Training for several events

[whichwaytothepub]

Just been putting a few dates in the calendar, and it seems I'm going to have a busy summer.

25 April - Sheffield Half or 2 May - Great West Run
9 June - Blaydon Race (5.7 miles)
12/13 June - LAMM
3 July - Chevy Chase (20 mi & 4000 feet)
?18 July - Northumberland Coastal Run (~14 miles)
18 Sep - Great North Run
?17 Oct - Kielder Marathon
?30/31 Oct - OMM
14 Nov - 10k
Dec - Simonside Cairns (11 miles & 1800 feet)

Does anyone have any tips for arranging some sort of logical training schedule to meet all these needs (all the while fitting in holidays, including a possible 2 weeks in the Alps during the summer)? I'm particularly concerned about how to train for road running and fells at the same time.

Typical felll runs are 5/ 8 miles (more if I add twiddly bits) and I rarely get on the fells more than twice a week. Should I treat these as extra miles, or can they count towards my long slow run or hill-work. Is 8 miles on the fells 'worth' the same as 11 miles on the flat? (It certainly feels like it).

I know I'm going to have to prioritise. I guess the shorter runs can take care of themselves. I'm not too worried about speed in the GNR, as it will be en-route to a marathon. Building up the miles for the LAMM and Chevy will be the big task.

Current plan is to follow a fairly standard half marathon schedule, but with a good 1/3 to 1/2 of the miles on the fells. This leaves me 7 weeks to recover, build mileage, and taper for the LAMM. Sound reasonable?

At the moment I'm doing between 15 and 25 miles per week. What do I need to be doing for the LAMM and Chevy?

[Derby Tup]

Think you've got to decide what's important. Do you want to do well at the road races, on the MMs or is the big focus the marathon, later in the year?

What you're trying to do this year generally doesn't seem too bad apart from a MM two weeks after Kielder. That might be interesting unless you increase your training

Incidentally I think I saw that there's possiby going to be a ballot for Kielder. I don't know if that was a cynical ploy to encourage interest but there's no guarantee you'll get a place if there is a ballot

[mr brightside]

Don't really know how to advise you but it looks like an exciting schedule so do enjoy it and don't get injured.

[whichwaytothepub]

Thanks.

The first priority is to get the miles under my belt so that I can keep up with my much fitter partner on the LAMM (I let him talk me into doing the B this year). If I survive that and the Chevy, then the rest of the summer will take care of itself.

Aware of the Kielder problem. Apparently only 1000 places, and I'm not sure if it's a genuine ballot or if they want to screen entrants so that they get full 'value for money' for the inaugural. Entry closes in a couple of weeks, so I'll find out soon enough!

I hadn't really consideered the lack of break between Kielder and the OMM. Given that it would be my first marathon, I suspect two weeks won't be nearly enough.

[wolley tha]

I know I'm going to have to prioritise.

Have you tried assigning each race to a category, e.g. A, B, C? It's hard to put a race into the C category because we all like to think every race is important but sometimes it's necessary. For example I did a 13 mile trail race a week before the Titterstone Clee/Long Mynd weekend. I assigned both the fell races to category 'A' but the trail race was only 'C'. In the event I did fairly well in it but did not put myself under any pressure. Of course you then end up wondering why you do so many races, but so long as they are not limited entry it is possible to treat some races as training runs. I agree with DT that it can help to have a focus. Do you use periodisation to structure your training and racing year?

[novice]

. Do you use periodisation to structure your training and racing year?

Whats that?

[wolley tha]

Periodisation involves splitting the year or half year (which becomes the macro cycle, and might have a long term goal) into several shorter periods (or meso cycles) of say 6-8 weeks to achieve shorter-term goals. The micro cycle is then the weekly or perhaps two-weekly training regime. The shorter term goals would be significant races. The two-weekly training regime allows you to do perhaps speed work in one week and hill work in the second week. I mean serious full-on efforts - intervals or repetitions - where you need a day or so for recovery.