I agree, as an older athlete I find cross training spreads the load really well in terms of stress on the body and keeps the level of interest high. But, the potential cost is a sligjt dip in performance in your no.1 sport with the loss of specificity. It's a a tricky balance!
Thank you for answering my question sage! Super helpful insights. This channel is the reason i got into running so thank you for that too. XC-skiing has been really helpful this off-season, especially for single leg strength, glute activation and core stability. Would recommend to anyone in snowy regions!
Thank you for the great talk! TT Question: I am now following 50 km plan of yours and will be done in March, how do I transition to a different training plan after the 50 k event? I would want to increase the mileage and build up to 50 miles events. Thanks!
I started rowing with a Concept 2 two years ago after I broke my right femur in an accident. I can only run half the miles I used to, so I do a lot of meters/miles on the rower now. It’s all about being in good physical condition and not so worried about races or paces now!
TT question. 5k is my favorite race distance. I follow a 10 week training program and then try to get a pb. As an age group casual runner how often is reasonable to try for a pb? A couple times a year? Once a quarter? I average 20 miles a week on 3 days of running (2 long and easy and 1 tempo / intervals workout) and bike 2 days a week easy, an hour each day. Thanks
I used to use Nordictrack which really worked well. Now I do as much snowshoe running as I can as well as a lot of threshold pool running sessions. Some biking, but snowshoe running really is specific and makes land running feel easy, and pool running let's me sneak in extra workouts and really improves my land running form.
It seems like aerobic base building is everywhere nowadays…great advice though Sage. I just got done with my 50K in December. Took a little time off but my body recovered well. I considered doing outside activities in base building but as Sage said if you wanna get better at running..you should run. It takes a long time to get better at especially if your just starting. It’s exciting though. Just enjoy running when you can and you’ll get better.
Hi Sage, great talk as always... may I suggest you call it the "Weekly Training Talk" - that way you're never going to be 'late' cause we're all OK with it anyway! :D
I have a row machine for cross training! It helps with my posterior chain and exercises muscles that compliments my running. When it gets warmer I’ll start upping my runners more. Right now it’s too dark and rainy to run :(
I also row a ton. I do run 3-4 times a week but I spend more total hours rowing than running. Basically I replace all my short/easy runs with rowing 1:1
I'm finding that as I get older (I will be 70 in a couple months) the percentage of cross training has gone up dramatically to where it is now close to 80%, but if I didn't do that I wouldn't be able to really still enjoy that 20% of running which I would like to do for as long as possible. Also Sage, welcome to Salida!! I just moved here 2 years ago to be near the grandkids and love it. You should also consider a gravel bike, I just switched from a road bike and it opened up a whole new world of places to ride.
I will be 57 soon, in the winter I generally focus more on strength training using a sliding bench gym, I can do "practice" running on that by pushing off on alternate legs and trying to make the transition smoothly to the other leg, also do "full body" workouts (3X each week) with 1 session going for at least an hour, I try to run 1 or 2 times a week in winter - 4 miles each, I'm slow anyhow, but have NOT noticed any declines in my running when spring rolls around and I start to run more.
For me, Yoga is an important part of my cross-training. It helps keep this old body strong and mobile. I think this is a great topic for all athletes because cross-training goes both ways. My brother's neighbour's son is an elite level biathalete. For him, running in the summer is an important part of his cross-training. He has entered a few running races for fun and usually finishes near the top of the leaderboard. His aerobic capacity is incredible from all the x-country skiing he does. On another note, watching the clips from this video, you aer looking more comfortable on your skiis. Keep it up.
Yoga is not physical exercise. For a clue on what it is presented in a manner which is friendly to the beginner check out Be Here Now by Ram Das. Though ... he himself was rather a beginner but at least you will get the general idea
Great talk as always! TT question: my target is to run a sub 310 marathon and the city marathons are always on Asphalt. A lot of training mileage on Asphalt bring foot and knee pain. How many percentage of training mileage could I spend on soft surfaces like trail, grass and track? Thanks!
I ran my first marathon this past fall in 2:53 and it had 1300ft of vert. I think I was able to do this because I trained so much on trails. My only road runs were one long run and one tempo run with a weekly average of 8-10 hrs per week. This was after. Years worth of consistent trail running so there was a good base which is an important consideration
@@RamblinView Thanks for the reply and congratulation on your strong performance. Do you mean one tempo run and one long run on road each week or in total?
Hi Happy2022. Saw your comment and so just sharing - I have run an average of 80~100km weeks for the past 2 years, currently training for a 320 marathon, in November did a crazy 175km week, all my runs are on roads/tarmac/asphalt. I don't like training on trails and grass much, but if do those when its more for fun. Whenever I have get a niggle, hint of injury or injured, I focus the strength training in that area immediately (Strength training 2 times a week anyway). So my point is, I want to train and run on roads so when something adverse happens as I ask myself the questions like what do I need to do to find a way to work around it and keep running this way, rather than change the surface. Hey, your going sub 310 soon so above my level already !! Good luck.
@@RunThePlanet Thanks for the reply and you make a great point about strength training. Running 175km a week on road is amazingly strong. I believe that you would be sub 3 hour soon.
@@today-nl Thank you. If im lucky maybe the end of 2022, but if I have to wit for 2023 I dont mind. Im seeing progression so im happy with that. Bet you get there before me !
Great TTT as always Sage. For me I don't find much time for cross training regularly and prefer to compliment the 5 or 6 days running with a couple days of strength training to avoid injury as much as possible which seems to be working. though i'm not getting any younger so maybe in the future I end up shifting a run or 2 into cross training (not just yet).
TT Question: I'm a heavier guy... About 240 pounds, 6'3". I'm also signed up for my first 50k in June. Would losing weight be the top priority in my training plan? I feel as though I can get 40-50 miles with some hard sessions in there although I feel like I'm eating like a tank when I focus hard on training. I always feel as though my training quality suffers when I attempt to limit my intake of food to target 1-2 pound weight loss per week. TL;DR: Will losing fat rather than focusing on other aspects of training have the greatest impact on my performance? Should it be the primary focus for heavier runners in general if performance, injury prevention, and running longevity are the main goals?
TT Question - I have been running for years for all distances and no matter what I do or how I train, as soon as I hit about 17-20K the very tops of my legs just start hurting. Right where the leg meets the hip. I have tried all kinds of stretches and I just can't seem to solve this one. I just want to be able to run 30K+ without having to grind through the pain in that one place. Thanks so much for all you do!!
Sage I live in Boulder and I'm wondering if you can recommend any places I can take my touring skis for some long distance uphill tours? Any fire roads just outside of town?
TT: My Boston Marathon training block was supposed to start last week but this lingering posterior tibilias issue is taking longer to heal than I expected. I have been able to cross train 5-7 hours of cardio per week on the bike, cross country skiing, rowing and swimming. Realistically I am facing a 12 week training block now instead of 16 and I am curious about how I can jump into week 12/14 of your Boston Marathon training plan that I purchased and If I can do that at all. What should re-entry mileage look like, should I keep cross training heavily for the first couple of weeks? Mentally how do we re-align our goals with what we have been given. It’s hard to wrap my head around not running it and finding a May marathon instead. Thanks!
TT question: I'm a senior in highschool looking to have a good send off season. My favorite track event is the 3200m, as I'm more a cross country guy. I've looked for advice on training for it but there's not much since it's inbetween middle and long distance. What I've been doing is 50 mpw with 10 of those being hard (mostly 800 to 1600m repeats and tempo runs), which is more similar to a 5k training plan. Could you give some training advice for how a 5k/10k runner can transition to shorter distances?
@ryanM: you are in the same boat as I was many years ago….winter of 1993/1994. My goals were the same as yours, and I had success, just not how I imagined….and 27 years later, I know what I did right and wrong. 1. I ran almost every day between December 1 and first practice which was at the beginning of March. I averaged over 77 miles per week. M-F was 5 before school and 6 after…..all “easy”. 10 minutes of hot tub after. No track training…the hardest I did was something just short of tempo….almost everything semi “easy” miles. Track season came, and instead of the 3200, I became a 1600 guy, and I ended up getting 2nd at the state championship. What I should have done: I should have run 6 days per week, not 7. I should have put at least 1 track workout in there with repeat 8s, 12s, and 16s just to keep my speed…cause I didn’t really get the speed til end of season. My “easy” miles were too fast….instead of 7:45-8 per mile, it should have been 8:45-9:30. Your danger is injury and mental burnout….keep those two things away and you’ll do well. Too many miles, too many hard/fast miles will break you….when in doubt, rest and cross train. I cross train on the bike, and it has saved me multiple times in recent years when my legs were breaking down from endless pounding. Figure out your cross training now, get it set up, and do it here and there just for experience.
How is a good way to incorporate doubles? I normally top out mileage around 70 miles a week running 6 days a week. Could you use an indoor bike to double in evening on work out days?
I agree, as an older athlete I find cross training spreads the load really well in terms of stress on the body and keeps the level of interest high. But, the potential cost is a sligjt dip in performance in your no.1 sport with the loss of specificity. It's a a tricky balance!
Thank you for answering my question sage! Super helpful insights. This channel is the reason i got into running so thank you for that too.
XC-skiing has been really helpful this off-season, especially for single leg strength, glute activation and core stability. Would recommend to anyone in snowy regions!
Thank you for the great talk! TT Question: I am now following 50 km plan of yours and will be done in March, how do I transition to a different training plan after the 50 k event? I would want to increase the mileage and build up to 50 miles events. Thanks!
I started rowing with a Concept 2 two years ago after I broke my right femur in an accident. I can only run half the miles I used to, so I do a lot of meters/miles on the rower now. It’s all about being in good physical condition and not so worried about races or paces now!
TT question. 5k is my favorite race distance. I follow a 10 week training program and then try to get a pb. As an age group casual runner how often is reasonable to try for a pb? A couple times a year? Once a quarter? I average 20 miles a week on 3 days of running (2 long and easy and 1 tempo / intervals workout) and bike 2 days a week easy, an hour each day. Thanks
I used to use Nordictrack which really worked well. Now I do as much snowshoe running as I can as well as a lot of threshold pool running sessions. Some biking, but snowshoe running really is specific and makes land running feel easy, and pool running let's me sneak in extra workouts and really improves my land running form.
Great video on a subject that I think of each winter
It seems like aerobic base building is everywhere nowadays…great advice though Sage. I just got done with my 50K in December. Took a little time off but my body recovered well. I considered doing outside activities in base building but as Sage said if you wanna get better at running..you should run. It takes a long time to get better at especially if your just starting. It’s exciting though. Just enjoy running when you can and you’ll get better.
Hi Sage, great talk as always... may I suggest you call it the "Weekly Training Talk" - that way you're never going to be 'late' cause we're all OK with it anyway! :D
I have a row machine for cross training! It helps with my posterior chain and exercises muscles that compliments my running. When it gets warmer I’ll start upping my runners more. Right now it’s too dark and rainy to run :(
I also row a ton. I do run 3-4 times a week but I spend more total hours rowing than running. Basically I replace all my short/easy runs with rowing 1:1
@@mrjoshuagordon yep that’s my plan as well :)
@@mrjoshuagordon I started rowing too. My 5k time for row race is about the same for my run race 5k? how bout you?
I'm finding that as I get older (I will be 70 in a couple months) the percentage of cross training has gone up dramatically to where it is now close to 80%, but if I didn't do that I wouldn't be able to really still enjoy that 20% of running which I would like to do for as long as possible. Also Sage, welcome to Salida!! I just moved here 2 years ago to be near the grandkids and love it. You should also consider a gravel bike, I just switched from a road bike and it opened up a whole new world of places to ride.
Super explanation Boss
I will be 57 soon, in the winter I generally focus more on strength training using a sliding bench gym, I can do "practice" running on that by pushing off on alternate legs and trying to make the transition smoothly to the other leg, also do "full body" workouts (3X each week) with 1 session going for at least an hour, I try to run 1 or 2 times a week in winter - 4 miles each, I'm slow anyhow, but have NOT noticed any declines in my running when spring rolls around and I start to run more.
For me, Yoga is an important part of my cross-training. It helps keep this old body strong and mobile.
I think this is a great topic for all athletes because cross-training goes both ways.
My brother's neighbour's son is an elite level biathalete. For him, running in the summer is an important part of his cross-training. He has entered a few running races for fun and usually finishes near the top of the leaderboard. His aerobic capacity is incredible from all the x-country skiing he does.
On another note, watching the clips from this video, you aer looking more comfortable on your skiis. Keep it up.
Yoga is not physical exercise. For a clue on what it is presented in a manner which is friendly to the beginner check out Be Here Now by Ram Das. Though ... he himself was rather a beginner but at least you will get the general idea
Great talk as always! TT question: my target is to run a sub 310 marathon and the city marathons are always on Asphalt. A lot of training mileage on Asphalt bring foot and knee pain. How many percentage of training mileage could I spend on soft surfaces like trail, grass and track? Thanks!
I ran my first marathon this past fall in 2:53 and it had 1300ft of vert. I think I was able to do this because I trained so much on trails. My only road runs were one long run and one tempo run with a weekly average of 8-10 hrs per week. This was after. Years worth of consistent trail running so there was a good base which is an important consideration
@@RamblinView Thanks for the reply and congratulation on your strong performance. Do you mean one tempo run and one long run on road each week or in total?
Hi Happy2022. Saw your comment and so just sharing - I have run an average of 80~100km weeks for the past 2 years, currently training for a 320 marathon, in November did a crazy 175km week, all my runs are on roads/tarmac/asphalt. I don't like training on trails and grass much, but if do those when its more for fun. Whenever I have get a niggle, hint of injury or injured, I focus the strength training in that area immediately (Strength training 2 times a week anyway). So my point is, I want to train and run on roads so when something adverse happens as I ask myself the questions like what do I need to do to find a way to work around it and keep running this way, rather than change the surface. Hey, your going sub 310 soon so above my level already !! Good luck.
@@RunThePlanet Thanks for the reply and you make a great point about strength training. Running 175km a week on road is amazingly strong. I believe that you would be sub 3 hour soon.
@@today-nl Thank you. If im lucky maybe the end of 2022, but if I have to wit for 2023 I dont mind. Im seeing progression so im happy with that. Bet you get there before me !
Great TTT as always Sage. For me I don't find much time for cross training regularly and prefer to compliment the 5 or 6 days running with a couple days of strength training to avoid injury as much as possible which seems to be working. though i'm not getting any younger so maybe in the future I end up shifting a run or 2 into cross training (not just yet).
TT Question: I'm a heavier guy... About 240 pounds, 6'3". I'm also signed up for my first 50k in June. Would losing weight be the top priority in my training plan? I feel as though I can get 40-50 miles with some hard sessions in there although I feel like I'm eating like a tank when I focus hard on training. I always feel as though my training quality suffers when I attempt to limit my intake of food to target 1-2 pound weight loss per week. TL;DR: Will losing fat rather than focusing on other aspects of training have the greatest impact on my performance? Should it be the primary focus for heavier runners in general if performance, injury prevention, and running longevity are the main goals?
I’d recommend Mark Lewis channel
Good call @Milan van der meer ! That’s a solid dude and Grt channel!
TT Question - I have been running for years for all distances and no matter what I do or how I train, as soon as I hit about 17-20K the very tops of my legs just start hurting. Right where the leg meets the hip. I have tried all kinds of stretches and I just can't seem to solve this one. I just want to be able to run 30K+ without having to grind through the pain in that one place. Thanks so much for all you do!!
Rowing Concept2 !
What is a safe amount of mileage to increase year over year? 5? 10? Example - 50 a week moving to 55 a week on average
Sage I live in Boulder and I'm wondering if you can recommend any places I can take my touring skis for some long distance uphill tours? Any fire roads just outside of town?
TT: My Boston Marathon training block was supposed to start last week but this lingering posterior tibilias issue is taking longer to heal than I expected. I have been able to cross train 5-7 hours of cardio per week on the bike, cross country skiing, rowing and swimming. Realistically I am facing a 12 week training block now instead of 16 and I am curious about how I can jump into week 12/14 of your Boston Marathon training plan that I purchased and If I can do that at all. What should re-entry mileage look like, should I keep cross training heavily for the first couple of weeks? Mentally how do we re-align our goals with what we have been given. It’s hard to wrap my head around not running it and finding a May marathon instead. Thanks!
TT question: I'm a senior in highschool looking to have a good send off season. My favorite track event is the 3200m, as I'm more a cross country guy. I've looked for advice on training for it but there's not much since it's inbetween middle and long distance. What I've been doing is 50 mpw with 10 of those being hard (mostly 800 to 1600m repeats and tempo runs), which is more similar to a 5k training plan. Could you give some training advice for how a 5k/10k runner can transition to shorter distances?
@ryanM: you are in the same boat as I was many years ago….winter of 1993/1994. My goals were the same as yours, and I had success, just not how I imagined….and 27 years later, I know what I did right and wrong.
1. I ran almost every day between December 1 and first practice which was at the beginning of March. I averaged over 77 miles per week. M-F was 5 before school and 6 after…..all “easy”. 10 minutes of hot tub after. No track training…the hardest I did was something just short of tempo….almost everything semi “easy” miles. Track season came, and instead of the 3200, I became a 1600 guy, and I ended up getting 2nd at the state championship.
What I should have done: I should have run 6 days per week, not 7. I should have put at least 1 track workout in there with repeat 8s, 12s, and 16s just to keep my speed…cause I didn’t really get the speed til end of season. My “easy” miles were too fast….instead of 7:45-8 per mile, it should have been 8:45-9:30.
Your danger is injury and mental burnout….keep those two things away and you’ll do well. Too many miles, too many hard/fast miles will break you….when in doubt, rest and cross train. I cross train on the bike, and it has saved me multiple times in recent years when my legs were breaking down from endless pounding. Figure out your cross training now, get it set up, and do it here and there just for experience.
@@quengmingmeow Need to be so easy😀 Great advice👍
How is a good way to incorporate doubles? I normally top out mileage around 70 miles a week running 6 days a week. Could you use an indoor bike to double in evening on work out days?
👍👍
Do you know any athletes that have used steroids? I think you could of broken the world marathon record if you did them based on your best times.