Planned Time off... (Read 534 times)

Who schedules in time off or weeks with very low mileage into their running year? I am not talking about injuries. I am also not talked about a week after a really hard race. For those that do what length of time works so that you don't loose much fitness but you come back nice and fresh ready to work hard again? For those that don't take time off do you very your mileage throughout the year? Do you have seasons of hard training and seasons of recovery?

Well, I only started running 4 years ago, so I've still got a lot to learn. But FWIW, I usually cut my mileage every 3 or 4 weeks by a third or more to give myself a "break". I am planning to use the hot summer months for easy running only (ie; approx. 60-70% of maximum heart rate). Then I'll take it really easy the last 3 weeks in Dec. after my last race of the year. My racing months seem to be Jan-May, and Sept-Nov., with an exception here or there. I don't really have a rigidly structured seasonal schedule, and sometimes I worry some about whether I'm setting myself up for injury - so I am also interested in how others do it. Bill

It's good to hear what you do, Mike. I didn't know if HTFU meant going 52 weeks a year hard, or not! I could see making my light weeks in late February or March, when it seems like the roads are in the worst shape up here.

Up till now most of my signficant races are in May through Sept. I'll take a significant recovery (say 2 wks) to back off mentally and physically after last summer race. Catch up on rest of life, get things winterized if it hasn't already snowed, etc. My periodization tends to function as seasonalization since it's hard to buck mother nature in the far north. Whether that's what I'd do for optimal training in a different climate or not, I don't know. The time frames I give are loose and vary from year to year depending on snow conditions. Oct-Dec: Early base. Most easy running, rebuild long run to 2-4 hr range (ultras). XT class on Sat morning with barefoot work, agility, plyos, etc. This serves as "hard" workout for the week. It also provides good traction while we have snow to make things slippery, but not enough snow for good base for snowshoe running. Unless I'm thinking of a winter ultra, this time period is low key / no pressure. Jan-Mar: Main base: Incorporate more intensity or leg speed in runs, and drop the xt class. This increases gradually from Jan to Mar - kind of transition between early base and race prep. Try to get long runs up to desired length (5-6 hrs). Depending on snow conditions, these runs may be on snowshoes or some type of traction device. Apr-Jun (July): Race prep: Get long runs in 7-8 hr range - or whatever you need for summer races. Definitely get the intensity in somehow - even if running steps on trail or running around soccer field complex - since everything else is ice or mush. This period includes breakup when we go from snow to mush to mud to dry trails and may include trail closures to prevent damage. IOW, I can't really plan this critical period too closely. But that's what I try to do. Have some short races in May which may be directly affected (can't train for rocky races when snow is covering rocks). July-Sep: Longer races, maybe some short ones. Prep, taper, recover as appropriate for race. If I weren't training for an ultra, I'd probably cap my long runs near 4 hr and do more quality work (hills, LT, etc) in the race prep period. I'm slow enough that 4 hr is what 13-15 mi trail races with big hills would take.