I took my first run in this recovery week during my lunch break and had the fortune of running amid occasional bright sun and driving snow showers. At times the sun would shine through under the clouds from the south while snow whipped down from the north. That combined with the beautiful views of the snow showers marching down the valley with the Adirondacks and Greens as a backdrop made for a very enjoyable run. 6.5 miles at a 7:35 pace.

I've talked a little about my resolution for this training season. Here are the ones I've mentioned so far:
1. Train in racing flats at least once a week.
2. Work in a few miles of walking each week.

The first resolution is intended to accomplish two things: first I hope to run Boston in racing flats so I better well get in a good amount of training in flats, second I believe training in flats will make my stride more efficient. This approach is not for everybody (in fact all readers need to determine for themselves if any advice presented on this site is appropriate for them), but I find I have fewer knee pains when I run in flats. The tradeoff is that I have more foot and shin pains. Still, I have never missed a run due to foot or shin injuries but have due to knee injuries.

The second resolution spurs from comment in a Joe Friel book. He says "There is no such thing as a recovery run" or something similar. Of course he was writing this for triathletes, not for runners. Still, there is some truth in that statement. By walking, I will help strengthen my cardiovascular system without putting a lot of stress on my joints. I expect I'll get in 4-6 miles of waling in each week or 5-10%. That is not a lot, but it feels good and it is not as if I am substituting running for walking. If I were not walking during these times I would not be running.

The third resolution is to include a recovery week every three or four weeks. During these weeks I'll cut back on my mileage by 15-20% and cut out all weight training, intervals, repetitions, and tempo runs. For now, I am building in recovery weeks every four weeks, but as the mileage and intensity of the training increases, I'll schedule recovery weeks every three weeks. There are, of course, running books that advise scheduling recovery weeks but none with the frequency or regularity advised by Joe Friel in his tri and cycling books. If you are interested in this approach, then I advise you to read his tri book, even if you are like me and only plan on running. I have a review of his book here.

Victor

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 6.5 miles
Shoes: Flash
WTD running: 6.5 miles
WTD total: 8.0 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 4:08 PM