Hi, folks. It’s Kelvin here. We Run coach for Leeds and surrounding areas, as well as online coaching.
In this little video, I’m going to share some thoughts on flatter training structures with consistent, predictable weeks.
What Are Flatter Training Structures?
First, let’s explain what I mean by that.
When we think of flatter structures, we think about looking at our training volume over months, so longer periods of time. The volume within that is quite similar. We will get some weeks that are a little bit more, some weeks that are a little bit less, and we might have little builds towards events, little tapers and things like that, but the structure is relatively flat.
Making weeks consistent and predictable means doing similar things, or at least following a similar structure, each week.
I’ll use myself as an example. I take Monday off. Tuesday is easy with strides. Wednesday is a workout. Thursday is off, and when I’m training for more mountainous events, it might have some gym-based uphill work, like uphill treadmill with a weighted vest or a StairMaster. Friday is super easy. Saturday is my long run that usually has some intensity in it, and Sunday is a mid-length run.
Monday off. Tuesday strides. Wednesday workout. Thursday flexible day. Friday super easy. Saturday long run. Sunday mid-length run.
Monday off. Tuesday strides. You get the picture. I’m doing a very similar thing over and over again.
Why Consistency Matters
If someone looks at my training over the last 12 weeks, so three months, it’s probably somewhere between 47 to 52 miles a week, with the odd week that’s a little bit more and the odd week that’s a little bit less. The volume looks very similar.
The training load within that is a light progression, but not too steep, and that’s adjusted by how much intensity I put into it.
What this means is I’ve got some predictability in my training. I’m looking for my legs to feel pretty fresh on my Wednesday workout and on my Saturday long run.
That helps me manage how my legs are feeling, because that’s a really important part of training, not just when we’re training, but also when I get up in the morning. I walk downstairs, walk back upstairs, do a few little jumps, and get a general feel for what my legs are doing. Are they ready to do a workout?
Using Predictability to Guide Training
Every Tuesday run and every Friday run helps me build a picture of what that Wednesday and Saturday workout might look like.
If I get to Tuesday and my legs feel absolutely great, and I look a little bit further ahead to my Saturday workout as well, and maybe I’ve not got an absolute monster workout there, I know that I’m in a good position to possibly push on the Wednesday.
I’ll only know that in the warm-up.
When I start that warm-up for my Wednesday workout, I’m checking in on my heart rate, how my legs feel when I do a few strides, and how I feel on the first couple of reps before I decide, “Actually, I still feel pretty good, so today’s the day to push.”
That’s when I’ll push a little bit on that workout.
Knowing When to Ease Off
Exactly the opposite is true as well.
If I get to Tuesday, do my strides and my legs just feel a bit flat, or maybe I feel a little bit of a twinge or a niggle, I’ll park that information and revisit it when I’m warming up on Wednesday.
If my legs are still feeling flat, chances are I’ll still do the workout, but I’ll soften it a little bit. Occasionally, I might skip the workout.
Looking for Trends Over Time
I’m using quite a flat profile and quite a predictable structure to predict how my legs are going to feel week to week.
If training volume and intensity are quite spotty and all over the place, with some weeks being big, some little, then a huge build for an event followed by not much training, it’s actually really difficult to work out whether training is working for an individual.
So it’s worth considering flatter profiles in your running.
That’s not saying we never build volume and we never build intensity. We’re not just doing exactly the same thing week on week, but the structure stays the same.
That allows us to see what’s going on and look for trends within that.
I hope that makes some sort of sense. If you’ve got any questions, please pop them in the comments below.
And for now, happy running.
