The Last Bit of 2009

The first training cycle is out of the way. I've had some catch up sleep. Feeling good again.


Now where do I go to from here?


The short answer is base building. Which of course raises another question?


Building a base for what?


Naturally that leads to more questions, which lead to more questions and I really need to keep to basics so I don't get caught up in the details and miss the overall concept. At this stage I don't have plans set in concrete. Instead I really just have an idea of where I want things to head.



The Idea


  • No racing for the rest of the year.
  • In 2010 my main aim is running another marathon in the second half of the year, most likely Melbourne again, but may not be.
  • Naturally I want to run faster again, with the outlook to working towards a preferential start in the Melbourne marathon within 5 years. That means running sub 2:50.
  • In the meantime, before I start specific marathon training, I want to really get my 10km and half marathon times down.
  • I will probably go on a couple of long bike rides in the first part 2010 just because I can.



For Now


Develop my running fitness. This includes, workload tolerance, aerobic capacity, musculoskeletal and connective tissue strength and flexibility, technique, efficiency, speed, threshold and endurance. Plus the myriad of other aspects. I will achieve this through training nearly every day, with a reasonable volume of aerobic conditioning work, with judicious, but high frequency faster, high intensity running. A fair amount of supplementary work thrown in and I aim to keep a steady progression to Christmas, where I'll take a bit of recovery and reassess where I am.



To be more direct, I aim to have my long runs at around 2 hours, a short threshold session, some speed/sprint work, a short interval/VO2max session, some strength & flexibility work plus some swimming and a long bike ride thrown in.



Sounds like a lot when written out in an overly long sentence. However, it is less volume than I was running prior to the marathon. The key difference is each individual isn't too high a load that it will require any extended recovery. Just the usual stiffness or bit of soreness over the following day, or may two. What has changed is that the heart rate zones and a couple of other indicators of training intensity. There are quite a few things I learnt or had reinforced over the marathon training stint. That will require a post all to itself.

Amazing how better I feel, and how easy the rest of my life seems to get, (no matter what is happening) when I have some sort of plan.

Comments

  1. Ewen4 December 2009 at 16:10

    Looks good to me Jason. Reducing the 10k time (into the 35ish range?) is sure to help the sub-2:50 goal in terms of stress at marathon goal pace.

    Enjoy the rest of the year - I hope work isn't too hectic.

    ReplyDelete

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