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Friday, June 15, 2012

Should I modify my training plan already? Help or thoughts needed!

Help! I am already having doubts about my new training plan, and I don't know what to do.

For the longest time, my training week looked something like this:

SUN MON TUES WEDS THURS FRI SAT
Long Run Yoga
30-Minute Elliptical
Yoga
6K Row
6-Mile Run 6K Row 6-Mile Run REST

This really worked for me.  When I started this new training cycle, I added an element that I have never formally done before, namely speed work.  Oh sure, I had thrown in some intervals once in a while on my own before, but nothing scheduled and nothing remotely resembling what speed work really looks like (at least to my mind).  So, here's my new training plan, and this is what a typical two weeks are supposed to look like:


Sunday still has the long miles, indicated by the little number in the corner.  Monday's elliptical got sidelined to fit in rowing.  TT indicates Track Time, and I think the rest is pretty much the same.

The reason I am all of the sudden plagued by doubts is that I am SORE.  I just started Track Time this week, I followed that up with my typical Wednesday morning group run, and I am still a little sore from that - and it's Friday! Hubby expressed doubts about the Wednesday run originally when he saw this new schedule, but he said to just see how it went. Ideally, though, he thought I should do track Tuesday, rowing Wednesday, and my other mid-week run on Thursday.

So, what were my reasons for sticking with the Wednesday run?  Well, mostly because it is my one group run a week, and I really enjoy doing it.  Secondly, I have gotten used to - and I think it is important - to do a couple of hour-long runs during the week.  I guess I was worried that if I do Track Time, it won't equate to that hour I have gotten used to.

Ugh.  Honestly, thinking about all this makes my head hurt, so I am going to lay out some random thoughts in bullet point....Anyone who has ANY advice for me, I would so greatly appreciate it!  Here goes:

  • I love the Wednesday runs and hate to give them up, but I can if I have to
  • Better to do the speedwork on Tuesday and cross-train Wednesday?
  • Is it really potentially damaging to continue trying to run Wednesday?
  • Should I ignore the soreness I feel in my left glute and hamstring and just assume that is normal? Continue the wait-and-see policy?
  • If I drop the Wednesday run, I could show up to TT early and get in a mile or two of warm-ups to get the mileage/time I am used to.  Is that beneficial, or stupid? 
  • Since speed work is so new, should I drop the idea of getting in that hour?  Is that really that important anyway?
  • Continue the Wednesday runs, but really make sure I do short and slow recovery run?
  • Adding track time without modifying one or both of the other two runs during the week would result in more mileage than I am used to, and that seems sketchy to me.

Looking at these bullets, I think I am asking the same question basically in different ways over and over again.  Really, should I continue the Wednesday run or not?  If I were to completely rework the schedule, then it would probably mean Monday, Wednesday, and Friday would be rowing days (this would ADD a day of rowing, but not an extra day of exercise a week). Tuesdays would be Track Time, Thursdays would be tempo runs, Saturdays I might be able to make my long runs, and then Sunday would be for rest.  This would only be for the summer after all.  Once Track Time is done, I could go back to my previous schedule.

Again, please weigh in if you have any thoughts on this at all.....THANKS!

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