feargalf said:Background: soon-to-be 40 year old male planning to run my
first 10K on 03-May. Started training for it in late
February and followed a training plan that advocated
building up stamina through alternating short runs with
breaks for walking and recovery, e.g. Run for 4 minutes,
walk for 2 equals 6 minutes by 5 repetitions. After 2
weeks of this I did 'something' to my ankle so haven't
felt able to run for the last 2 weeks. Went out today and
managed 10+2+8+2+6 (run 10, walk 2, run 8, etc.) Ankle
feels OK
Challenge: 4 weeks to go to the 10Kand I'm way off the
training schedule,
i.e. I should be running for 30 minutes without a break at
this stage.
Question: Any advice for how I should schedule the next 4
weeks to be able to run 10K without a break. My goal for
this race is completion - I don't have a target time.
All advice appreciated.
Let's look at the numbers (and I only have what you posted -
no prior background information). You didn't indicate if you
had any earlier running or fitness type background (like mt
biking, xc skiing, etc). You didn't indicate approximately
how far your present routine this gets you, but for a
starting point, I'm going to guess you may take about 1 hr
or so (give or take 10 min) for 10k. That means you're about
half way (maybe less) there for duration. You're recovering
from an injury that you seem to have gotten after only 2
wks. A general rule of thumb is to not increase your "long"
run or weekly duration (or mileage) more than 10% every
other week - on average. Generally people may taper a week
or so before a race, where they back off on the volume to
recover. This may or may not be needed in your case. Only
you know your recovery time.
That is, you'll end up short on distance / duration almost
any way you train using usual guidelines - which may or may
not be appropriate.
Is it only running that causes the problem? Can you walk
longer? Is the topography you're training on similar to
what the race will be - flat, hilly? (Hilly may take more
energy but more forgiving of muscle overuse.) Are you out
of breath when you take the walk break? If so, slowing down
the run portion to a conversational pace may make things go
more easily.
If 30 min run/walk (or walk only) is a challenge for you now
(not sure if it's aerobic conditioning or legs/feet being
tired), you might want to consider a 10k later (or maybe a
5k option if one is offered). Or if you can walk that
distance / duration, then just continue building the
run/walk as you've been doing (without the ankle injury),
and wing it on race day with that same ratio. But if you're
coming from a sedentary background with little other
activity, I'm not sure that's a good idea.
Note: the walk breaks provide a *lot* of recovery, so it's
possible you *might* be able to build a little faster
than a usual running program. BUT the fact that you
were injured within 2 wks of starting a run/walk
program is raising red flags in my eyes. But maybe
there's an explanation, like tripping on a curb or
going waay too fast for your level.
I would *NOT* try to make up the missed sessions in your
original plan. Just adjust your goals and perhaps walk more
of it than you had originally planned - at least to start,
and see how things feel. Or postpone. And if you have more
experience than what the post suggests, then you may want to
ignore comments.
Just my thoughts. Caveat: I have no 10k running race
experience (but have done longer duration multisport)
Good luck.
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd
Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
