It is April - time to start triathlon training, and my whole
Now I am a FIRST 3+2 runner.
"FIRST 3+2" means three quality weekly run workouts plus "cross-training" sessions.
There is a whole book on this program too -
People feel remarkably passionate about these variations in training programs - check out this coach vilifying the FIRST program (I am endlessly fascinated that people can get so worked up about variations in endurance training).
I suppose FIRST is not optimal for most people, but for a "Runner with a cross-training problem" as a triathlon teammate once called me, the FIRST method appears to be something of a fit. I mean if there is ANYONE on the planet that is good candidate for the RUN LESS / RUN FASTER program it is me --
- I am a triathlete focusing mostly on running races
- I have experienced more injury problems from increasing mileage than increasing speed
- I have developed efficiency after years of running
- I get bored doing too much volume training
I still cannot really reconcile the 80/20 running with any of the triathlon programs I have tried to follow-- as I have complained about in All Intensity, All the Time post -- ALL the real triathlon workouts are intense for me, with the only aerobic training being warm-ups and cool-downs.
So here is a snapshot of my APRIL running with roughly 3-4 quality runs per week -- the long runs always included speed toward the end of the session, and most of my Tuesday runs included some bounding drills. Notably I am back down to only around 40 kilometers per week of running:
And here is the snapshot of the same training month with all the swim and bike training sessions included (in blue and lavender bubbles):
For the most part my body feels better on this program.
With that much biking and swimming, I think that 3 good runs a week is plenty.
ReplyDeleteHow do you do 10K on Saturday from only the hill workout?
10-11h of training per week is impressive and probably helps staying away from injuries! Stuart McI has a similar run/Swim schedule and has recently improved significantly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for encouragement you guys. Yeah the short hill repeat session turns into a relatively long run for me given my warmup run from apartment, then run to Starbucks after main session, and then finally jog home again. Maybe I should add a bit more mileage and make the hill session my "long run" too and free up Sunday for a long bike ride like all the other real triathletes do (but seems like Sunday quality run session is key variable).
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