• Home
  • Blog
  • Bio
  • Training
Cape Cod Coaching
Welcome!

Things take a while

10/4/2013

1 Comment

 
I've always wondered how long it takes to feel the benefits of various workouts.  No matter how "in tune" you are it's hard to tell.  Personally...I've never read too much about it.

An
article by Jeff Gaudette over at Runners Connect actually quantifies how long it is until you feel the benefits of a running workout.  It is extremely interesting and not just for runners.  Anyone involved in endurance sports should find it provocative.  Jeff Gaudette is very knowledgeable and I find most of his material very credible so I feel the information is reliable.

In general, I was amazed at how long things take.  For example, according to the article, it takes 4-6 weeks for you to benefit from a hard long run.  That's much longer than I would have expected.  However, it only takes 1-3 days for a speed development workout.  Speed development refers to sprint workout...drills...plyometrics...things that develop pure speed.  The time frame for this is short because the improvement is mostly neurological...and that sort of development happens quickly.  That's why your apparent strength goes up so quickly when you start lifting weights.  All the immediate gains are due to neural improvements...as opposed to building muscle.

This explains many runners' fascination with and emphasis on speed work.  Speed work brings quicker results.  The longer less intense stuff takes much longer.  You can also see why scientific studies with short time frames will tend to result in more favorable results from high intensity training.

Any way you look at it...training is a process...and it seems to take some time.  I guess we should keep things fun along the way.

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." 
Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
1 Comment
Adam
10/5/2013 01:11:04 am

Right good things always or usually take wile to complete manifest.. even a good home cooked meal.. we appreciate more when not immediate gratification. 4 to 6 weeks. well i would think not so long either but it prob depends on the runner and the volume of training mileage base etc. mayb quicker long run results for people running more miles consistent.. but as a general rule ok 4 6 weeks to get full effects of our work. in training for ccm oct 27- past months iv done many 10 11 to 13 and couple 15 milers. my last key long run 21 miles plan for sun 6th, 3 weeks out from capecod. i certainly hope and believe i will get the jist of results with 21 days remain time elapse to marathon day. but 4 6 weeks is all training (we hav) iv done for 5 months previous climaxing into full fruition.. and proper taper years ago i learned from you Paul & Pete s. sometimes we hav to try it for ourselves even when someone of more knowledge and exp tells us what works and what not o do proper. and my own mistakes & experiences means NOT to much time off or much taper. again theres variables depending on the runner man or woman volume of training etc. the fitness level we have built ourselves up to.. as we hav to keep ourselvs strong during taper with easier running, some shorter tempos, lil light speed or fartleck etc. gradule and minor 3 or 4 week drop in our miles base.. time & patience paul correct for results best and consistency. yeilding progress.. iv lacked consistent running in my 17 years. i need to not take this gift of our health and running for granted. In our Patience possess ye our souls.. Adam..

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Coach Paul

    Archives

    June 2016
    December 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    Categories

    All
    Health
    Racing
    Self Improvement
    Self-improvement
    Tips For Beginners
    Training Tips
    Video

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.