A couple of weeks ago I did a long post about the hundred mile week, and suggested something like this start to the week:
Sunday: 22-24 miles
Monday: 8-9 miles (with strides)
Tuesday: am: 13-17 miles, pm: 3-7 miles (to make 20 miles for the day)
I should just note after three weeks of this [approximate] schedule that I've been doing the long runs without gel. Like Greg McMillan I think there's a lot of benefits to be had from doing these easy, base phase, long runs without gel and getting used to running on fumes, or at least body fat rather than glycogen. Monday's run is just an easy recovery anyway, so I'm never too concerned if I feel crap then.
What is more interesting is the pattern with the Tuesday runs. While I typically feel pretty good on Tuesday morning and get through my 13-15 miles easily enough at my normal training pace, I can still feel the last effects of glycogen depletion. Rarely on Tuesday mornings do I pick it up towards the end. Long and steady. Tuesday evening is a different story. With the benefit of a 13-15 mile warmup in the morning, but more importantly, an extra 2 meals in the legs, Tuesday evening is often when I push the pace again. Last night, for example, I threw in 1.5 miles at just over marathon pace and then some surges up the hills.
Doing a longer morning run on Tuesdays means an extra 2-3 miles of running on low fuel. This is valuable, but not as much fun as an impromptu tempo run. Stopping after about 13 in the morning, and doing 7-8 in the evening means getting in more quicker stuff for the day. Different benefits from each arrangement, which is why every high mileage week should be a little different than the one before it.
Happy running.
Posted by robe0419 at January 25, 2006 9:23 AM