On the fence
That’s where I’m hanging these days, since I am not 100% sure how I want to train for Eugene. Right now, I’m thinking I’ll take another 1-2 weeks of pretty easy, unstructured running (as part of a reverse taper from Houston), race my 10k on 2/3 in the attempt to PR, and then begin Eugene training on 2/4. That seems and sounds manageable, since that’ll give me a good 10 weeks of training time between early February and late April.
What I’m uncertain about, however, is how I want to train.
I’m considering a few different plans, all of which are all over the place in terms of mileage and running frequency- 3-4 days a week, 5-6 days a week, 35-50 miles, 50+, 50-60 miles… so I’m not really sure how I want to proceed.
My goal for Eugene is to go after that sub-3:30 that I just narrowly missed in Houston. I think I’m physiologically capable of it even now; I just have to do some refinement and honing in the next couple months.
My training usually has me running about 6 days a week (along with some strength work, a la WCCF), a good variety of hard and easy/recovery days, and I always have a good time with it (read: I enjoy it). The thought of only running 3-4 days a week is not appealing to me, at all.
I need… more.
Don’t get me wrong, there are always days where the running comes more easily than others, but if I ever *don’t* look forward to training, I take the day off to recharge my batteries. It works immensely well for me.
The other interesting thing to consider is that usually, my training has capped me off around 50 miles per week because that has always been my “sweet spot,” the point in my training where overtraining starts to seep in and even a rudimentary cost-benefit analysis shows that I’m quickly reaching diminishing returns, since I’ve tended to develop some ITBS once I hit that mileage.
Here’s the curveball, though: that was all pre-pregnancy.
Since being pregnant and subsequently giving birth, I have experienced just the opposite; now, 50 mpw, or very close to it, don’t yield the same ITBS or overtraining symptoms that it once did.
I have no idea what to make of this–if it’s a different mentality I’m taking toward my running now, my miles being more quality than they were before, or something else entirely (hormonal? maybe??)–so I’m not sure how to proceed.
Just because I can do something doesn’t mean I should do something… right?
When you’re developing your training plans for a target race (or a specific goal) and want to change things up, how do you negotiate the unfamiliar territory? I’m super curious to hear.
