[Dane]

I’m looking at running my first 50k next spring and have the next 30 weeks (or 38 depending on which race I end up getting into) to train. I was going to model my plan off of the 50k Cat 1 athlete plan in TftUA.

I’m assuming the best way to make use of the extra time is to extend the base period but I’m not quite sure how to do that. Right now it seems I have two options:

1) taking the same volume progression and just doing it over a long period of time making the weekly increases smaller

2) just continue the 7-10% increases/week suggested in the book and end up with a larger overall volume at the end

I’m 36 and have pretty much zero running history outside of what I’ve done this year (a little over 200 miles on roads and maybe 100-150 on trails) which has me leaning towards option 1. My eventual goal is a 100 mile race so long term would there be any real advantage to doing “more” than I need to for a 50k in six months?

Thanks

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on August 22, 2019 at 12:41 pm #27206

Hi Dane,

Good question. The short answer, as with many of these questions, is “it depends”. But briefly, between your two suggested options I would take the first one which describes a more gradual progression of volume. Especially if you’re just getting started in running (as you acknowledge), it’s better to creep up on bigger volumes than to assume you’ll absorb ever-increasing 10% gains without issue.

I would also suggest that given your available time before the 50km, you could afford to periodize your macrocycle, incorporate some base speed work right now (hill sprints, strides during aerobic runs, etc) and begin a regimen of muscular endurance/work capacity strength training. Both these modalities will serve you really well as you develop your running and will support bigger mileage in the future. Further, they’ll merge better into a plan which gradually builds volume versus one which tries to increase the mileage more rapidly, again risking injury or excess fatigue.

Cheers,
Sam.

[Dane]

Dane on August 23, 2019 at 12:11 pm #27277

Thanks Sam!