The reliability of +10% per week, and HR training

Hanley

2 part question guys... Sat down this morning to plan out my training towards Gaelforce West on August 18th. It's my first ever training cycle for an endurance event so shooting in the dark a bit really.

Went with the week before lasts run times and this weeks bike times (minor MCL injury so no running this week) and added 8% to the times on each day, each week, for the next 7 weeks (with the week of the race being a wind down week).

It's throwing out some CRAZY numbers at the end of the 7 week period (16, 32 and 55 minute runs, and 122 and 157 minute bike rides - perhaps not crazy, but long for me in my current state, bike especially). So, my questions:

1) Is the +10% rule reliable and safe to use? (and is it ok to use time instead of distance since I've no way of accurately measuring, I've cut from 10% to 8% to allow for fitness improvements and increased distances in the same time)

2) When training by heart rate and in "zones", is it supposed to feel hard? (for example I'm training mostly in the 150-160bpm range for runs and 10-20bpm lower on the bike, it feels VERY slow, but at the same time I'd have an ok engine - 54bpm resting HR, but my legs and joints would not be used to the repetitive pounding of running so is it safer to play it safe even if it feels "easy"?)

Ehh... hopefully that makes sense. Thanks!!

RayCun

It's just a rule of thumb.

You have to listen to your body, judge for yourself if you are 'tired' or 'exhausted', if you ache or are about to get injured.

If you're increasing your training load by 10% each week, you should also take a recovery week each month where you step the load down again.
Make sure you are getting enough sleep, and that your diet is good.

Clearlier

Hanley wrote: »

2 part question guys... Sat down this morning to plan out my training towards Gaelforce West on August 18th. It's my first ever training cycle for an endurance event so shooting in the dark a bit really.

Went with the week before lasts run times and this weeks bike times (minor MCL injury so no running this week) and added 8% to the times on each day, each week, for the next 7 weeks (with the week of the race being a wind down week).

It's throwing out some CRAZY numbers at the end of the 7 week period (16, 32 and 55 minute runs, and 122 and 157 minute bike rides - perhaps not crazy, but long for me in my current state, bike especially). So, my questions:

1) Is the +10% rule reliable and safe to use? (and is it ok to use time instead of distance since I've no way of accurately measuring, I've cut from 10% to 8% to allow for fitness improvements and increased distances in the same time)

2) When training by heart rate and in "zones", is it supposed to feel hard? (for example I'm training mostly in the 150-160bpm range for runs and 10-20bpm lower on the bike, it feels VERY slow, but at the same time I'd have an ok engine - 54bpm resting HR, but my legs and joints would not be used to the repetitive pounding of running so is it safer to play it safe even if it feels "easy"?)

Ehh... hopefully that makes sense. Thanks!!

I would describe the 10% rule as an attempt to prevent beginners from overdoing it so an upper limit rather than a guide as to how much you should increase by. IMO training by time is a much better way than training by distance particularly for people who are just starting out. As Ray said you have to learn to listen to your body and discern when that pain is an injury coming on or a muscle just grumbling a bit.

I can't comment on the length of your training sessions because I don't know what your baseline is but they don't immediately strike me as ridiculous provided that you're already reasonably active. You'll be amazed at how quickly you develop your endurance. You'll be even more amazed at how long you can go on developing it for!

Oh, and HR training, each run should have a purpose. If you can get a hold of a copy of Advanced marathoning by Pfitzinger and Daniels they do a pretty good job of describing the different types of runs and their different purposes. Alternatively I'm sure that somebody has done it somewhere on the web but I haven't got a link. The main point to remember is that different runs should be run at different intensities. At this stage you'll want to take your longer runs easier and treat them as 'time on your feet' training, you might have a tempo run to develop your lactate threshold (20 mins at a pace that you could say a word or two but not hold a conversation bookended by a warm up and warm down) and you'll have recovery runs which are easy short runs. Try and keep an eye on your form, it's easy to get sloppy on the easy runs and develop bad habits which will lead to injuries.

Good luck.

Hanley

Thanks for that folks!!

RayCun wrote: »

It's just a rule of thumb.

You have to listen to your body, judge for yourself if you are 'tired' or 'exhausted', if you ache or are about to get injured.

If you're increasing your training load by 10% each week, you should also take a recovery week each month where you step the load down again.
Make sure you are getting enough sleep, and that your diet is good.

I kind of figured it would be a "try and see" approach, but I didn't want to try and see something that was full on stupid. So I'll plough ahead then

Clearlier wrote: »

I would describe the 10% rule as an attempt to prevent beginners from overdoing it so an upper limit rather than a guide as to how much you should increase by. IMO training by time is a much better way than training by distance particularly for people who are just starting out. As Ray said you have to learn to listen to your body and discern when that pain is an injury coming on or a muscle just grumbling a bit.

I can't comment on the length of your training sessions because I don't know what your baseline is but they don't immediately strike me as ridiculous provided that you're already reasonably active. You'll be amazed at how quickly you develop your endurance. You'll be even more amazed at how long you can go on developing it for!

My general all around fitness levels are pretty good. Strength sports are my forte, and have spent a lot of time on the mats over the last 18 months with BJJ. So my general level of conditioning is good, but specific run and bike fitness is not.

Fingers crossed they move up swiftly!!

Oh, and HR training, each run should have a purpose. If you can get a hold of a copy of Advanced marathoning by Pfitzinger and Daniels they do a pretty good job of describing the different types of runs and their different purposes. Alternatively I'm sure that somebody has done it somewhere on the web but I haven't got a link. The main point to remember is that different runs should be run at different intensities. At this stage you'll want to take your longer runs easier and treat them as 'time on your feet' training, you might have a tempo run to develop your lactate threshold (20 mins at a pace that you could say a word or two but not hold a conversation bookended by a warm up and warm down) and you'll have recovery runs which are easy short runs. Try and keep an eye on your form, it's easy to get sloppy on the easy runs and develop bad habits which will lead to injuries.

Good luck.

Yah my longer runs tend to be more about aerobic development, hence the 150ish bpm range.

I'll probably look for a 165-175bpm average on the medium runs (20-30 minutes) and then just take my shorter runs super handy. So will end up with one long slow run, one medium intense run and two shorter easy runs, and a couple of long rides each week.

Awesome, be interesting to see how this all develops.

hardCopy

Don't forget the hills on the bike. If you're training based on time it can be easy to just spin along on a flat route without really pushing yourself, the hills will keep you honest, and there are a couple on the GFW course.

If you get the chance, head down and check out the Reek, the route up the back is quite different to the regular pilgrim/tourist route.