Hi Runners! I was rereading an article in the Nov 09 Running Times. I thought it was an appropriate story to get us all thinking about the upcoming training session. Lorraine Moller writes,
“There’s s story told about Arthur Lydiard and his golden boys at the ’64 Olympics in Toyko. Down at the training track, with their rivals looking on, they ran an impressive interval session of 20 quarters. The next day one of these opponents, a talented interval-trained Canadian in his first Olympics, showed up at the track with his coach and proceeded to run the same session. Lydiard’s boys cheered him on as he ran each interval faster than the last. When it was all done a reporter asked Lydiard what he thought of the kid’s workout. ‘I think it was the last nail in his coffin.’ Lydiard replied.
‘But your boys ran the same session yesterday.’
‘Yes, but my boys needed it.’
Perfectly peaked, Lydiard’s protégé, Peter Snell, won two gold medals. His Teammate, John Davies, won a bronze. The Canadian who has eclipsed the Kiwis’ training run with his own failed to advance to the finals in his event – as Lydiard has predicted.”
Training season is upon us. Hopefully you have had a great off season running for fun, but giving your bodies the rest when it needed it. If you haven’t been doing that, be smart with the next month or so!
Now is time to start thinking about what races you would like to do in 2013. When will training start for you? What did you learn from racing last year? What will you do differently this year? What mileage do you want to hit? Do you want to take the distance up—5k to 10k—10k to a ½ marathon…who knows maybe this is your marathon year?….Whatever you decide to do this year, runners is up to you. Remember throughout your journey to be mindful of your bodies. Why is a workout being prescribed? Given your body condition, will you benefit from it? Remember a good running performance starts with a strong connection between your mind and body. You cannot run well if you don’t listen to how your body is responding to your workouts. Run hard, run smart, regen well, and fuel your body for the work you make it do! Here’s to a good running season in 2013!
Hey Court! This will be my second “season” as a “legit runner.” I started experiencing knee pain in mid/late December and am not 100% better – today was my first run without significant pain! Prior to the knee pain, I had very loft goals about PRs for a 5k, 10 miler, and 1/2 marathon. I still think I can PR in all of those things between now and June (I have only run one of each – the 5k 1.5 years ago and the 10 miler 1 year ago, so I know even an ‘easy’ pace now would beat those PRs) but am thinking I need to go into “maintenance mode” and emphasis speed work much less than I had originally planned until I really feel 100%. So, this post was a great reminder that it’s totally okay to take it easy. If 2012 isn’t my year to break all my records, maybe 2013 will be 🙂
Sara,
I’m so glad my post hit home for you. Despite all the great running programs out there, you yourself are your best coach. No one else knows your body the way you do. When we are hurt it is really easy to think “I feel better than yesterday, maybe I should push it.” That will most likely lead you to feeling as sore as you did the day before. I would definitely focus on building a solid running base with easy miles until you feel 100%.
What is your strength routine like? Do you do any strength training and/or yoga?
Court, I have a regular strength routine that includes most major muscle groups (lunges, squats, bicep curls, tricep dips, some ab work, etc.) which I normally do 2-3x per week but I’ve definitely been slacking off the month of January, and am going to try to get better about getting back into the habit of doing strength this month! As for yoga, as much as I know it would be good for me I just can’t seem to get into it. I’ve also been trying to do more cross training – swimming, spin class, etc. 🙂
Hi Sara,
I’m glad to hear you have a normal strength routine. You may want to try yoga in your next off season. You might be surprised that you are able to build up your strength around your knees and hips to help prevent further injury. Make sure with your strength routine you do 1 sided exercises (1 legged squats, lunge to curl with one side at a time, 1 legged rdl ect) The 1 sided exercises help build your obliques and help with hip stability to help you protect your knees 🙂