259. HOW LACK OF STRUCTURE MAY BE HOLDING YOU BACK

Intentional training is key to success. We all know this in regards to marathon training or half marathon training. We will try to find the perfect plan leading up to our goal race. We stick with it, we train with a purpose! We practiced our fueling. We hit the mileage. We run the workouts… But marathon training blocks are usually only 12-20 weeks long. What are we doing the other 40-32 weeks out of the calender year? Those weeks add up and they matter! A lot of athletes as we head into the offseason or winter months will throw in the towel on following a plan and instead just do what feels good or run when they want to. As a runner, you may find improvements doing this approach in the early years of your running journey, but if you are inching towards wanting to reach your potential in the sport, the law of diminishing returns will come in. You will be to be more intentional about how you train during the MAJORITY of the year not just the 16 week marathon block

1. How many miles should you be running year round?

1. MORE MILES = improved running efficiency and body adapts to the load

2. We all know this intuitively, we think people who have been running for a long time have an ‘advantage’

2. Is it appropriate to run workouts year round?

1. The types of workouts matter

2. Let's say peak training for a marathon you run 6x 1 mi workout.. During offseason this may be 3-4x 1 mile

3. What are some of the key workouts you want to keep year round?

1. Threshold

2. Top End speed/strides

3. Medium Longer runs 90-120 min

4. Setting & defining goals

1. If you don’t know what your goals are with running, you can’t actually structure training

2. You have to know the direction you want to go in