND increasing volume.


                              What is your objective for "good training"?  I'd say; if you train well, the results (races) will be good.  How else would you grade your training?  How well you kill yourself so you'll have a crapy race?

                               

                              I completely agree for a runner with opportunities to race often, but I don't have that luxury.  If i adjusted my paces based on races, I would only make 1-2 changes/year. 

                               

                              Notice, I didn't write that I was having poor race results.  I am very happy with my progression.  I am virtually spot on with my predicted race performance based on the Daniels' VDOT calculations.  What I am asking about is the best/proper way to get the most from my training.  

                               

                              I cycle through a few weeks feeling like a stud, a pair of weeks feeling like I'm stalling, then end up resting and starting over.

                               

                              I was wondering if it wouldn't be better to reign in the 4 weeks of  stud and have 6,8, or 10 weeks of pony instead?

                              or is this cycle normal and what triggers the adaptation?  Is it better to get 4 weeks of a lot of stress, or 6-8 weeks of some stress?

                               

                              Thanks for all the replies though.

                              L Train


                                I don't think anyone was saying to run all easy miles.  What I interpreted was that the people that posted don't force the workouts to a certain pace.  They keep them at a certain effort level.  And I imagine the reason for that rather than doing then balls out is so that they can run again tomorrow, and run another workout the next time, and the next time, etc. wthout having to take steps back because they can't recover. 

                                 

                                As for myself if I had to keep taking a step back at "stud" pace, I'd take pony every time in your analogy.  That wouldn't mean that I would be doing all easy miles. 

                                 

                                So maybe there's somewhere between stud and pony.  Just drop the stuud-o-meter a notch.  And really, the workout paces find themselves without you forcing them.  You're either getting fitter at the same effort or you're not.  Races are for forcing. 

                                 

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