Training Program

This week I have posted a half training program based on #1 how I did it and #2 the training principle called periodization.

#1 How I did it. Looking back at my early running days that is all I did...run. It was not until 8 months later that I started to incorporate weights and body weight work and much later for track and hills. Building a strong foundation is the key to anything you do and that is what I was doing...building my endurance foundation. Strength was the next area I felt needed to be worked on since during every race my lower back, upper back, hips, quads, calfs, shins, shoulders, and biceps would hurt and I could usually not walk correctly until Thursday. Last was speed. The track is something that can be very scary and intimidating but with the right plan it is a fantastic training partner. I made up a couple of track workouts, tracked my progress and went to the Austin Marathon in 2007 ready to roll. Since then I have tried many workouts, weight training programs, and I always come back to what works...running, interval training, and core work.

#2 Periodization. There are three different phases (base, strength, peak) and all phases have the same variables: frequency, intensity, time, and volume but they are always changing. In the base phase everything is relatively low except for frequency which is constant. The strength phase begins to up the variables and in the peak phase there is a plateau before you reach the summit. Another part of periodization is allowing the body to relax and recover before the next phase. If you are always working with no rest injury could result.

This program consists of week 1-3 endurance (base), week 5-7 race pace and tempo running (base/strength), week 9-11 hills (strength), week 13-15 (strength/peak) is when it all comes together and week 16 is taper for the big race. Week 4, 8, and 12 are recovery weeks dedicated to easy running and strength training only. Every week has a strength, plyometric, body weight and core workout to make sure you are strong in all the areas needed to run a successful and fun race.

I will always be "tweaking" the plan and especially the workouts for before and after the runs so check periodically for changes. I hope you enjoy the program as much as I did creating it.