Hi, Mel...me again. I have adjusted my training _base_d on magazines articles and in your tips here from the forum, and everything is going all right...except for the swimming...i had a shoulder injury...but this is onother story. I wanted to know from you about the running volume of the long run and brick workouts for XTERRA racing. How much do you think is the ideal for the longest brick and long run training ? I am planning to run, at the end of the _base_ fase where i reach the peak volume, 11k ( race lenght ) at the brick run and about 21-24K at the long run. Do you think it is too much ? Ah, I'd like to know also if at the regenerative week I have to do only easy workouts or if i can do some high intensity workouts but with a very reduced volume.
Do you train amateur athletes from another country ? In case of a positive answer what are the pre requisites for it ?
Thanks one more time. You are helping me a lot with my training. This is a fantastic site! Hope i can get back to the swimming pool soon enough to get my place in Maui and thank you personaly. Bye, Luiz.

Post edited by: lfcgatti, at: 2007/06/14 21:55

Hi Luiz,

IN my opinion... I think you only need to run about 20-45 minutes off the bike during a brick. I like to make a bit of it quality even if it is only 10 minutes just to feel like you are running fast. Trying to run too hard when you are tired can lead to some strength but also to injury so be careful with it. Better to run less with good form.

For your long run, building up to 21-24km makes sense but only if you are running that is less than 105 minutes. No point in running any longer than that when the race is only 11km. I would say run that amount and less again with good form and decent speed.

More is not better if it is not done with quality. Once you can comfortably run with a good pace and good form for 105 minutes then you may want to build to two hours if you need more. I personally do not run longer than 105 minutes on my long runs just because I have not done enough _base_ work to really continue to run well after that point. When I build towards a half ironman I will try to do a bit more but while I am working on strength and speed, more than that would be too much.

Again, since I do not know everything you have done, your pace, etc... I can't say for certain that any of this advice is any good. But knowing some of your previous posts.. I would say to err on the less is more side for your plan because you want to be able to recover well from your efforts in order to improve.

When you are taking time to regenerate, complete rest without intensity is required for a certain number of days. When you are feeling better, some short bursts of intensity can keep you in touch with your high end fitness while you continue to recover until your next build phase. These should be minimized in order to allow you to continue to recover without adding more fatigue. Again, a little is a LITTLE. If you do too much hard work you are no longer recovering.

Hope you get the spot!

I do take athletes from out of country but only in November to February as it makes no sense to pick up part way through the year.

All the best, mel

Thanks, Mel. Good luck in Richmond.