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Mar 8, 2011

Value of the step back week....

Today I did 4 miles outside.  It was nice to get outside again since it's looking like rain tomorrow and Thursday.  On my last run, my legs left a little tweaked.  You know what I mean?  They just had those little pains is various places after the run.  I thought, this is going to be a tough week since I am gearing back up on the mileage from last week which was a step back week.  I thought, how can my legs be having issues when I did a step back week.  That just does not seem right.  This is going to be my highest mileage at 36 miles for the week and I can't start off feeling bad.

Then.....

I ran today.  My legs never felt stronger!!!  I guess there really is a great advantage to a step back week and that is to allow your legs time to heal from all the running you've been doing getting ready for your marathon.  What is great is that for the past couple weeks, Tuesdays have been really tough because my legs were still sore(not hurt) from the long run.  Today, it felt like I didn't even do a long run this weekend.  Hopefully I'll have as great a week as my run today.

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For those of you involved in the "I just felt like running" Virtual 5k and have posted or given me your times - Thanks!  For those of you that have not posted times yet, you have until Saturday to post a time.  There is still a lot of you - 41 people.  If you are one of those people, please let me your time.  I'll be pulling names at random on Sunday for the prizes.  Good luck everyone!


Question of the day:  Do you use step back weeks in your half or full marathon training?




Have a great day and......Keep Running!!!!!!

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14 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 8, 2011 at 7:07 AM

    24:39! Race Report up some time today.

    I use step back weeks for Marathon Training. Although I run half marathons, I have never specifically trained for one, but I imagine the same principle could apply.

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  2. bobbiMarch 8, 2011 at 10:51 AM

    I'm a big fan of step back weeks (then again, I loved tapering too, so take that for whatever it's worth). Glad you had a good run today!

    (I posted my recap yesterday - thanks again!)

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  3. PaulMarch 8, 2011 at 4:45 PM

    Bingo! Glad your roaring back!

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  4. Running RicigMarch 8, 2011 at 4:48 PM

    I've sort of scrapped the idea of doing formal training for the marathon. Lately I've just been running what I feel like running (which insanely has been a lot of mileage), so I haven't had a step back week. Glad you're feeling great today!

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  5. ClaireMarch 8, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    Step back weeks are my favorite kind!!

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  6. XLMICMarch 8, 2011 at 5:37 PM

    Stepping back is almost always to one's advantage…be it iin running or in life :) I step back a lot! Probably too often ;-)

    Are you going to do some sort of linky post so all the race reports are in one place?

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  7. AnonymousMarch 8, 2011 at 6:24 PM

    oh man, i'm going to have to get over my cold fast to post a good time!

    annoying because i'm actually trying to take a step back / easy week this week

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  8. AnonymousMarch 8, 2011 at 6:44 PM

    They seem to build themselves into my training without even trying.

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  9. TerriMarch 8, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    What Mike said! Life happens, and some weeks are just better than others for getting my runs in!

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  10. Detroit Runner(Jeff)March 8, 2011 at 7:51 PM

    Jamoosh - thanks for the report.

    XLMIC - something like that but I need to wait until after Saturday to do it. I will post the winners at the same time too!

    Mike - Mike and Terri, I hear you there! Ha!

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  11. Adrienne Langelier, MAMarch 8, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    They now are a staple of my regular training. Looks like you're catching on much earlier than yours truly. I took me 3 years of unnecessary aches, pains, and avoidable layoffs to see the value of them!

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  12. DarrellMarch 8, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    Jeff, love the new look. I'm sorry about being such a slothful follower.

    Cut back weeks are a necessity for sure. We get stronger during rest not during the work. So cool that you got to feel it.

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  13. DanielleMarch 8, 2011 at 10:39 PM

    Cut back weeks are crucial to my training. Even if my legs don't feel tired from a week of high mileage, they probably are and I see it in my performance the next week. Keeping consistent cut back weeks keeps me at a point where I never feel like I NEED to take it easy for a while. I never want feel like that.

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  14. MalloryMarch 9, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    Glad your legs felt so strong! That's great!! I do use cutback weeks in my training and it definitely helps!!

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