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March 18, 2024

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Location:

SLC,UT,

Member Since:

Apr 28, 2011

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

PR Table and Notable Races

Marathon:
2:21:12 (Chicago); 2:20:41 (CIM)

Half Marathon: 1:05:45 (Long Beach)
10K: 30:03 (Portland)

All race results:
2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016

Personal:

   

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
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0.000.000.00

Scheduled zero. I was planning on taking a day off early in the week and it made sense today; we had a 6:30am flight from PHX to SLC and went straight to work from the airport. I wasn't waking up at 3:30am to run... been there, done that plenty of times before.

Andrea had some good thoughts yesterday about the importance of taking breaks at the end of a season (even if you don't necessarily feel like you need them). We have talked about this subject a lot recently as we plan how we want to approach 2014. I'll be the first to admit that I've historically been awful at taking downtime. I recover very quickly and really enjoy running simply for the sake of running, so I've somehow justified only taking small periods of time off. I've gotten away with it for the most part, but I know it isn't ideal - especially since I also enjoy running fast and want to get faster. In some ways I've been my own worst enemy (although those same traits are also what has made me successful). But, all of the good athletes take downtime after their seasons end, so it doesn't make sense that I would be exempt from that.

After the marathon this weekend I'm taking at least a week off, regardless of how fast/slow I run or how content/angry I am with my performance. No exceptions. This is the end of the season. Then gradually ramp up once I'm 100% recovered. I'm going to Houston in January for the USA 1/2 Championships, but I'm not going to try and squeeze in a real training cycle (or extend this one). It will just be what it ends up being. When I look at the big picture / outline / goal races for 2014, its easy to see where the natural breaks fit in at the end of each season, so I just have to hold myself accountable to actually following through on this. I want to take down periods because they serve a purpose, not as a last resort because I'm battling injuries or feeling fried. In that way, they become a crucial component of training and help facilitate incremental improvement from cycle to cycle, while also preventing training from becoming one endless cycle.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Mon, Dec 02, 2013 at 17:59:07 from 24.10.249.165

Andrea knows what she's talking about.

You must have the courage to rest Danielson!

From Jake K on Mon, Dec 02, 2013 at 19:22:59 from 67.177.11.154

Is that a quote from some famous piece of literature that I'm going to be embarrassed about because I don't recognize it? :-)

Her injury has really made me put things in perspective and hopefully we'll both train smarter going forward. That passion and discipline article I linked last week really hit home for us. She's more one way (discipline), I'm more the other (passion)... but that can play together well if we strike a balance between the two.

I feel like I've made a very intelligent shift in the past 2-3 months. Now I just want to PROVE it!

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Dec 02, 2013 at 19:34:18 from 24.10.249.165

It's the Karate Kid. It's hard for the accent to come across.

From Jake K on Mon, Dec 02, 2013 at 19:35:37 from 67.177.11.154

ahhh haha. Now I have to explain to Andrea what the Karate Kid franchise is.

From Paul on Tue, Dec 03, 2013 at 14:53:32 from 207.224.39.118

Good thoughts on downtime. I'm a big believer in it, maybe too big. :-)

On a related note, have you considered doing a training cycle or mini-cycle on low mileage. (by "low" for you, I mean ~80-90 mpw). I'm curious as to what you could do on a lower-mileage, higher-intensity cycle, given your monstrous base, to see if that might trigger any big jumps.

From Jake K on Tue, Dec 03, 2013 at 15:19:58 from 159.212.71.173

I don't know about too big. You're the only one on this list:

http://elitemarathoning.blogspot.com/p/performance-lists.html

To answer your question - yes, we're thinking along the same lines. I'm going to experiment w/ that kind of mileage this winter (or maybe I'm just being a baby ahead of time because I won't feel like doing 130 mpw during Jan/Feb?). My plan is to focus on the half-marathon for the first half of the year... run Houston, but then really try to knock out a couple good ones in March-May (Phoenix, Indy 500?). I sort of have an idea of how I want the training to flow (weather-dependent, of course), but it would have more intense work... sort of like I was doing before Indy this fall (one session per week with more of a LT emphasis, one with an AT/MP emphasis), but then also add in a true VO2-max type workout in every 14 day cycle. That's something I've been missing, and I really think I need it to make a jump in the half-marathon.

If we get enough snow and the skiing is good, I think I could easily convince myself to "only" run 80-90 mpw this winter.

From Glory in the long run on Tue, Dec 03, 2013 at 20:51:53 from 174.27.228.152

Very wise, taking a break is not because the fire has gone out. It's to stir the coals of passion so the fire can burn even brighter. The only way we even get faster is not because we run faster, but because while we rest the body can build-up from the breakddown brought on by running hard.

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