Longer runs provide some adaptions for your selecton timed runs. But are less specific than shorter faster runs. However they are fairly specific to the overall selecton running volumes described by James S so valuable…
Try this to intriduce some quality to longer runs and increase the length of longer runs.
week 1 60 steady
week 2 70 easy
week 3 60 steady
week 4 75 easy
and so on.
60 min runs are a bit quicker than the longer week and you should start to go further in the time period.
longer week inches up durations progressively each week. The increments are up to you. Some weeks you may stick at the distance for couple of times - but you get the idea im sure.
Other factor is improving faster runs. You seem sticking at and even lost time, for example you are running 400s in 2 mins compared to say 1.47 before you got the coach.
A strategy here is to increase your speed rather than the volume/ duration. So stick to 5x400 but try to start running them faster - pick achievable targets like getting back to 1.4n.
Similar approach with threshold run - retain the distance but go for a faster time.
This is not based on vdots or anything very scientific. If you normally go through a mile on a 2 mile course in 8.00 try and hit 7.45 next time you feel good. Whatever works for you.
Do you have a road running club nearby ? Join in their weekly track sessions and pace yourself faster with others who are a bit quicker.
enter a 10k race and break 60 mins. Enter a 5k race and break 28 mins.
Supplementary work like strides are useful but are of slightly less importance than the above. Do them as part of your warm up for track intervals. Maybe add in a 4th weekly run that could be say 20 mins steady + 10x100 . Or make this run 30 mins fartlek.
The above may help you personalise the mike caviston model to yourself. It works both ends of the distance and speed envelope. You dont need to make every increase in speed and distance every week.
400s before and now are really both just done at mile pace. The reason for them being slower now is because with coach i got slower. With that said, i could definitely run the 400s faster than 2min , they are not hard to me by any means, but the plan was to build up volume to 10 x 400m then decrease speed and see how that works which i think should work well drawing out my speed (which i feel i am better at). But i have Thought about your strategy, i will try both, and see what works.
Thresholds- i like the strategy here as well and will see what works better, extending or increasing speed. Maybe both will have to be used at some point for progress?
Running club/races- i have not looked nor heard of running club in area, but i will look in to it.
As for races- i was thinking about this the other day. All the running literature i have read i have tryed most of the various sessions (thresholds, long runs, easy runs, steady, vo2, repeats ect). There are diffrences but mostly minor in detail (ie one arthur says 20min Threshold, another 40 min threshold). But something i have not done much of is which all great runners it seems do is race. The most specific kind of training there is.
Is not all the various sessions above only 2nd in (supportive work) inportance to the actual event.
Ie if all charlies sprinters did was go back and forth between gpp and spp and never competition period. Would they have developed to what they did? Even in early years did they still not compete?
From what i undertand the answers would be no and no they did compete.
Idk where im going with this exactly or how to apply successfully. Maybe im taking care of this by testing every month or so. Or maybe i need to race more. I do know there is a line and racing too mich is not good. But from past exp (1st time going thru) i didnt know jack about running and i just raced every week 1-2x/week (1.5mile and 4 mile) and not much else and my times were droping like flies. I do k ow once i started training with seal mentor racing and doing his high intensity works outs every week led me to be stale after acouple months. But the point being racing freq helped me tremendously, i just didnt realize there was a line that could be past though.
So many ideas, and the only way to find what works is try one at a time and see what works which is the plan.
Racing or time trialling every week is asking for injury or burn out. Every 4 weeks is more sensible and i think that is what you are doing. In terms of progressing volume versus speed the purpose of increasing speed a bit before distance is to keep nudging up your pace a manageable amount. You have a short time to prepare compared to a running/swimming only athlete who is working on a multi year hobby.
A 9 min 1.5m would put you in approx top 10% of a public 5k race. Or top 25% of road running club inter-club race. Doing this within a year of training is big challenge.
So you need tio find a way to progress relatively quickly and accurately without injury. A risk is increasing volume without ever running fasterthan 8mim mile pace.
A progresion would be something like:
Week 1 5x400 in 2 mins. 2m threshold in 17 mins
Week 2 5x400 in 1.55. 2m threshold in 16.40
Week 3 5x400 in 1.50. 2m threshold in 16.20
Week 4 unload and time trial or race.
Week 5 6x400 in 1.55. 2.5m threshold in17 mins
and so on.
you wont hit every progresion every week. Given you are inncreasing long run you may only go hardish on one of intervals or threshold.
This is similar to Caviston model but progressions are targeted towards going from 8 min miling to 7.30 then 7.00 etc.Rather than strictly based on proportion of current time trial pace.
as you say there are many models, terminologies etc. Imho the biggest problem is they are not personalised to athlete mentality level of natural ability previous sport background or body type.
Finally usually based on experienced runners who want smallish incremental change, say dropping 10k from 42 mins to sub 40. Or beginner who just wants to run without dropping dead. Caviston is one of few pgms i have see go from beginner to advanced.
4/19
Lower G weights
+
Cals
Push up x 3 x 16, 1x18
Sit ups x 3 x 35
Pull up x 2 x 9, 1 x 8
1min bw circuits
4/20-
Core
Sl gm x 24
F,l, r plank x 35sec
Ww x 25
Sm x 25
2rounds
1.5M test
Wu- 1M prog + dyn drills + strides
1.5M, 11:41min
(2.03, 2.03, 2.02, 1.58, 1.55, 1.38)
*over paced, had soo much left in the tank last 100m felt like 100m race. Alloot of power left over.
Cd- 1200m easy
Cals
Push up x 4 x 17
Sit up x 3 x 35
Pull up x 2 x 9, 1 x 8
1min bw circuits
*felt alittle drained for this
*so back to where i was with reserves left. Not fast yet by any means but moving in the right direction.
4/24- rest 4/18-4/24 consider unload week because of lower loads
4/25
Upper C
Core
4/26
Swim 500yd TT
9:18
Lower B
4/27
Core
Cals
Tempo run, 2.5M, 22min
4/28
Core
Cals
4/29
Upper D
Int run
6 x 400m @ 1:53 avg /4-5min RI w/ easy 400m
4/30
Lower C
5/1
Easy run, 3.24M, 34:18
5/2
Upper E
Core
5/3
Tempo swim,sc , 900yd, 18:28
Lower D
*dropped 50sec off swim
*didnt go in depth.
Core, cals same set up just been adding volume
Weights generally 1 set/ exercise 6-10 exercises lots of diff exercises. Rotating through 5 lower and 5 upper days
Wu and cd for swim/runs- pretty routine here mostly 5-10min progressing from easy to solid pace, some strides and dyn drills
Cd-5-10min easy