I’m very proud of the last two weeks. These are two of my highest volume weeks since my ITB injury after the 2008 New York Marathon. I also increased my long run to 18 miles after six weeks of 17 milers. Progress!
Consistency is king. That phrase alone is incredible advice for continuing to improve. Instead of focusing on reaching 90 – 100 miles per week like I used to (and foolishly increasing my volume and intensity at the same time), I am more focused on putting in a moderate amount of work every week. Here it is:
Monday, 3/1
Standard warm-up, 65′ + 4 x 10″ hill sprints. Abbreviated Myrtl routine. [9 miles]
Tuesday, 3/2
AM: Lunge matrix, 68′ with 4 x 6′ @ tempo pace with 1′ recovery. Got ambitious on the trails, the terrain was a bit too muddy for faster running. Ice bath. [10 miles] PM: Gym routine – two sets of weighted lunges, bench press, dead lifts, pull-ups, weighted pistol squats, and dips. Takes me 18-20 minutes!Wednesday, 3/3
Standard warm-up, 79′ outside + 5′ ice bath. [11 miles]
Thursday, 3/4
Standard warm-up, 48′ with 30″ – 2′ fartlek. About 5-6 minutes of fast running. [7 miles]
Friday, 3/5
25 pushups + modified standard warm-up, 58′ + 4 strides. Two sets standard core. [8 miles]
Saturday, 3/6
Cannonball + abbreviated lunge matrix, 2:01 with a lot of hills and 8′ progression starting at 1:50. ITB rehab routine, ice bath, nap. [17 miles]
Sunday, 3/7
~45′ easy bike ride with my girlfriend Meaghan, leg swings, 57′ outside. Not prepared for this amount of exercise. Felt pretty tired although was running a real solid pace. Two sets standard core, nap. [8 miles]
Monday, 3/8
Standard warm-up, 64′ + 6 x 10″ hill sprints. Abbreviated Myrtl routine + 10′ ice bath. [9 miles]
Tuesday, 3/9
AM: Cannonball, 26′ warm-up with 2×30″ strides, 3 x old tempo loop, 26′ warm-down + light drills. This is the same loop that I used to prepare for the NY Marathon and it felt good to get back out there. Like before, I split my watch at the same arbitrary points to gauge effort levels throughout the workout:
3:33, 4:07 (7:40) 3:31, 3:58 (7:30) 3:26, 3:54 (7:20)On paper, it looks perfect. It felt pretty perfect too. [11 miles]
PM: 1 hour boot camp style gym workout with a class. Tons of lunges. Pretty sore.
Wednesday, 3/10
Standard warm-up, 71′ + 6 strides. Two sets standard core. [10 miles]
Thursday, 3/11
Lunge matrix + leg swings, 68′ with 2′, 3′, 2′, 2 x 1′, 2 x 30″ fartlek with 2′ recovery except after 30″ which was 1′ recovery. Really moving today, felt great. 10′ ice bath. [10 miles]
Friday, 3/12
AM: Standard warm-up, 36′ + ~10′ ice bath. [5 miles] PM: ITB Rehab routine.Saturday, 3/13
Cannonball + abbreviated lunge matrix, 2:08 with last ~20′ a bit faster. 3 sets standard core, 15′ ice bath, nap. Didn’t feel great today, maybe too much caffeine. [18 miles]
Sunday, 3/14
Standard warm-up + abbreviated lunge matrix, 37′ on treadmill + 22′ outside. Couldn’t stand dreadmill today, originally wanted to change it up but hated every second of it. Cannonball. [8 miles]
As you see, my weeks look surprisingly similar. I like to do hill sprints on Monday, a workout on Tuesday with a lifting session, and an easy day on Friday. Saturday I do my long run – which usually includes additional core work, ice bath, and a nap – which takes half a day.
Consistency is king. While it’s important to vary your routine, the core elements of your program should remain very similar. For example, I can keep my hill sprints on Monday but I should be increasing the number of reps periodically. I started at two (and the first one is not at 100%). I should be getting to 7 or 8 within the next week or two.
Let me know how your week of training went! What’s getting in the way of you being consistent and hitting your mileage and workout goals? What strategies can you implement to dominate your training?
