Juggling Workouts: Part I

Rule your training. Don’t let your training rule you

By Hal Higdon
Author, Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide

Juggling Workouts

A runner once asked if he could do his long runs on Mondays, rather than on weekends, as prescribed in my interactive training schedules. Yes, I responded. Schedules should not be followed mindlessly. Later, I used this incident in lectures to illustrate the fact that workouts can be juggled for convenience. My audiences would chuckle at this runner so nervous about making a seemingly meaningless change.

But in many respects my questioner gets the last laugh. It does matter whether you do that long run on Saturday, Sunday or Monday if only because that affects everything else you do during the week.

How do you balance long runs with speedwork? How do you mix easy runs, cross-training and total rest? Those are some of the most difficult decisions made by coaches and runners. Get the formula right, and you set Personal Records. Get it wrong, and you become injured--or do less than your best.

Unfortunately, the scientific community offers little guidance. Russell R. Pate, Ph.D, a 2:15 marathoner and past president of the American College of Sports Medicine admits: “It’s difficult to find funding for training-related issues, but it’s also very difficult research to do. You’re trying to control the behavior patterns of athletes who are not very inclined to be controlled.”

Nevertheless, scientists have begun to at least identify the questions that runners need to ask in designing their own workout plans or applying the plans of others. David Martin, Ph.D., chairman of Sports Science for USA Track & Field, asks the following questions of athletes he advises:

• Recovery: How much recovery do you need after your last workout? Muscle soreness, carbohydrate/fluid depletion, fatigue and age all dictate how soon you can do another “hard” run.

• Rest: How much rest do you need before your next workout? You can’t run well while suffering from the symptoms above. Resting before a hard workout allows you to train even harder and build more muscle.

• Fitness: What shape are you in? Your current fitness level not only dictates how hard you can train, but how quickly you recover. Very fit athletes can squeeze more hard runs into their workout weeks.

• Schedule: What’s your overall plan? Pre-set schedules, such as those I offer on the Internet and in my books, are not meant to be followed precisely, but deviate too much and you may fail to achieve your goals.

• Distractions: What’s in your way? No matter how well-designed your training plan, distractions (the flu, an important business engagement) may force you to make adjustments.

Fail to ask these questions, suggests Dr. Martin, and you’ll never achieve success. Yet answer incorrectly, and you’re also doomed to failure. Becoming a better runner means knowing how to juggle workouts to maximize performance.

Tomorrow: I’ll tell you how to juggle workouts to do just that.

Hal Higdon is a Contributing Editor with Runner’s World and a consultant for TrainingPeaks. Visit his Web site at: www.halhigdon.com.

Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. The views expressed here are the opinions of the experts and as such do not represent the official position of TrainingPeaks.

Ask a question of your own! If you have a question for the experts, submit it here either by emailing asktheexperts@peaksware.com or by posting it on our message boards. Your question could be featured in our next blog!