Happy New Year!

New running year, that is, which (at least for me) runs more or less from one Thanksgiving to the next. As is customary at the turn of the Gregorian calendar, it’s time to take stock of the season just concluded, and look forward to the next.

Here are annual volume totals for the past season, as well as 2007-08:

2009 – 139.5 hours (126 land/13.5 pool); 10 races (eight 5K, two 5M); 90 injury days

2008 – 163 hours; 12 races (ten 5K, two 5M); 0 injury days, 19 sick days

2007 – 93.8 hours; 6 races (five 5K, one 5M); 104 injury days

Given the two injury periods, I can’t be too unhappy with results from 2009, since I nearly made my 5K goal of 20:40, and surely would have come very close to the 5M goal (34:10) had there been an event of that length available in late October/early November. Thus, it would seem that with uninterrupted training, perhaps another 20 seconds of improvement in 5K time can be realized, so for 2010, the goal-predictions are:

5K – 20:30
5M – 33:50
13.1 miles – 1:35-1:37

For the immediate future, I hope to train consistently as possible through whatever good weather remains in 2009, and then during the snows of January and February. That’s really where the foundation for any consistent success is laid.

With respect to training objectives, I hope to consistently hit 6 hours per week when the weather is better, and perhaps 180+ hours for the season.

The plan for 2009

“The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” —Winston Churchill

The previous year is likely to have the most potent bearing on performance development, followed by the season before that, and so on; each is built on the one immediately prior, and 2008 was a good campaign in which training went smoothly through the winter months, but was disrupted by a 3-week fight with a severe infection in May that left me weakened and 5.5 kg lighter (from 71.5 to 66 kg, a 7.7% loss). Training resumed on June 1 and proceeded consistently for the rest of the annual cycle (i.e., through Thanksgiving), leading to a reduction in 5K PR from 22:40 to 21:18, an improvement of 6%. The illness turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the weight loss became permanent, and translated into an almost equivalent increase in performance velocity, therefore there was likely no significant improvement in absolute aerobic power. Volume totals for the year were 162 hours/1180 miles, in 262 workouts.

2007 was the first full year of dedicated running, but with a long break from January 29 – May 14 due to an adductor strain. Volume came to 93.8 hours/685 miles in 170 workouts.

In 2006, training was more or less continuous from July 5 through December 3, with a 2-week break due to sharp lower left leg pain at the end of September, which left as mysteriously as it had appeared. The totals were 50.45 hours/371.2 miles in 92 workouts.

Performance benchmarks for these years were

2006
5K – 22:40 (11/23)
5M – n/a
13.1 miles – n/a

2007
5, 000m (track) – 21:56 (11/19)
5M – 39:11 (9/1)
13.1 miles – n/a

2008
5K – 21:18 (10/26, 11/27)
5M – 36:15 (8/30)
13.1 miles – n/a

For 2009, I plan on essentially repeating the 2008 program (a watered-down version of the Lydiard method), but without any sickness, the aerobic conditioning (base) phase could be finished by June. Then will come ~3 weeks of hill training, followed by 2-3 weeks of anaerobic capacity training (interval training on the track, e.g. 10 x 400 meters). This will lead to a peak for some of the local 5K and 5-mile runs in September. After that, perhaps a half-marathon in November.

Two changes from 2009 are planned:

1. For the base phase, a new pattern of 4 days on/1 day off. 6 days straight with 1 day of rest tend to leave me somewhat fatigued, while 5 on/2 off (with the rest days either consecutive or interspersed among the 5 “on” days – which is the same as 3 on/1 off, 2 on/1 off) seems too easy. 4 on/1 off represents a middle ground, an average of 5.6 runs per week.

2. Add some variety in week 3 of the anaerobic capacity training period – after 2 weeks of 10 x 300m workouts (each 48 hrs. apart), either move straight to ‘sharpeners’ (100m on/100m off windsprints), or else some longer intervals (e,g, 6 x 800m). Last year, the same-old same-old became a bit too much by the third week.

The goal-predictions for 2009 are

5K – 20:40
5M – 34:30
13.1 miles – 1:37-1:39

Goals→predictions

“The journey is more important than the destination.” —Source unknown

“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” —Arthur Ashe

“Accomplishment will prove to be a journey, not a destination.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower

All of the above are applicable to athletic endeavors as cautionary maxims, yet goals are necessary to give direction to and validate the journey; without them, it’s not even a journey, it’s just aimless wandering that goes nowhere. How would it have been if Moses had hauled up short of the Promised Land and said, “This is as far as we go, folks, it’s been a great character building/learning experience”? No, that wouldn’t seem to do at all. And would the Israelites’ journey have been anywhere as meaningful had it been for something other than their freedom…say, maybe, because the beaches were better in Palestine? Hardly.

Goals must be clearly defined and measurable, challenging yet within reach, and can range from immediate workout objectives (e.g., negative split each tempo run, don’t let long runs be too hard, etc.); to seasonal aims which could include both performance and training goals (e.g., reach a new level of training volume); and finally to long range, developmental plans, or what you ultimately want to achieve.

Even so, goal-setting should be approached with a measure of wariness, since things can go wrong, plans can change as “life” intervenes, etc. Even when injury and illness are avoided and training goes well, a plateau is sometimes encountered, especially by more fully developed runners. All of this can lead to disappointment if you’ve invested too heavily in the goals you have chosen, and judge the season only by whether you reach them.

That’s where the foregoing observations come into play. Just do your best each day, training in a consistent, progressive, and intelligent manner, keeping things fresh and fun while dealing with any setbacks that arise, and the rest will usually take care of itself.

So rather than calling them goals, I decided to make something more like predictions for the 2009 season, if things go well. They’ll be discussed in the next entry.