The start of this week marks the halfway point in your plan. Everything here is gearing towards getting you to the starting line on May 4th in 'fitter than you've ever been' condition so it's important that you are training at a pace you find comfortable. If you feel like you're doing too much, make sure you're maximising your rest days.
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Stefan Drexl On Overtraining
This stage of the plan is heavy, so you'll be starting to feel the strain. That's good, but there's always the danger of overtraining which will undo any good work you've done on your base fitness and prevent any future gains. In order to prevent this, let's take a look at Stefan Drexl's outline of indicators and signs of overtraining:
Here's what Stefan says (What his wise words mean for us are in brackets.):
So this monster, lurking quietly in your new-found passion, feels like it's hiding behind all your enjoyment and joy of running, right? Worry no more, the overtraining monster is very unlikely to demotivate or injure you.
If you feel super sore and exhausted, it's possible the overtraining monster has crept closer, but it's more likely to be any number of other things, too:
1. You may have just had a more exhausting series of running sessions. Intensity can be a very good thing, but only if it's followed by ample recovery time. (That's us this week, we're going hard!)
2. You may have pushed too hard in one session or could be training too irregularly. (That's why you're following this plan and minding your pacing.)
3. You may be under-recovering or harming your training with less-than-optimal sleep, diet and work-life balance. (There are few ills that a good night's sleep won't cure.)
It could be any of these things, and it may just be that you are overtraining. But overtraining is rare. Whatever it is, knowing the difference between an efficient training schedule and a counterproductive one can save you a lot of time and trouble.
So if you want to prevent overtraining, avoid the three 'toos': too much, too soon, too fast. As soon as you notice any of these signs below, it's time to slack off a bit:
1. A steady, even slow, heart rate during fast runs, even when you're working hard. (Conversational pace)
2. You are tired and crave an evening on the sofa rather than an invigorating run. (No session should tire you out for the next session.)
3. Whatever the pace, it still feels like an intense run. (Slow and steady wins the race in training.)
4. You're easily grumpy, irritable or unhappy. (If training towards the unique worldwide community event that is the World Run isn't making you happy you're doing something wrong.)
Unlike the fatigue and muscle soreness that all active individuals consider to be the result of exertion and overexertion, true overtraining is really only seen in extremely ambitious athletes. Ninety-nine percent of all runners simply do not train hard enough or frequently enough to ever overtrain. So get back out there and enjoy yourself.
Week4: Pump Up The Volume
At this stage of the plan, we're looking to load mileage at a consistent pace so as to build your base fitness before maintaining it with optimal recovery that allows you to run your best when you get to the Ring of Kerry. You're supposed to be tired this week but if you feel too tired to make a session, pull back on the pace – remember you should be able to hold a conversation during all distance runs.
Day 5 is a strong session where you should make 4 x 2 minute fast paced pickups in the middle of the session, with 2 minutes of rest between each. You can really pick of the pace here but make sure that you are able to complete the session.
Warm up before and cool down after each session with some dynamic stretching and try to eat something, anything at all, within half an hour after each session. Take at least one day for rest each week
Day 1: Rest or non-running session for 20 minutes
Day 2: Run for 25-35 minutes
Day 3: Run for 20 - 30 minutes, optimal tempo run by picking up the pace the last 10 minutes
Day 4: Rest or non-running session for 20 minutes
Day 5: Run for 30-40 minutes, optimal intervals in middle of session with 4 x 2 minutes faster paced pickups, 2 minutes easy in between
Day 6: Rest or 10-20 minutes light jog
Day 7: Run for 40-50 minutes
