This question has been posed to me in numerous forms over the past few weeks. Nobody has asked precisely what my philosophy is, but have asked, "(1) What will my longest run of the season be? (2) Can I continue to run X number of miles during the season?" and "(3) What types of workouts will be holding during the season?" I've avoided specific responses because what you will be asked and expected to do during the season is never cast in stone and is almost always evolving. Perhaps the following might shed some light on what to expect.
I have what may be described as a "hybrid" philosophy. After nearly a half century of running I think I've read nearly every take on the sport. In that time I've learned there is rarely anything new, just a re-hash of ideas others may have re-hashed from somebody else's re-hash. I approach running based on the theories of (presumably) Arthur Lydiard and Jack Daniels, both renowned and well respected coaches who have both a direct following in the runners each has coached, and an indirect following in coaches like myself and the runners we coach. Each undoubtedly has enormously impacted the sport we love. Both Lydiard and Daniels are proponents of running phases, called periodization. Lydiard is, in fact, credited with its creation. Essentially, those phases include Base, Build, Peak, Taper and Recover. Most of you understand the meaning of each of those phases as they relate to your running. For example, summer is the time for Base running, the longest phase of your plan during which you focus on conditioning and endurance. When each of you reports to practice on August 24, our first order of business is to determine at what level are you with respect to this Base training and if you are ready to move on to the Build phase. In the Build phase both distance and intensity are increased. Not all of you will be ready for this and will have to spend some time on Base running. Some of you may have already started the Build phase with interval and tempo running, along with racing this summer. Our job with these runners is to insure that they do not reach the Peak stage of their training too early. In other words, it may be wonderful if you run a PR against North Quincy in our first meet. What will not be wonderful is if your PR after EMass is that established in early September versus NQ.
Lydiard and Daniels hold, unlike their views on periodization, slightly different views, or thoughts anyway, on how many miles are enough and the pace of those miles. Each believes in the importance of a high number of base miles. Daniels believes one could run as many miles as they wish so long as they don't lose interest or sustain injury. Lydiard on the other hand insisted on high mileage of those he coached. Daniels saw the need for slower paced running as a complement to hard training. Lydiard believed that all training should be done at high intensity. When I was young (admittedly not as young as you) I followed the Lydiard principles. High mileage with every training session, which in effect became a daily race. To make a long story short I realized two things after several years of this type of training. First, I nearly always ran in pain, something I simply accepted as a by-product of competitive running. Second, I reached a point (all too quickly I might add) where my results ceased to improve. In other words I reached a point of diminishing returns with the high number of fast miles. Later I adopted the Daniels approach which included long slow distances at threshold pace supplemented by speed work, and found that over time I made some improvements. It certainly made running less painful. Unfortunately, because I was well beyond my prime when I realized this, I can't provide first hand evidence of the plans effectiveness. But I have seen it work for many of the young people I've had the opportunity to coach.
So, specifically my philosophy (taken from others) is:
1. I believe in the importance of each of the Phases of Training
2. I believe in the importance of high (but not unlimited -more on that in another post) Base mileage if one is to improve during the Build and Peak phases of training.
2. I believe high mileage is beneficial to the extent one does not experience burnout or injury.
3. I believe that there is a place for both low intensity and high intensity training (in an approximate ratio of 4:1)
Now back to those questions posed by you. I am prepared to answer each in muddled detail:
Q -What will your longest run be this season?
A - Unless you have over trained you can expect to continue to increase your long run during the next 6 weeks at which point you may take it back to focus more on speed work. (Periodization)
Q- Can I continue to run X number of miles during the season?
A - Not during the entire season if you hope to peak at EMass. (Again, periodization)
Q - What type of workouts will we be holding during the season?
A - Depending on your conditioning you can expect both high and low intensity workouts appropriate for transitioning through the Training phases. (Periodization and Daniels.)
There will not be an exam on this stuff on Thursday. Just come prepared to run. Wear appropriate clothing. Have comfortable footwear, with less than a year or two of experience. Worn out running shoes invite injury. Plan to run on asphalt on the first two days of practice. Bring water for before and during practice. Electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade and the like are great following your run. Plan on having fun. Many of the kids will be at Foss . . . they will be running and thus given credit for attending practice. If you have any questions email me at stevegeo@comcast.net or text me at 781-367-8487. I'll get right back to you.
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