I was recently reading an online article from Greg McMillan (http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17252) where he wrote about some of the differences between runners (FT vs ST) and how workouts need to both look at strengths and weaknesses. Although I don't really disagree with him from a physiological perspective I found my self looking at his arguments from a different view (me...no way...)
The one area I felt he failed to consider was how sometimes workouts need to be tailored to the mental strengths and weaknesses of the athlete. I know for me I need both mental and physical workouts rather tha simply one. Probably the best example for me was with threshold workouts. I do a variety of different styles of tempos from your most basic egs 20mins-30mins, etc.....to an old Harry Wilson/Steve Ovett classic of 6-10 x 3mins off 30 sec to change of pace tempos egs 2-3 x 15mins of accelerating every 5mins.
That's the one thing I have always disagreed with from the 'bible' (Once a Runner) and that was the idea of always running the same routes. It's not that I don't often do the same daily routes, but that's more for convenience, rather than want. I actually like variation (which probably explains my delight in fartlek style running of all sorts). Much like wanting different places to run I also find that doing different tempos keep me much more motivated (although when it comes to track intervals that is a completely different story).
The other area I had some concerns with in McMillan's article was how sometimes meeting the physical needs of the athlete can also be a recipe for problems if 1) the athlete isn't capable of doing the session properly or (and often overlooked) how the athlete can actually hurt themselves because they have the mental abilities to hammer themselves into the ground. For egs I am a terrible time trialer and need the excitement of races to run properly, but others have the ability to go hard by themselves and continually override the signs their body may be sending them. For a race that's great...for a workout...sometimes yes...sometimes no. It's just another consideration in the grand 'training soup'......
Here's my good news....bad news....
Good:
Some semblance of a running routine. Once I get into a full routine then things always seem to fall into place. i even did some decent structured workouts
Carter is a 'tank' . Not my words......
We bought a place down in the ol USA (may be a great training place with trails straight nearby and we have an outdoor pool for any pool running) near Mt Baker
Cross Country has started (both my own and the school season). We had 20-30 kids show up for our Xc meetings. Some talented kids too, but we'll see if they stay (even may have an Ethiopian ringer)
Got in a 2 hr run...not fast...but no problems doing it either
Carter generally sleeps through the night
Bad:
The school year has started....well that's kinda good, but we had a lousy (boring) summer....here's to a good fall (the new place should help that). I takes me at least 2-3 weeks to get back into a teaching rhythm, but my classes seem good right now.....(fingers crossed)
Kao possibly has seizures/epilepsy. Long story, but she showed some dizzy spells and we had a few tests. Not 100% sure it's seizures, but the Doc thinks it is. She's on meds now and may be up to full running again in a couple of weeks
Carter sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night (more impact on Julie rather than me)
1 comment:
Good response, reminds me of a story I heard from Mark Plaatjes this summer. When he first moved to the marathon, Alan Culpepper went to M.P. for advice. Among his suggestions was interval workouts of long repeats (3K-5K). Late in his career, before one of his last marathons, A.C. went back to M.P. to try and figure out why he was not doing better in the marathon. M.P. asked him if he was still doing the long repeats. A.C. said no, he stopped going them because he did not like them. The point M.P. was making was that it is important to not fall into the trap of doing just what you like, to challenge yourself to include effective training pieces even if you do not enjoy them much.
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