Coach Sarah and I are tossing around different ideas for next year, and we thought of starting a short, mid-week coaching email; #ThoughtfulThursday (or something along those lines). Sample below- please tell us what you think, either in the FB groups or via info@coachedandloved.com! Would you want something like this instead of The Tether content roundup each week?
Screenshot above is of the 22 miles I ran last week. The numbers aren't the point; the relationship between them, is. In order to train for a longer event like a marathon, most coaches say your weekly mileage needs to be 'around 20 miles per week'. These are the the dots we are connecting when we say that: 1. your weekly mileage needs to be at least the distance of the longest long run on the plan (20 miles) 2. The weekly time spent running needs to be close to the time you would be expected to spend on the longest long run on the plan (4 hours) So, if you're wondering if you are ready to train for a marathon, this is why 20 miles in one week is the traditional 'starting point'. It's not a bad cue or a bad guide. We don't throw away data around here, we use it to make good decisions. If your weekly data looks like this, and in Maintain it will most of the time, this is why you only need 10 weeks to ramp for a marathon. You don't have to ask if you are ready, we know you are. Note: We look at the numbers above as "And/or" not "both required". We don't need perfect. You don't either. Good enough is GREAT; you are ready whenever you want to be.
Of course, you're ready when you have time and space in your life to train AND a race that you're excited about, this is strictly breaking down numbers that are frequently tossed around without explanation.