training with consistent progression OR peaks and valleys? (Read 554 times)

I am finding myself stuck in a predictable pattern of:

2 weeks strong, effortless running at all paces

1 week managable, but higher RPE to hit my marks

1 week where I rest or crash and fall off my training paces

I feel like my efforts to maximize my training stress are compromising my overall ability to progress.  Maybe if I backed off the 2 hero weeks, I would never get to the crash week.

Is it better to experience peaks and valleys in training blocks?  Or should it be a gradual progression throughout the program?

Is it better to experience peaks and valleys in training blocks?  Or should it be a gradual progression throughout the program?

False dichotomy.

These are really difficult questions that all coaches and athletes have to deal with; the ability to recover and deal with stress can vary widely from athlete to athlete, and even within a single athlete's career.

Obviously there will be peaks and valleys in training; you've got to manage these, understand them for what they are, and work to keep yourself on a generally upward trend.

I think the most experienced runners and coaches--the best runners and coaches--think more about recovery than almost anything else. Seems to me that your question is focused more around "maximizing training stress." Maybe one way to rethink this problem would be to ask yourself how to "maximize adaptation"--both in terms of your short term racing goals (this season, this cycle) and then in terms of your long term development as a runner.

If you focus on adaptation instead of training stress, you move from the paradigm you have set up:

maximal stress - crash and fall off - maximal stress

to something like:

specific stress - adaptive recovery - specific stress

I think the second set of concepts is more effective for analyzing training.

You almost have to have peaks and valley....noone can progress steadily forever....but your example is excessive.  It's not related to normal training cycles, but to breaking yourself each month.  

Probably not ideal.

IMHO you need to make sure you are getting enough rest to keep constant training through a full cycle (3-4 months).  Recognize that "maximizing training stress" is not going to do you much good if you're spending the other half of your time beat down and not progression (or even regressing).

If you are driven this can be a hard balance to strike.  When I was in the position to really try and maximize my running, I struck the balance by forcing myself to take one day off every third week.  For me, anyways, this was enough to keep me on the ideal trajectory.