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2010 Dublin Marathon- Sub 3 mentored thread

ecoli

Okay I have been approached about setting up a sub 3 mentoring thread. Before i start to issue clarification this thread is alot like Lynx ads. Just because links ads say Lynx will get you beautiful women doesnt make it a certainty. Likewise here the aim is to do are best to get you to 2.5X.XX but I cannot guarantee it.

This is geared towards the DCM and is a 18 week plan starting at 40 miles with a 4 week buildling phase getting up to 65 miles during course of plan. The plan includes 1 long run (15-20) one medium length (10-13) and culmination of hill work and marathon specific sessions @ MP and HMP

The plan will start 21st of June so anyone who is interested should be trying to hit around 40 miles coming into the plan however the fact that the first four weeks is base building gives people a chance to catch up. Anyone interested in following the plan put your name down and get to know each other. The idea behind these mentoring threads is not just to provide a training plan but also i full support in terms of encouragement and advice. I will also be here to answer questions as best i can and hopefully get a few of the Sub 3 guys from this forum to give there only insight and advice.

So put your name down and your previous best and Lets get to work:D

Name|Previous best |Mileage this week | Comments

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bart simpson

ELFOYZER wrote: »

Hey BS, that's what I took from the calculator/ predictor tool too, but then again it's only an estimate.
If I had put my race times then into the calculator I would have predicted ~3:45 marathon when I ran the 3:29.
Hard work, dedication, some weight loss and positive thinking - who know's what is possible?;)

yeah you are right, dont get me wrong i aint saying you cant by any means....sure loads have made that jump, i am the cautious kind and would be paranoid about getting injured, but thats just me...i wouldnt have the greatest recovery powers in the world either!

tisnotover

bart simpson wrote: »

aint no expert by any means... im kinda in the same boat as you, i did dcm last year in 3.29, and on my ballycotton time mc millian predicts for me a 3.10-3.15 marathon this year.....but the way i read it is that if i train as well as i could over 18 week period that is what my predicted time would be....not what my time would be if i ran a marathon the day i entered it in mc millian... ie to match a 10K 10M or half marthon time with your mc millian marathon prediction time you will need to do a hell of a lot of improving just to meet your predicted time
well thats the way i saw it anyway, might be wrong, good luck with the training

Its the approach I took BS. Racing during the marathon program will show your times improving at other distances, especially for the half. But there was no way I was going out at the equivalent half-predicted marathon-pace on race-day.

Thats only me agreeing with ya, others I know have done the opposite and with success, but I'd be in the more conservative camp*

* applicable to marathon running only.

ecoli

ELFOYZER wrote: »

Hey BS, that's what I took from the calculator/ predictor tool too, but then again it's only an estimate.
If I had put my race times then into the calculator I would have predicted ~3:45 marathon when I ran the 3:29.
Hard work, dedication, some weight loss and positive thinking - who know's what is possible?;)

By the time this training plan is over i expect athletes to be able to eat lightning, crap thunder and run like the wind (a plus wind of course none of that headwind stuff that slows them sprinters down);)

ELFOYZER

Hey BS, that's what I took from the calculator/ predictor tool too, but then again it's only an estimate.
If I had put my race times then into the calculator I would have predicted ~3:45 marathon when I ran the 3:29.
Hard work, dedication, some weight loss and positive thinking - who know's what is possible?;)

bart simpson

ELFOYZER wrote: »

I've been struggling with what should be 'Easy' and 'STEADY' pace.
I calculated my easy and steady paces from the guide by working back from 6:50/mile,

Recovery run :1 min to 1 min 30 slower than MP = 7:50 - 8:20
Easy Run: 30 secs to 50 secs slower than MP = 7:20 - 7:40
Steady Run: 15 - 30 sec slower than MP = 7:05 - 7:20
So far my pace as been as follows,
EASY PACE = 7:45 to 8:00/ mile (Percieved Effort = 6/10)
STEADY PACE= 7:15 - 7:20/mile (Percieved Effort = 7to8/10)

I'm running a bit slower than what was outlined. I seem to be running Easy at Recovery pace and am just bordering on the Steady paced runs.

I know that within the remaining 16 weeks or so my paces will drop. That said, I'm hoping that I'll improve enough over that period once I stay loose and injury free.
McMillan predictor suggests that I am on for a 3:10 to 3:15 marathon, depending what result I put in. But I'm wondering is it possible to improve to sub 3 over an 18 week period???

Any comments or suggestions, please?

aint no expert by any means... im kinda in the same boat as you, i did dcm last year in 3.29, and on my ballycotton time mc millian predicts for me a 3.10-3.15 marathon this year.....but the way i read it is that if i train as well as i could over 18 week period that is what my predicted time would be....not what my time would be if i ran a marathon the day i entered it in mc millian... ie to match a 10K 10M or half marthon time with your mc millian marathon prediction time you will need to do a hell of a lot of improving just to meet your predicted time
well thats the way i saw it anyway, might be wrong, good luck with the training

ELFOYZER

tisnotover wrote: »

Whats your most recent race time ? did you use this in mcmillan ? One thing I would say, is that you shouldn't have to push pace on a steady run.

You need your energy for other more demanding runs in the schedule like marathon paced miles or track-work.

do you wear a heart-rate monitor ? As this will give you an idea of wheter your pushing too hard or not on these runs...

TNO - Yep, I used McMillan predictor. In spite of the mileage increase I dont feel fatigued or worn out, and on steady runs I don't feel that I am 'pushing' pace, it does require a fair effort but I'm sure the effort will lessen as my conditioning improves.

Some of my HR readings, 8min/mile ~ 155bpm; 7:15/mile ~ 167bpm*
(*This was my avg hr on my 3:29 Marathon, so I reckon I've improved by 10bpm @ 8:00/mile pace:D)
I'm 38 year old male but I've never based HR zoning on 220-age,etc. In fact, I just throw the occasional eye on the readings.
I feel I should mention, I've a couple of lbs to loose too (6-7lbs in fact), to reach my desired race weight. Not stressing about this as it will fall off me in the coming weeks.
I'm positive and well up for this, but I want to be sensible about it too.
Appreciate and welcome all your comments, thanks.

tisnotover

ELFOYZER wrote: »

McMillan predictor suggests that I am on for a 3:10 to 3:15 marathon, depending what result I put in. But I'm wondering is it possible to improve to sub 3 over an 18 week period???

Any comments or suggestions, please?

Whats your most recent race time ? did you use this in mcmillan ? One thing I would say, is that you shouldn't have to push pace on a steady run.

You need your energy for other more demanding runs in the schedule like marathon paced miles or track-work.

do you wear a heart-rate monitor ? As this will give you an idea of wheter your pushing too hard or not on these runs...

ecoli

ELFOYZER wrote: »

I've been struggling with what should be 'Easy' and 'STEADY' pace.
I calculated my easy and steady paces from the guide by working back from 6:50/mile,

Recovery run :1 min to 1 min 30 slower than MP = 7:50 - 8:20
Easy Run: 30 secs to 50 secs slower than MP = 7:20 - 7:40
Steady Run: 15 - 30 sec slower than MP = 7:05 - 7:20
So far my pace as been as follows,
EASY PACE = 7:45 to 8:00/ mile (Percieved Effort = 6/10)
STEADY PACE= 7:15 - 7:20/mile (Percieved Effort = 7to8/10)

I'm running a bit slower than what was outlined. I seem to be running Easy at Recovery pace and am just bordering on the Steady paced runs.

I know that within the remaining 16 weeks or so my paces will drop. That said, I'm hoping that I'll improve enough over that period once I stay loose and injury free.
McMillan predictor suggests that I am on for a 3:10 to 3:15 marathon, depending what result I put in. But I'm wondering is it possible to improve to sub 3 over an 18 week period???

Any comments or suggestions, please?

Again be sensible some people run there mileage a little slower than others this can be ok the main thing is effort. These are more guidelines and being there or there abouts is okay as long as your not pushing it. Just be sure to take the difference into account on your recovery runs these should not be the same pace as your easy runs so perhaps around 8.10-8.40
The easy runs are providing the strength to be able to tackle the sessions which are going to be introduced over the next two weeks. It is these sessions which will provide significant improvement. The easy miles are important to provide the strength to go injury free (hopefully) through the training plan.
Like Smoore79 said there will be sessions including Marathon pace running and half marathon paced running comming soon but jumping into these too soon would only increase the risk of injury especially with the building of mileage

smmoore79

ELFOYZER wrote: »

I've been struggling with what should be 'Easy' and 'STEADY' pace.
I calculated my easy and steady paces from the guide by working back from 6:50/mile,

Recovery run :1 min to 1 min 30 slower than MP = 7:50 - 8:20
Easy Run: 30 secs to 50 secs slower than MP = 7:20 - 7:40
Steady Run: 15 - 30 sec slower than MP = 7:05 - 7:20
So far my pace as been as follows,
EASY PACE = 7:45 to 8:00/ mile (Percieved Effort = 6/10)
STEADY PACE= 7:15 - 7:20/mile (Percieved Effort = 7to8/10)

QUOTE]

Those paces seem about correct for a sub 3 marathon. And if youre doing an advanced program, then midweek runs will have some speedwork (10 x 100m or medium runs with some miles at half marathon pace). And some of your Sunday long runs will have a certain amount at marathon pace..

ELFOYZER

I've been struggling with what should be 'Easy' and 'STEADY' pace.
I calculated my easy and steady paces from the guide by working back from 6:50/mile,

Recovery run :1 min to 1 min 30 slower than MP = 7:50 - 8:20
Easy Run: 30 secs to 50 secs slower than MP = 7:20 - 7:40
Steady Run: 15 - 30 sec slower than MP = 7:05 - 7:20
So far my pace as been as follows,
EASY PACE = 7:45 to 8:00/ mile (Percieved Effort = 6/10)
STEADY PACE= 7:15 - 7:20/mile (Percieved Effort = 7to8/10)

I'm running a bit slower than what was outlined. I seem to be running Easy at Recovery pace and am just bordering on the Steady paced runs.

I know that within the remaining 16 weeks or so my paces will drop. That said, I'm hoping that I'll improve enough over that period once I stay loose and injury free.
McMillan predictor suggests that I am on for a 3:10 to 3:15 marathon, depending what result I put in. But I'm wondering is it possible to improve to sub 3 over an 18 week period???

Any comments or suggestions, please?

ecoli

Because it is early in the plan you will find that you need the slower runs to recover from the harder sessions which will soon be added. You will also find that as the plan goes on your general fitness will mean that these paces actually drop and your easy paces will gradually become faster.

To answer the other question there are a good bit of MP and HMP based sessions and as such these will be the sessions for stressing the body and the easier miles will allow the body to recover some what and adapt

smmoore79

donothoponpop wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I followed P&D 70 miles (PMP 6:50) last time round, and indeed would have run the "easy" runs about 7:30-7:40. Now I'm running them 8:00-8:15, it certainly feels "too slow", but I think the idea is to compensate by running the hard sessions hard. I know there's no one-size-fits-all plan, but a common factor in a lot of 2:40-3:00 marathoners I know is their surprisingly "slow" easy runs.

Yeah, Its weird for me too to be running 8 minute miles. Though, it takes just as much discipline to remain steady at a 'slow' pace. But they're on the plans for a reason i suppose, apparently it aids with getting rid of the lactic acid from hard runs.

donothoponpop

smmoore79 wrote: »

Im kinda new to this pacing thing myself so invested in PD advanced marathoning. Looking at your training, those 3 sessions look like hard sessions. That 10 miler at 8 15 pace seems a tad slow to me alright, id run that at 7 40. For me an easy session would be a recovery run of 4/5 miles at 8 minute pace. Midweek aerobic runs (runs of 8 to 10ish miles) are done at 7 40 pace and Sunday long runs are done at 7 25-30 pace. Sometimes my plan asks for some miles to be at marathon pace (6 40) and other runs at half marathon pace (6 mins). Not sure if your plan incorporates the same..

Thanks for the reply. I followed P&D 70 miles (PMP 6:50) last time round, and indeed would have run the "easy" runs about 7:30-7:40. Now I'm running them 8:00-8:15, it certainly feels "too slow", but I think the idea is to compensate by running the hard sessions hard. I know there's no one-size-fits-all plan, but a common factor in a lot of 2:40-3:00 marathoners I know is their surprisingly "slow" easy runs.

smmoore79

donothoponpop wrote: »

Week 2 Summary

9 @ 7:50; 6 @ 7:15 + 8x100m strides; 10 miles@ 8:15|26| 70

Got Thurs session done early this morning- will do 4 easy tonight.

Can I get a bit of guidance- the 10 easy were very easy- slower than I would have run easy miles at before. I read a lot about how a lot of marathoners need to run their hard sessions harder, and their easy sessions easier- certainly a lot of training logs of fast marathoners on the forum show them running easy miles at a very slow pace. I'd be interested in any comments, because this method is new to me (I'd be "no pain no gain" school previously).

Im kinda new to this pacing thing myself so invested in PD advanced marathoning. Looking at your training, those 3 sessions look like hard sessions. That 10 miler at 8 15 pace seems a tad slow to me alright, id run that at 7 40. For me an easy session would be a recovery run of 4/5 miles at 8 minute pace. Midweek aerobic runs (runs of 8 to 10ish miles) are done at 7 40 pace and Sunday long runs are done at 7 25-30 pace. Sometimes my plan asks for some miles to be at marathon pace (6 40) and other runs at half marathon pace (6 mins). Not sure if your plan incorporates the same..

donothoponpop

Week 2 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|9 @ 7:50; 6 @ 7:15 + 8x100m strides; 10 miles@ 8:15|26| 70
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|||
ELFOYZER|3.29|9M easy(?)~7:45/mile;6M steady~7:15/mile+6x100m str|15|
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady + 6 x100m strides|14|

Got Thurs session done early this morning- will do 4 easy tonight.

Can I get a bit of guidance- the 10 easy were very easy- slower than I would have run easy miles at before. I read a lot about how a lot of marathoners need to run their hard sessions harder, and their easy sessions easier- certainly a lot of training logs of fast marathoners on the forum show them running easy miles at a very slow pace. I'd be interested in any comments, because this method is new to me (I'd be "no pain no gain" school previously).

donothoponpop

Week 2 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|Tue 9 @ 7:50; Wed 6 @ 7:15 + 8x100m strides|16| 60
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|||
ELFOYZER|3.29|9M easy(?)~7:45/mile;6M steady~7:15/mile+6x100m str|15|
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady + 6 x100m strides|14|

Happy to rest on Mon. Tues run went well, had to keep the pace down, one of those runs you just want to keep on keeping on. Wed, 6 miles, first was slower, but sped up as the run went on, and each one faster, although the effort didn't increase. Wasn't sure if it was 6 or 8 strides, so I erred on the side of caution:)

ELFOYZER

Week 2
Monday Rest
Tuesday8 miles easy
Wednesday 6 miles steady + 6 x 100m strides
Thursday10 miles easy
Friday 4 miles recovery
Saturday 8 miles easy
Sunday 13 miles easy (hilly course if possible)

Week 2 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|||
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|||
ELFOYZER|3.29|9M easy(?)~7:45/mile;6M steady~7:15/mile+6x100m str|15|
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady + 6 x100m strides|14|

Felt very fresh after Monday's rest day. Got a great 45 min core/stretching session in too.:D Want to try get more of this in during the weeks ahead.
Probably went a little too fast in both sessions so far this week, I was pushing a bit harder than last week although effort/intensity felt similar.
Methinks 10 miler tomorrow will be at a very EASY pace.

Reaganomical

Week 2
Monday Rest
Tuesday8 miles easy
Wednesday 6 miles steady + 6 x 100m strides
Thursday10 miles easy
Friday 4 miles recovery
Saturday 8 miles easy
Sunday 13 miles easy (hilly course if possible)

Week 2 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|||
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|||
ELFOYZER|3.29|||
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady + 6 x100m strides|14|

Got the 6 in early this morning, lovely run along the banks of the Shannon with the pace roughly around 7'15" throughout. Back to the gym afterwards for core work, stretching, and some very easy lengths of the pool.

cunavalos

Week 1 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|5|44|44
smmoore79| 3.10|4|33|66
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|5|42|42
ELFOYZER|3.29|6|48|48
cunavalos|n/a|5|37|37
Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Missed one session due to football match. Hard planning a marathon training programme in the middle of the GAA season but with any luck we'll be beaten and out of the championship by the end of next month.

smmoore79

For some reason i cant edit or insert the table. Summary for me this week was 4 sessions and 33 miles total. Total miles since marathon program started is 66 miles (2 weeks worth of training).

kaymin

Week 1 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|5|44|44
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|5|42|42
ELFOYZER|3.29|6|48|48
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Tough 10 mile this afternoon with the sun / heat. This week I've done the most miles I've ever done in one week - legs / joints feel fine.

donothoponpop

Week 1 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|5|44|44
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|||
ELFOYZER|3.29|6|48|48
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Missed yesterday's session, in favour of a 15 mile bike ride around the Enniscorthy Half- I paced todays 8min mile group. Legs feel good, happy with the week.

ELFOYZER

Week 1 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|||
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|||
ELFOYZER|3.29|6|48|48
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Quite a jump from my '30something' miles per week routine to date. Struggled yesterday and today especially ( ran A LOT of hills in Phoenix Park this morning) but legs holding out well.
Roll on tomorrow for a well deserved rest day:)

ecoli

Okay People
first week almost done hope everyone is getting on well and people arent hating me just yet:D Here is next weeks plan. Similar to last week with a few more miles. This will be the same for another week or two to get the mileage up safely before adding specific sessions

Week 1
Monday Rest
Tuesday8 miles easy
Wednesday 6 miles steady + 6 x 100m strides
Thursday10 miles easy
Friday 4 miles recovery
Saturday 8 miles easy
Sunday 13 miles easy (hilly course if possible)

Week 1 Summary
Name|Previous best |No. of Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Total Mileage to date |
donothoponpop|3:10|||
smmoore79| 3.10|||
Speedy44|3:26|||
kaymin|n/a|||
ELFOYZER|3.29|||
cunavalos|n/a|||
Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Best of luck. Again any questions you can post here or PM me. Working in IT means i rarely away from this for too long

kaymin

Name|Previous best |Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Comments |

donothoponpop|3:10|8 miles @7:23; 8 miles v hilly@8:00; 8 miles @8:00; 4 miles easy|30| Very hot yesterday, glad of a jog today

smmoore79| 3.10|||

Speedy44|3:26|||

kaymin|n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady +4 x 200m strides; 8 miles easy; 8 miles mostly steady|32|No running yesterday (Thurs) and 12km kayak race tomorrow so I decided to go at a steady running pace today. No tightness of the achilles tendon thankfully.

ELFOYZER|3.29|6M steady (7:20/M);11M easy (8:00/M);8M easy;4M easy/steadyish|30|

cunavalos|n/a|8 miles easy; 6miles incl 4 x 200m strides|14|strides included in run

Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

donothoponpop

Name|Previous best |Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Comments |

donothoponpop|3:10|8 miles @7:23; 8 miles v hilly@8:00; 8 miles @8:00; 4 miles easy|30| Very hot yesterday, glad of a jog today

smmoore79| 3.10|||

Speedy44|3:26|||

kaymin|n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady +4 x 200m strides; 8 miles easy|24|Started Monday

ELFOYZER|3.29|6M steady (7:20/M);11M easy (8:00/M);8M easy;4M easy/steadyish|30|

cunavalos|n/a|8 miles easy; 6miles incl 4 x 200m strides|14|strides included in run

Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Grabbed the only opportunity I could get yesterday, 8 miles in very hot conditions. Today was cooler, but I was happy to keep it an easy 4 miler. Will have to be careful about tomorrows session, I have 13 mile run to pace (@8:00 pace) on Sunday.

ELFOYZER

Name|Previous best |Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Comments |

donothoponpop|3:10|8 miles easy; 8 miles easy|18| 7.5 miles very hilly 400m+ ascent, 66mins, incl 4x200 strides

smmoore79| 3.10|||

Speedy44|3:26|||

kaymin|n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady +4 x 200m strides; 8 miles easy|24|Started Monday

ELFOYZER|3.29|6M steady (7:20/M);11M easy (8:00/M);8M easy;4M easy/steadyish|30|

cunavalos|n/a|8 miles easy; 6miles incl 4 x 200m strides|14|strides included in run

Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Ran the 4 mile @7:20/mile pace - bit quick, more like my steady pace but couldn't settle into easy pace today

kaymin

ecoli wrote: »

Be sensible about the mileage the ideal scenario was to build to this mileage before the program started but if you are not able to do this then take this into account when training and cut back the mileage a bit. Rushing the mileage can lead to injury. Better to do a little, alot, than do loads at the start and being forced to have time off due to injury. One option here is to hit the bike to make up the difference. This can develop aerobic capacity while keeping the injury risk down till your body adapts with the increase in mileage and will allow you to build the running miles slower

I think my aerobic fitness is good from marathon kayak training so I intend keeping up the kayak training for a while yet until I gradually build up the running miles.

smmoore - my training is 70 - 80% grass / trails at the moment - I'll run on the roads more once I'm more confident my legs / joints can take the stresses of the high mileage.

ELFOYZER

Name|Previous best |Sessions completed|Mileage this week | Comments |

donothoponpop|3:10|8 miles easy; 8 miles easy|18| 7.5 miles very hilly 400m+ ascent, 66mins, incl 4x200 strides

smmoore79| 3.10|||

Speedy44|3:26|||

kaymin|n/a|8 miles easy; 6 miles steady +4 x 200m strides; 8 miles easy|24|Started Monday

ELFOYZER|3.29|6M steady (7:20/M);11M easy (8:00/M);8M easy|26|no strides

cunavalos|n/a|8 miles easy; 6miles incl 4 x 200m strides|14|strides included in run

Schnellimbiss |n/a|||

Steady 8min/mile pace for my 8 miler

ecoli

smmoore79 wrote: »

Hi Ecoli, I do a fair bit of BHAA runs. These vary from 5km to 10km and are on every 2 weeks or so. For marathon training do you think it wise to drop these races due to them being short and replace them with the midweek tempo run that I would otherwise have done? or drop the tempo and race midweek? As i said before they are only every 2/3 weeks so wouldnt be replacing tempo runs every week....

Some people feel the benefit from the racing again this is the decision of the athlete. This can be used as a substitute for the tempos on the week of the races. Swap them one of your hard days (probably tempo) rather than to try and fit in your training with the races as this will cause overtraining. Also if the races are incorporated into your schedule my advice would be dont feel you have to rest up to go into the races fresh these are part of your training for the overall race target rather than targets in themselves