Going Green
Imaginary Friend : “What this, have you turned into some kind of tree hugger ??”
Me : “No, no, no, I don’t mean I’ve become some kind of tree hugger – no, I like burning fossil fuels as much as the next person – no, I mean turning all the spreadsheet boxes green by meeting my training goals / mileage.”
Imaginary Friend (to second imaginary friend) : “What is he on about, turning boxes green ??”
Me : “Okay, let’s start again – I put together a training plan for myself. 16 weeks with daily and weekly mileage targets. I have columns for the targets and the ‘actual’, if the ‘actual’ is more than (or the same as) the target then the box turns green – if not then it stays Amber. Each week is then totted up and if the weekly ‘actual’ is more than (or the same as) the target then the box turns green, if not it goes red.”
Imaginary Friend : “Why does the daily go amber and the weekly red ??”
Me : “We’ll I’m not too concerned about missing one of the daily targets, so it goes amber as a ‘warning’ – but missing a weekly target is more of a cause for concern, hence the red.”
Imaginary Friend : “Why even bother with a training plan ??”
Me : “Good question. I’ve always gone on ‘feel’ before, but I need to get serious if I am to complete the Thames Path 100 – going on feel is very susceptible to ‘tired legs today, I’ll just do the 3 miles’”
Imaginary Friend : “What’s in the ‘colourful’ training plan then, give us a look”
Me : “Here you go.” [click image to see full size version]
Me : “I’ve been fairly consistently running 40 – 50 mile weeks this year, so I have a reasonable base. I’m trying to get more time on my feet and get more used to running on tired legs. I’m pretty busy between this, work and family, so whole day runs are difficult to arrange, therefore I’m trying to go with more back to backs and long mid week efforts. I’m building to 100 mile week and then cutting back, followed by building again – I’m told that is the best way, and not going over 30 apparently helps with injury prevention.
I might also try and swap a long effort for a really long effort (40 – 50 miles) if time and circumstance allow.
I want to get to a state where 20 miles is (relatively) ‘easy’ and I am used to doing it, no matter how tired my legs… “
Imaginary Friend : “Tons of people on the internet know way more about this kind of thing than you do – you know, like real ultra runners – why not post it on your blog and ask them to comment on it”
Me : Hey, that’s not a bad idea…”
So, I’d love to hear your feedback (in the comments below) – is it enough ? not enough ? too much ? are the long runs long enough ? Your thoughts much appreciated.