UKC

 Im.boucing back from my injury and back to  just under a half marathon  and i expect  to get  that distance this weekend. Now my training progarm is below: Monday:rest

Tuesday:  weighted curcits

Wednesday: short run up to 8miles

Thursday: weight curcits

Friday rest

Saturday  weight curcits

Sundays  long run up half marathon

With the odd bit of climbing thrown in as and when

I want put in a speed/sprint session on friday  lunchtime  are 100m  repeats ok or would 400m be better. 

Unfortunately  i have to stay close to home as  will be on work lunch.

Plus how realistic (i need to manage my expections as to what comes post half marathon) us it that could look to complete a 50km on a progarm like this. As that is my ultimate running goals but i really enjoy the curcit training and as vain as it is i dont want to say goodbye to strenght gains. 

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

It depends what you want to achieve. I'd imagine that most fit people could cover 50km in a day - it might be slow, painful and get you injured, but you would probably cover the distance.

If you want to run it you will need a running training plan, and this is not a running training plan. You probably need to consider aerobic development, running strength development, endurance building and running economy.

Training for an ultra is likely to involve at least 4-5 runs per week, of varying distances and at varying speeds. I would suggest looking at a range of training plans and working out what suits you best. 

It's easy to end up injured if you don't train properly (and sometimes if you do train properly) so I would recommend thinking carefully about what you want to achieve and what you're willing to compromise to achieve it.

In reply to compost:

 Ok thanks the reply. Ive had a look at some plan and   No doubt i would  cover 50km  if entered a race  and endedwalking a fair chunk of it but i know i wouldnt be happy that. 

No way i can run 3-4  times a week   especially  for 2 hours plus. especially when  my mrs goes back to work i already  have enough trouble fitting  in 3  hours  of gym and climbing. With about 3 hours  of running so maybe i do need to  pull myself back abit in what i want to achieve. As personaly my  overall goal is around  functional fitness so strenght power and  decent  cardio.

Ofc anything over 13.1mile ill follow a plan for as im injured  myself  twice  but pushing past it to hard.

But i guess you cant have it  all.  And if i want  do  trainstrength  climb and running work with family balance   i wont achieve  anything  great in either Of them.

Maybe 20miles is a better goal which is still a very long way to run

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

This is quite a fixed programme. Most programmes will vary much more over time. You will have phases of focus on improving different elements. For example you may have a period of focus on high end speed. Or a different one on speed-endurance. Or alternatively one on just building distance and working on efficiency - lots of slower running... 

Don't lose you recovery time. Keep that rest Day sacrosanct... Though I do vary mine thru the week, depending on the weather. 

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

400's would be better, maybe throw is 2-3 200's at the end but 400's involve an element of aerobic work, say 400's and then 60-90s recovery. Repeat 6-10 times as you build up.

In reply to Roadrunner6:

yeah 400s need do more favorable seem and there is more speed training  progarm for 400s.

 I dont have acces to track. But i can plote a route  to  see if can find a 400m  road to use.  Ideally i need the session to be less then 45mins as  give me time to get back in the  house and have a quick shower before starting work again

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

As long as it's a good 75-90s long it'll be enough. 

5-8 minute warm up, 6 x 90s, 60-90s recovery (18 mins), 5-8 minutes back is 30-35 minutes. So you've time to add a few more. Don't all out sprint, it's more important to be fairly quick and 80-90% recovered before you go again. It's just at the point when you think you could go again, you go.

In reply to Roadrunner6:

A more then achieve  able then. 

Im  rolling my goals back a bit to the following. 

5km 20:00 3min to knock off previous  pb

10km  45: 00  about 3-4 mins to knock off prevous beat

Half marathon  1:35  about 10 mins  knock off

And just  see what i get my long run up to.   But 16 to 18miles i think is where it will safely  topout

I can  proparly squeeze   a few more miles in Tuesday. To help balance out the longer run. See  where i am in year and maybe look at 50km  then once the world and my family life has settled  down  a bit 

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:  you'll find that half time hard to do as its faster than your 10k.   

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

Why would you do 100m reps if your target is a 50k?  For a 50k the only thing that really matters is mileage.

If you want to significantly improve your running ditch two of the circuit sessions and go running. You need to decide what matters more to you. 

In reply to Alex1:

Agree. I would ditch two of the circuits over time and replace with shortish runs until happily running 4 times a week. No speedwork. Once comfortable and injury free with the increased mileage for a few weeks, flick one of the easy runs to a speed session if you really want to work on form or you just enjoy them (I do!)

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

I reckon you can run 50k off 3 runs a week, it might not be pretty, and you won't win medals but you'll survive. If you build your long run up to 20miles, do 2 shorter runs in the week you'll get round confortably. 

My physio ran a 100miler off 1 20mile run a week (the caveat is he's an accomplished ultra runner, has a base of fitness) 

If you want to be competitive (towards the pointy end of the race) then as everyone else says you need to change your training lots! And probs join a club!

In reply to mountainbagger:

I actually think speed work helps in terms of

1. running efficiency, running quick just teaches your body to run more efficiently.

2. Teaching your body to handle some Lactic acid build up

3. It's fun (for some people).

Obviously the more you run the better (generally and within reason). But getting into a schedule you enjoy and fits in your life is important. Some people just don't enjoy lots of steady aerobic miles.

In reply to Herdwickmatt 

The goal would be to just get round but as i say above i know i would be disappointed  if walked  a lot of it.

In reply to Roadrunner6:

Well the latic acid  thing is why i thought  circuits were a good idea.  As they are goid for overall strenght  and conditioning  too.

In reply to Alex1:

This. Where I used to live a local, very experienced runner I used to bump into a fair bit would always ask “what are you training for?”. I always used to just chat with him and not think anymore about it... then found out a little more about what he’d done in the past.

In short, whenever I do any session for anything, I now consider what I’m training for first and foremost. Trackwork won’t get you round and ultra if you’ve never run one, doing loads of long sport routes won’t help you become a better boulderer, etc.

So... OP - what are you training for? Make it a specific, measurable goal and make sure all your sessions contribute to it. Going to the gym will not help you run 50k, going running will. 

In reply to ianstevens:

 Very true. Ive been  listenimg to a lot of ross egdely podcasts. And he says the exact same thing. 

So currently  im training  to be stronger  and muscular and have better endurance  and increase muscle  mass And increase  my latic acid threshold. 

But increase  muscle mass is counter productive to  being able to run a really long way so  you right i need to pick a goal and accept that that i cant have it both ways.

maybe for a the 50km  somthing like 

Training to inceasre stamina  and muscular  endurance  while trying to reduce muscle loss. 

I dont want to be freakishly  massive but stronger for everyday  life

But in theory if  a curcuit and a rest day that give an extra couple of days to run.  Which would definitely  get mt weekly total up.

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

Sounds to me like you’re trying to do quite a bit. As others have suggested above, maybe consider some periodisation to your training, focussing on a few bits. Having multiple goals is really difficult (as I can attest to, having spent 3/4 years on simultaneous running and climbing plateau, before picking one), so best of luck to you. 

In reply to Roadrunner6:

I agree, but I was wondering whether the OP should not add a speed session straight away and just increase the number of runs/miles first (he only currently runs twice a week) before then turning one of the runs into a speed session. If he just adds a speed session now he would be increasing mileage and intensity in one go. But perhaps, unlike me, he's not in his forties and would get away with it

In reply to mountainbagger:

Running fast is fun, and as Roadrunner says there are loads of positives to fast running. 
 

I’d wonder about a Tri/cardio style circuit as well, 4min run/bike/row 2exercises, repeat till dead. It’s a middle ground which might either be a real positive or just a filler depending on the quality. Tricky one

In reply to Herdwickmatt:

Yes, I know, I do it (well, I'm not sure some people would call it fast)! And I think the OP should look to incorporate speedwork if he wants to. I was just suggesting away of transitioning to reduce injury risk.

Sorry, I think I'm not getting my point across but that's ok 🙃

In reply to Shaunhaynes99:

I don't like running lots of times a week, so my training plan is typically 1 long run per week, plus a speed run. This alternates between intervals and tempo/threshold run, or an easy shorter (~12km) run if I am especially tired.

Obviously it takes longer to get up to marathon distances doing this than a more typical regime, but it suits my lifestyle.

Hopefully at least one of your circuits is reasonably aerobic, don't forget to fit some stretching sessions in as well.

In reply to mountainbagger: it’s probably more to do with the fact we all think we know what the op should do and accidentally/wilfully ignore what other people say. Sorry if I did.

its problematic because leisure running is horses for courses to a large extent.

to the op: there’s loads of advice here, take some of it and remember if it’s not fun it *might* not be worth it.

caveat: suffering is often more fun than you think