6 Interesting Training Tidbits

My mileage has been high lately which has meant a lot of podcast listening time! I thought I’d share some interesting points I heard. Some I already knew, some were new, but I thought all were worth repeating here. Especially the 3 for 1 rule!

Just a little time to kill on the roads last week 🙂

• Once you lose your fast-twitch muscles, you can’t get them back.
• Jumping rope is a great way to fit in plyometrics without a lower risk of injury.
• 3 for 1 rule: If you’re ahead of an even-split pace by one minute at the 1/2 marathon mark, you’ll almost always lose 3 minutes off the original goal finish time.

Yes! That’s why I will always advocate for trying to even split or even negative split a marathon! I don’t believe “banking” time works, and the Running Rogue coaches agree with me.

• Carmen Troncoso, elite Masters runner and coach, on what age or when people should consider their best times are behind them: It’s all individual and not necessarily based on age alone. You have about 12 years of really hard work in you.

Think about it… where does that put you?

• As you age, your workouts shouldn’t really change. What changes is the number of recovery days you take afterwards.

At 25, you can do 2.5 hard days each 7 days. As a Masters runner, consider stretching that to 2.5 to 3 hard workouts days in 10 days. Same work, just more easy recovery days in between (including more cross training).

The interval workouts themselves don’t need to change, nor the recovery in between intervals. The times will be slower as you age, naturally, but the effort will be the same.

• If you’re a lower mileage person, one way to increase the overall stress of your training week without adding mileage is to do a long hard workout on Saturday and follow that up with a long run (perhaps a shorter long run that might be typical for a long run).

Your turn: Any reaction to the statements above? Would love to hear your thoughts.

What are some interesting tips or tidbits you’ve come across in the last week?

From podcasts: Running Rogue, Episode #63: Masters Running and Episode #5: Marathon Race Planning.