Last week was the first week of tapering for City of Oaks. Not surprising, it was that much of a taper. My weekday mileage was pretty much what it has been, the mid-week bike ride was a little shorter, and the main difference being a shorter weekend long run. While I've discovered many benefits to having a self-built training plan, now is when the pitfalls of being able to vary that plan can arise. I'm doing my best to stick to it, but I know it'll be hard, especially now that the daily miles are beginning to go down.
Ever a glutton for punishment, I've begun searching for my next adventure. In the mid-distant future [i.e. 2011] I was primarily concerned with my next marathon, looking any time from February till May. However, it wasn't until my bike ride yesterday that I remembered 2011 is my year of the half-Ironman. With that in mind, I've already envisioned my 2011 A-list races: a marathon in the February/early, early March time frame; a May Half-Ironman (HIM); another HIM in September, followed by an October marathon. In just over the cusp into 2012, I still dream of running the Disney World Goofy Challenge: run the half marathon on Saturday and wash it down with the full marathon on Sunday. Oh, and the one race I am dead set on is the Krispy Kreme Challenge which has A-level priority, not for it's difficulty but it's ridiculous fun, enjoyment, and college-nostalgia.
It sounds like a full schedule, but for me, that's part of the challenge. For me, more than being able to complete a distance is being able to do it again. And again. That's why I've been intent on finding a quick follow up marathon to City of Oaks. I'm not sure what to call it: turnover, resiliency, bounce-back... Essentially I want to assess what a hard/long effort feels after just doing one. As I delve into longer and longer events, I want to develop a lasting endurance.
This matter is something I contemplate often. Do I want a perpetual level of training, or continue with some staggering periodization? How much can one sacrifice quality (speed, endurance) for quantity (/frequency)? If I try to do multiple marathons a year, do I risk missing a chance to qualify for Boston? Or do more races increase "maturity" and resiliency?
I think the secret revolves around expanding the baseline, part of what I wanted to accomplish this training period. While my long run build-up this year was fairly similar to the build-up for MCM, the big difference was the increase in my weekday mileage. Last year, the longest mid-week was 8 miles; this year it was 12. Preseason this year consisted of routine 8 milers, with a weekend 12-13. Does this year's training predict weekly 12 milers with weekend 15-17? I'd like to try, perhaps even up those weekend runs a little more. Besides wanting to be capable of frequent marathon racing, if I start to delve into ultras, I feel a high sustained baseline will be essential.
I think I've babbled enough. All I'll say now is that it's becoming obvious I am much more a runner than a triathlete. I am still lock-on to a 2012 Ironman, but still, running is my escape.
periodization vs Sustained effort: Almost all seasoned athletes who are focused on excelling at a certain event work on a periodized schedule that peaks them for that event. It then becomes an all or nothing game. You invest everything you have for that one race. And the way most periodization based running programs work you might still be able to do a Fall and a Spring race.
ReplyDeleteBut if your goal is "lasting endurance" and if you want to get into "longer and longer events" you might not want to do periodization right away. I've seen runners who have BQ'd once and have never been able to reproduce that result again.
Trying to do multiple marathons a year is certainly a BQ risk but then it also improves your aerobic capacity. So, when you're ready you're _really_ ready. It's a slow process but sure.