Using only 2 stressor workouts per week

Several posts ago, I mentioned that for this training cycle I limited my stressor workouts to two per week. One was a long run, and the other was a fourteen mile tempo run.

Going in to my Charleston Marathon I had no idea if this type of training cycle was going to work for me. A side from the two stressor workouts I was averaging about 80 miles per week, and during my taper, I eased the mileage back to 70 miles per week. This was it. There were no other hard workouts in my schedule.

Now, the report is in.

In my opinion, this was one of my best training cycles to date. I felt fresh standing at the starting line. Each passing mile, I continued to feel good. This was in stark contrast to my typical marathon experience. Usually, between 23 and 26 miles, my hamstrings will start to cramp. They have never cramped enough that I am forced to stop. They just feint enough of a cramp to tell me that they are very close to the end of their rope. Saturday, they gave me no issues what so ever. Even thou, I ran 28+ miles with my little off course excursion.  

With no more marathons on the horizon, I now plan to focus on shorter races. I would like to do a few ½ marathons this later spring. I have been turning over the training needed for them in my head, but one thing is for sure. I plan to keep this training model for the near future.

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner