When is the best time to fit strength training into my running schedule? I have been doing my abs (crunches, bicycle crunches and chair crunches) and legs (squats, bench quads and bench hammy's) after my hard runs on Tuesday and Thursday and my recovery run on Sunday. (I don't have the energy immediately after my Saturday long run.) I am trying to do my upper body on recovery/rest days (Mon, Wed, Fri).
I'm a little confused about when the 30 min to 1 hour clock starts for my
recovery meal. At the end of my run, after 10 min walk, 5 min stretch,
20 min lift? If I do my full lift w/ two reps it takes almost 1 hour...which
means my post run meal is late or can I restart the clock after my
lift?
What about periodizaton? I'm currently building my base before training for a Half. How should I adjust my lifting once I start a Half training program? I plan to cut out lifting during the taper but what else?
Adjusting your lifting once the half training kicks in is a real simple deal - listen to your body. it will tell you pretty smartly when you need to cut back. You may find by the peak of training you need only 1 legs session and light-ish at that and a couple of upper body sessions. Partly it depends on the "why" of the weight training relative to your running as to how you fit it all together.
I find I do more functional full body exercises as i get closer to a half and fewer pure strength/muscle bulidng type exercises as I get close to a half marathon. This is why I am the person slipping off a swiss ball 2 weeks out!
If I am doing 2 sessions back to back ie run then into the gym to do weights I time meals as if it was just one big long session. Though I will grab a gel if I am flagging at the change over. Friends will grab protein shakes/bars but I just get cramp or puke if I try that. Again listen to your body especially how it recovers!
As always - your milage may vary
1 to 4 of 4