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Breaking Out of Stagnation: Five Tips
Jeff GallowayFor the Washington Running Report
John was frustrated. For three years he had followed a successful speed work program without improving his 10K time of 36:15. Instead of giving up, he decided to shift into my marathon program. After about three months , he jumped into a local 10K and was pleasantly surprised to run 34:43!
Most runners go through periods of no improvement, often when they seem to be doing everything right. Let's look at the lessons in John's success story which can help others break out of those frustrating periods of stagnation.
More Rest Needed
Tiredness is one of the main reasons for lack of improvement. John's marathon program forced him to rest two days a week - a significant change from his normal six or seven day running week. After a month or so, he noticed that his legs felt fresher and more responsive. The extra days off allowed him to recover from the longer long runs of his marathon program. Before most runners break out of their stagnation, they must provide rest for legs that have been pushed too hard for too long.
A Longer Long Run
While in his 10K phase, John's longest long run was 12 miles. By the time he ran his new PR, he had increased that long one to 17 miles. The extra endurance from that longer one allowed him to sustain a harder pace for a longer time in the 10K.
Slower Long Runs -- Every Other Week
When John ran his weekly 12 mile long runs for the 10K, he ran them less than a minute slower than his 10K pace. When he shifted into marathon training, he ran long every other week, allowing the legs to rest. His 12 milers had been run too fast and kept him from recovering. The marathon long runs were 1 1/2 minutes per mile slower than the pace of his 12 milers.
Less Speed work
During his 10K training, John ran two speed workouts each week. - More anaerobic work served to keep the legs dead. During his marathon training, John had no structured speed work each week. On the non-long-run weekends, he had started running repeat miles which improved his endurance/speed for the 10K.
Fine-Tuning
So that he wouldn't lose the good form he'd developed while training for the 10K, John added a few light accelerations to one or two of his easy runs during the week. After an easy mile or so of warm-up, he would pick up the turnover of his feet (never sprinting) for 50-100 yards. Depending upon how he felt, John would run 4-8 of these invigorating pick-ups.
Above all, John took the pressure off himself and had fun. He regained the pleasure of each run and looked forward to each one. The challenge of the long run and the experiences along the way put John back on the positive track.
Olympian Jeff Galloway is the author of Galloway's Book on Running, Return of the Tribes to Peachtree Street, and Marathon! and is a monthly columnist in Runner's World. His low mileage marathon training program is in 30 plus cities in North America.