How I start cooperating double thresholds into my training plan

Training
1

Hi My name is Nikita!,

I am a senior in highschool I do cross country and track. I’m two weeks into my track season right now focusing on the 1600, and 3200 this year. I want to start cooperating double thresholds into my training but I don’t know how to and how to do it safely. Can anyone help?

My 1660 pr is 4:34

3200 pr is 9:53

Goals for this season 1600- 4:25 and 3200-9:35

2

Solid times and your goal is definitely achievable. Double days are a great way to improve fitness and can reduce training load per session. Not sure on your situation but doubles don’t always fit the life of a high schooler however. How many AP classes are you taking? Are you in any clubs? Taking and studying for the SAT? How’s the college apps? For most HS athletes it will mean getting up real early, doing a workout, showing, getting ready for school, etc. Will that cut into your sleep? How will you recover a before the next workout? How will it impact your academic performance?

There’s a lot that goes into it… but can be done. Do you have a coach who knows your training history and life stress that can help you plan?

3

I have a super easy senior year scheduled. I have practice right after school at 3. if I did it in the morning would that give me enough time to recover. I do and don’t trust my coaches training plan I feel like I could be doing more in practice and sometimes I have to run after practice or in the morning to get the mileage I need. Is there another way I can be at my best fitness then double thresholds?

1 Like
4

I’m a high school coach currently and have been in your shoes as an athlete. (It was a long time ago but I had 6 coaches over my 4 years of HS). The best advice I can give is COMMUNICATE with you coach. You want to be on the same page. Going out and doing a workout in the morning, without your coach knowing to properly plan an afternoon workout can lead to poor performance and maybe injury. Tell your coach that you are interested in upping your mileage and experimenting with double threshold training. I have a friend who coaches that did it this year with his runners and had some success with it. But you really need a plan, and a plan to take recovery seriously. The best way to accomplish your goals is consistency, buy-in and staying healthy.

On that note… there is no secret workout or training program. But there is an underused recovery tool that most teenagers ignore: sleep. Unplug the electronics and get 8-10 hours a night and it will set you up nicely. And one last bit of advice… It is your senior year. Have fun and enjoy it. You only get this once so make the best of it!

(P.S. I know this is general but is deliberately)

3 Likes
5

What he said.

First, you don’t jump straight to double threshold workouts.

You start with double days - like an easy 30 minutes in the early morning on top of your regular workout in the afternoon.

Then you progress to multiple threshold workouts per week. And if all that is well tolerated, then maybe you do double thresholds.

Finally, you have to periodize your training. When is the idea time for double thresholds in your training plan???

2 Likes
6

When you are young, you tend to be impatient. You want results tomorrow. Or better, yesterday. Training doesn’t work like that. I would forget about double threshold days and do the following:

  • Start learning about structured training, the basic principles such as progressive overload, periodization, specificity and individualization.
  • Discuss your plans with a coach and make sure any ideas you have are ok with them. If you do “extra credit” work on the side without your coach knowing, this can seriously throw off your training, because your coach hasn’t (couldn’t!) factor in the extra hours.
  • Endurance training is, to a large degree, fatigue management. A lot of people will say/think “To be faster, you have to train more.” But they forget the important qualification “If you can recover.”
  • Prioritize boring things like sleep and good nutrition. Those will improve your capacity for recovery, i. e. your ability to train more.
  • Take rest weeks seriously. You won’t get faster during your hard training weeks, most of the adaptations happen during your rest weeks. Take those seriously, as seriously as any hard training session.
  • You cannot go head first through the wall, if you do too much, your body will stop you. You will get sick and get injured. Take those signs seriously and adapt.
  • If you want to make changes and gotten approval, start small. If you want to do double days, simply add 30 minutes of easy running. It may not feel like much, but it adds up at the end of a week or month. More ≠ more, your body needs to adapt to cope with the extra load.
  • When you talk to your coach, identify key training sessions and design your training plan around them. You want to nail those key sessions, and if you are too fatigued, you will not be able to benefit from them as much.
  • You want to err on the side of less volume and intensity. Do not train at the razor’s edge where one unforeseen disruption can push you over the cliff. If you leave yourself margin for error, you will be 99 % as fast. If you push yourself too hard, you could ruin your entire season.
1 Like
7

Bingo. Also a former T&F coach here. Unless you’re tipping >80 mpw, I don’t think you need to be doubling. Talk to your coach about adding mileage to your singles. A little goes a long way. Extend the cool downs of your workouts by 10-15 minutes. Make your long runs longer, do a few of them progression style. It sounds like your motivation for doubling specifically is to add mileage without your coach knowing it, and that won’t go well.

2 Likes
8

No running advice here but make sure you are up to snuff on fueling for your current workload/growing/school life on top of adequate sleep. Some of that improvement you want might be hiding in what you are already doing or not doing (sleep/nutrition). Adding an early morning session on top of adequate sleep means fueling gets harder and you have school hours to mess with access to food. Good luck!

*Parent of a kid that went thru high school swimming the mornings and running in the afternoons.

1 Like