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Bernie's Advice...

Sunday, 25 November 2012 01:10

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012 (danhedgecocktri.blogspot.com)

By Dan Hedgecock

Winter Speed Work

Today is the first day of November and I'm officially starting to work my way back into training. Naturally you might assume that means that I'm building my mileage back up and getting ready to do lots of aerobic work and put in some foundational miles. Surprise! I plan on doing no such thing this winter. The next four or so months I'll be focused on technique work and low mileage with a lot of speed. This probably seems counter-intuitive, especially if you're used to the standard periodization model that most coaches and online programs prescribe. But I think most people are making a big mistake spending their off-season slogging through lots of mileage. So I've cobbled together this semi-rambling, pseudo-coaching slash training philosophy post to give you some food for thought.....

Caveat #1: Taking an extended break after your season is a good thing.

How long did you take off after your last season? A couple days? Maybe two weeks of light training? I've never taken more than two weeks of training lightly after a season before starting to get back into the groove. This year, because of travelling, I took an entire month completely off from training. I didn't run a mile, swim a yard or pedal a bike for over 4 weeks. Initially I was nervous about it, after all I just spent the last year working to get faster, I didn't want to sacrifice all that work just so I could have some fun (I literally held this mindset and realizing I did was a good wake-up call to relax a little...). Then I recently read this article from The Wall Street Journal about Bernard Lagat: 'The Secret to Running: Not Running'

You should read the article. But if you don't have time here's a synopsis: Bernard Lagat is one of the fastest mile/5k runners ever. He has run a 3:47 mile and a 12:53 5,000 meters. He also takes 4 weeks completely off after every season during which time he purposely puts on weight and doesn't run a step.

Being na