Thinking on Your Feet
smart simple realistic
by Coach Brendon
So you've downloaded the latest and greatest training plan or better yet got one personally designed for you and are all set to break your PB. Getting the most out of your body requires more than just blindly following the plan. Your have to think on your feet.
I see it all the time - if it's down on paper then it must be the right thing to do. If things are going to plan then your training program is likely to be close to what's required, it's just when you are either going better or worse than expected that things start to come unstuck.
This is where coaching really comes into play - if you don't have a coach then it's about self coaching and even if you have a coach they are not always going to be there with you making the decisions about what to do. You need to think on your feet.
Like all coaches I rely on the athlete to provide reliable accurate information about how they feel and what they are capable of doing.
The best athletes I have worked with have been extremely good at self monitoring, modifying their plan and getting the best out of their body. This is irrespective of ability - I have seen some very average athletes do a wonderful job of modifying their plans based on how they feel and subsequently squeezing a lot more out of themselves than some very talented athletes.
Work your plan based on how you feel
Let's say that you are 3 weeks away from running a Marathon and you have planned to do a key session of 5 reps of 6-9 minutes at projected marathon race pace. If you feel really good are absolutely flying you may go to the upper end of the plan = 5x9min. If you feel good but not unexpectedly so, maybe you go 5x8min. If you feel average then it would be 5x7min and if you feel a little below par but not overly tired 5x6min. That's why I like to offer a range for key workouts when I coach, as it gives athletes the power to choose based on how they are going. Your best bet is to gauge how you feel at the start of the session and go into the set with a realistic idea of what you can do.
Further to this, you may complete your warm up and feel good, start doing these reps and run the first one going 8min - at this point you should ask yourself the question "if I run the remaining 4 reps how will I feel?" If you don't feel at this point that you are going to be able to manage another 4 you may decide to cut the remaining reps back to 7min each. Another scenario is that you get to the end of the 4th rep and have had to start to dig a little deep - maybe this is the time to back off.
The lesson here is don't be afraid to change midway through a session - you may feel good upon starting training but find that you just don't have the legs or that your heart rate is elevated at your usual training pace. Take note of these things, if you don't listen to your body and keep pushing, you may just end up digging a big hole for yourself. It's about being realistic and it's a hard lesson to learn - I think its one of the reasons that older, more experienced people do better in distance running. Dig too deep and you may just make yourself slower.
What to do if you get sick
OK so you're sick. Just how sick you are will determine what you can and can't do. The usual approach by medics is to suggest stopping training altogether. Clearly information is key so get to the Dr and get a diagnosis - if it's viral and you have achy or throbbing joints or muscles don't train. If you have a head cold you may be better off training. The rule I use is if its neck up, I consider still doing some light training. I find that doing nothing throws my body into further shut down mode and often I get sicker.
Note that if you are unsure what's wrong and you have no energy - don't train. Contact your coach and see your doctor.
Where you are in your training plan may also play a role in determining whether to train or not. If you are in a recovery period, you may need to increase the length of the recovery period - after all you may not have been able to recover while your body deals with being sick.
Let's say that you do your long run on a Tuesday and on the next day, Wednesday, you get sick and can't train. By Thursday you don't feel too bad but you don't feel 100%, nor recovered, and you had a medium distance run planned with some hill reps and drills; consider cutting back the session to a shorter easy jog still with the drills, so long as you can maintain good form. Friday is a rest day and you are back on track on Saturday. You may need to keep a close eye on yourself and see how you are going later in the week too. I find lot of people can train through a cold but then the slower recovery catches up with them 7-10 days later - you need be careful about ramping back up to your usual training as you recover from a cold or flu.
If sickness forces you to miss a key workout, you may need to modify the remaining part of your plan. Long runs may need to be modified, especially early in a Marathon program when building up the distance of the long run. Upcoming speed sessions may need to be revised. These are generally very dependent on having done the previous weeks speed work.
What to do when injured
Again information is key. Get good information on the injury, especially if it's new and you are unsure of exactly what's wrong. A good physio and/or a sports doctor can be invaluable. For many injuries a podiatrist can be very helpful too. Make sure you discuss the return to training process. It's not about being able to walk freely, it's about being able to train at the pre-injury level. A serious injury may require a special plan to slowly bring you carefully back up. I write a lot of these plans as quite a few athletes need an injury to encourage them to get a coach!
In this situation work closely with your coach and your physio - get the physio's opinion to your coach and don't be afraid to start back into your plan slowly. Most runners don't do an easy test run to check how things are going - 10min close to home is a good test. Don't start back with 30min.
More often than not most runners make the mistake of going right back into their plan and end up injured again. Modifying the whole remaining plan can be a lifesaver as it can take away the pressure that athletes feel to ramp it up and get back to where they were quickly. Remember, it's just a plan on paper and was written before you got injured! What's best from this point on is dependent on this changed situation. Take a step back and be objective again, think about what's realistically going to be safely manageable.
A treadmill is often a great way to return to running as you can control the speed and you are more likely to do a good slow warm up and slowly lift the pace. Look for a treadmill that has good shock absorbing ability (sprung); when you land they give a little. You can also stop the instant you have a problem, no need to walk back to your house or car.
Training and Travel
Travel is one of the things that really gets in the way of my training and for a lot of busy working people it's often a key problem to overcome.
Firstly, knowing in advance that you are traveling means you can schedule some rest time between any hard sessions and travel. I made this mistake earlier in the year and ran a very hard 2 hour run on the day before traveling 14 hours across Europe - I never recovered! Account for long haul air travel in your plan like you would for a hard training session - tough but practical. Note too that travel combined with work is a real killer of recovery. For example, if you jump on a plane and fly to Melbourne for work and then jump on a plane at the end of the day and fly home, you may as well treat that day as not existing for recovery - you are likely to end the day more tired than you are on a normal day with a solid run. Work trips like this are really tough and may be harder than flying across the pacific and getting a good night sleep on a plane.
Training and Sleep
Ok so you can't sleep or have a really disturbed few nights sleep and then you force yourself up at 5am to get in your run for the day or you force yourself out the door after a hard day at work. I think in this situation that it's often best to still run but consider a shorter easier run - if you can't get yourself out the door because you have no energy, a good sleep and rescheduling the remaining part of your week may be the best answer. For example, if you normally have Monday and Fridays as rest days and you can't get in Thursdays run, consider doing a light run on Friday instead - the only issue then is watching that the 3 days of running in a row (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) are not going to overload you. If it's only a 30min jog added in on the Friday and it's unlikely to leave you tired for Saturday, then it's a good option.
Sleep really needs to be watched when you have several nights below your usual requirements. Chronic sleep loss slows recovery. I know this because I have raced really well on little sleep but when I am burning the candle at both ends of the day for 3 to 4 days, then my training suffers. Sleep requirements and the impact on training is quite variable between individuals. So it's about monitoring what's working for you. If you feel tired and know you are getting less than usual, consider cutting back and getting more sleep - this may just help make you faster.
In summary, there are a lot of things that can enhance the quality of your training and recovery. Learn to listen to your body and it will thank you for it come race day - reap the rewards by thinking on your feet!