From bobg@Radix.Net Wed Mar  1 11:33:19 EST 2000

In article <8EE8A6AF8ljsundbycompusmartab@206.75.182.109>,
Lorne Sundby  wrote:
>On 28 Feb 2000, jennefir@aol.com (Jenn e fir) wrote:
>>I discovered the same with that silly 'no more than 10% increase per
>>week rule.' After trying to increase exactly 10% per week. I found it
>>impossible and had to increase weekly mileage at a much slower rate,
>>then suddenly one week *ploof* 20-30% increase.
>>
>>Running, it seems, improves in unpredictable leaps.
>
>I agree with this 100%.  It's been my experience that you plod along for a 
>while and seem to be unable to improve and then - wham (similar to ploof) - 
>in one week you can blow away all your old course records.  If you graphed 
>it, the improvement wouldn't be a straight line or a curve, it would look 
>like steps.
>
>If others have had this experience I wonder if it is related to physiology 
>or psychology - and by the latter I mean you (I mean "me", of course) get 
>into a rut caused initially by your physical limitations, and then later by 
>your inflexible or inflated expectations, and then at about the same time 
>your physical catches up something happens to take you to a new level - a 
>race, or a perfect workout, or whatever.

  Indeed, that was the other note that I'd posted and which prompted
this line of thought.  I'm undergoing one of those periods of unpredictable
great leaps.  Whether, as you say, it is physical or psychological is
one of the questions.  Whichever, it does make it more difficult to
guess reasonable challenging goals.  Not that it matters ultimately, I
suppose, in that a PR is highly likely regardless, but ... there's something
to looking confidently at a result and saying that this was about as good
as could be done that day.

  I do think there's a degree of 'rut' (no Jenn, not that kind!) involved
preceeding the leaps, when they occur.  It is easy to pigeonhole yourself,
and if you don't look far outside of that rut, it can be hard to make a 
change to something faster.  Case is, for me, that I find I've got a few
'gears' in which is it relatively easy to run.  They correspond to particular
paces/mechanics/breathing patterns.  If I only look at small changes (5-15 
seconds/mile, depending on which gear), then the current version is near 
optimal.  But, for a larger change, 20-30 for a couple of them, more like a 
minute for another (faster, btw), then it is _easier_ to run the faster 
pace than the slower.  Great leap. 

  I'll try to enjoy it while it lasts.  5k tempo tonight at near the
old PR pace.

-- 
Robert Grumbine http://www.radix.net/~bobg/ Science faqs and amateur activities notes and links.
Sagredo (Galileo Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much 
evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less appreciated than they 
would be had they been presented in a more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences