Running For Trevor

I have some thoughts on that article... which I'll comment on tomorrow when I have more time... so remind me around noon :-)

Great article. I've read about the special blocks Canova has his runners do before and have wanted to experiment with one, but haven't yet. My problem would certainly be recovery. I get antsy going longer than two days without a hard workout. I'd likely do a special block and then want to resume normal training, which could be dangerous.

Maybe this year I will try one or two!

I am definitely interested in hearing your thoughts Jake.

Riley - I think you are the type of runner that would do well with this type of training block since your body seems to handle multiple/back to back workouts really well. The recovery part...if you could bare it may actually benefit you.

Personally, my concern is the risk of injury with stacked intensity.

I am laughing at myself..earlier i had read your blog and was curious about "THE SUPER TRAINONG BLOCKS" .i am serious when i say i thought blocks were involved! Literally. 31 miles is one huge block i dont want to jump. Will be fun to hear about you doing them though. Tough as nails u are!

Couple thoughts...

First on the general concept of the double workout. I did that quite a bit in the spring of 2012 - morning tempo runs, evening track work (simple stuff, like 200s and 400s). It was a great way to sneak in a little faster repetition work at 1500/5K paces and I ran my fastest 10K ever (by about a full minute, which I haven't come close to touching since) at the end of that spring. So from that perspective, I've had a good experience with those types of workouts.

Now, when you start talking about the real marathon "special blocks" its a different ballgame. You're looking at 25 miles of running in a day and a lot of it at a faster pace. It can't really be done haphazardly - they have to be at specific time points that make sense b/c while the potential payoffs are big, so are the risks. I plan to use this type of workout(s) maybe twice in my buildup to Grandmas. I think building up to the point of doing very long workouts consistently (like I did in the fall before CIM) should be step one, and then the special block can be introduced in the next marathon training cycle.

Some keys to it (in my opinion):

*3-4 easy days after the workout. Canova has posted a lot of the training schedules of his athletes online. Regardless of whether they are a marathoner or 1500m runner, they are always taking 3-4 easy days with no workouts except maybe some strides after the special block.

*Slow recovery runs, like Jenkins says in that article you linked.

Another thing to remember is that the Africans don't race a lot during marathon buildups. They train for 16+ weeks and don't jump in local races for workouts like we do. So these sessions sort of simulate racing for them. It can be asking a lot (of your mind) to be doing these kinds of workouts AND racing frequently.

Probably the toughest part of it - if done properly - is that you are really supposed to be AVOIDING carbs b/w the AM and PM sessions of the workout!

Like I said, I'll give this a go a couple times in the spring since I'm planning to race less. I'll try to make sure it lines up with days at work where I can come in late and have an easier day. And I'm totally fine with jogging around at 8:00 pace for 4 days afterwards, so that part of it sounds great to me. You let yourself actually adapt from a stimulus like that, and the payoffs can be pretty big.

so happy to hear we ran 8:20 pace. I was scared it was going to be 10 min pace and i would hold you guys back haha. LMK on track workouts!