Hey guys! I'm uber newb at this and don't want to sound like a baby, but I don't want to overdo it (since earlier this year I went into over-training and that was a huge, depressing mess).
I'm a lifter (nearing power) and sprinter at heart. I did my first 5K in January as kind of a side thing (it was a Resolution Run); I hadn't run outside AT ALL, it was 30 degrees out (in Texas...not used to training in this cold! LOL), and I managed to come in at 30:31 (I took it slow and paced myself; my goal was to not slow down at any point during the race, and I got 2nd in my age group, yay me!). Now I want to dominate 5Ks, so I'm working in Tempo and Interval Runs and Drills.
I did my first Tempo Run on Monday (WOOOOOOOOOO was it hard!), my first Interval Run yesterday, and will do Drill work on Saturday at the track. The problem is this addiction that you crazy people have that I am getting: I want to RUN RUN RUN! So I'm wondering if it's ideal to do an LSD or just an easy run today and rest tomorrow prior to Drills.
Let me know what y'all think. ;) Thanks in advance!
If you're going to rest tomorrow, I don't see why you can't do an LSD today. I've found that the best way to treat any training plan is as a 'suggestion'. Ultimately, you'll need to make it work for your goals and lifestyle. The best time to experiment is during your training so if you want to run, I say go for it. If it is too much and you don't have enough in the tank on your drills take it as a lesson learned. Then again, keep in mind, your body is not always the same everyday, so you'll need to be prepared to run under all the conditions you'll eventually encounter. Have fun figuring out what ultimately works best for you and congrats on joining the club!
Go for it!! The LSD is primarily used as a recovery run following a hard effort, or as base miles to build your aerobic engine. The latter (base miles) is not as essential in 5K training, but becomes very important in longer races such as the half marathon and full marathon.
Good luck in dominating the 5K! Tempo runs and speedwork will definitely help you get there. Just make sure you don't ramp up weekly mileage too quickly ... injury might be even worse than over training :-)
Thanks so much for the input, guys! I ended up doing an easy, short run today (couldn't fit in my very first LSD {AKA Long, Slow Death, right? HAHA!}). As far as increasing distance, you shouldn't exceed 15-20% of mileage in too short of time, correct? It's slow and steady, but I'm going from just about ten miles a week to twelve this week. I'll get there. :) Like I said before, I was a sprinter...we run funny and we have to go from one line to the next one and up to 800m. So getting the form down for distance running was my biggest goal before speed and endurance.
We'll see how the mighty limbs feel on drill day after a nice epsom bath and a litle recovery. Thanks again for the welcome and info!
Tiffers - The general rule is don't increase your mileage OR speed by more than 10% per week. If you ran 20 miles this week, your max for next week is 22. If you increase the mileage, then don't increase the speed work. The younger and fitter you are the more you can get away with cheating on this, but overuse injuries like shin splints, stress fractures, ITB issues, etc. can lay you up for weeks.
Facebook App
Tiffers110
rpetreccajr
MapMyRun.com,
MapMyRide.com,
MapMyWalk.com,
MapMyHike.com,
MapMyFitness.com,
&
MapMyTri.com