Polarization of Training

I now have a simple, elegant, research-supported, injury-free training plan for my running future. Well, at least until the Illinois Half-Marathon is done at the end of April. I will polarize my training. Mostly very easy running with a little hard running thrown in to improve speed and race-day readiness. No middle ground. Too many runners do middle effort runs that do not contribute much to their fitness. Not hard enough to be hard, but not easy enough to be easy. Time to polarize! I'm estimating that my overall easy vs hard proportion will be 85/15. It's suggested to keep that ratio around 80/20.

I will do super easy (all aerobic, heart rate below 135) for everything except one run per week. That one run will be hard. Very hard. Heart rate above 160. Minimum of lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR), but often higher (like VO2 max). The one hard run can be anything that pushes the pace and heart rate. But it needs to be a serious effort. Not just "a little pick me up."

Three mile tempo run? Sure.
Three x 1-mile intervals at 5k race pace? Yes.
Eight x 400m repeats on a track? Indeed!
Sorta hard on the treadmill? Nope.

I'll have my watch with HR monitor to keep me honest. All runs, except the hard one, will have a Maffetone alarm and I'll be warned not to exceed that easy effort (which is ~82% of LTHR). The hard run should be at LTHR or higher for at least 20 minutes total.

My basic week will look like this:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Off	Easy (MAF Test)	Easy	Hard	Off	Long, but Easy	Easy

I'll likely rotate different hard runs each week for variety: hill repeats, tempo runs, track intervals, less structured trail repeats (~fartleks)...even occasional hard runs on the treadmill. As I target ultras in late spring and summer, I can keep this plan, but just extend the long runs (but still keep them at a low HR). In reality, this plan is probably perfect for ultra training. Lots of easy aerobic fat-burning efforts with a touch of speed.