Moving up an age group has an interesting mental twist - you simultaneously feel both young and old! This year I have a series of big challenges - Rockman and the ÖtillÖ Worlds as my two big bad swimruns, and then at the end of the year, I have set my mind on a new Marathon PR in Valencia.

Biologically each year I get less to play with. So each year I have to train smarter - look for untapped sources of performance. In essence, I need to do more with less. Some of you have asked what a regular week looks like, so I'll provide an outline of what I’m doing. 

As I argued in Aim Lower and Get More Done, the most significant gains in performance come not from going from “some” to “more” but from going from “inconsistent” to “consistent”.

Remember the training maxim #1 from my Training Manifesto post?

Maxim 1 - Take Process over Perfection

Repeatability - Whereas special training interventions and the latest, greatest, special workout are cool, I find that a basic fixed weekly schedule creates the best conditions to ensure consistent training. Consistency, repeatability, and accumulated adaptations give the best results over time. Variation is for the weak-minded!

Fix the non-negotiables up-front - In creating a weekly schedule, decide up-front what are the non-negotiable commitments that you have outside of training. This includes work, family, and other distractions. When you have that list of non-negotiable limiters, create your plan. When the plan is created, do not allow any other “negotiable” limiters to impact your training! Stick to the plan - it’s no longer negotiable!

Rest only when you need to or you have to - There are no specific rest days in my weekly schedule. Unless you are a full-time athlete, life circumstances generally dictate rest days as unplanned events that arise in real life. Also, if you are unusually tired then a rest day may be needed even if not planned and can be taken guilt-free. In this way I strive for consistency, with rest taken when needed, keeping balance with other life factors.

The TJ-14 Block!

Currently, I have a 14-day block that repeats and looks like this:

As a guide to the intensity zones I use, see this table:

Note that I don’t use heart rate for zoning. Frankly, knowing my heart rate doesn't help much. The most important “zone” is the green zone below LT1/AeT, which I can gauge with RPE (using conversational pace), and HR is unusable at the other extreme of Z6 and Z7 intensity.

Training Notes

If you want to try the TJ-14 block, here are some important things you should note.

As a swimrunner my cross-training is swimming and I have those four to five set times every week. Yours could be any low-weight bearing Z2 activity (ARC machine, bike, row, etc.) this cross-training is KEY to the plan. If I miss a swim I replace it with a bike session. As the weekends are loaded I keep Monday very easy, Thursday is also an easy “recovery” day after a hard Wednesday.

NB Even if I was not a swimrunner and my only priority was run performance I would still cross-train. I prioritize quality in the run sessions. See also Longer or Faster - Part 3. There are smarter ways to achieve run performance goals that avoid the recovery debt, fatigue, and injury risk of high-volume running.

You should also try to get in a minimum of 2 strength training sessions per week. I schedule them on Tues, Thur and Sat, but do them whenever practical. I didn’t count them in the weekly hours. My run strength lifts are squats, split squats/Bulgarian split squats, deadlifts, and calf raises. I also do occasional bench and overhead press for the upper body. I have some foot and lower leg strengthening exercises using a Mobo board that I do almost daily.

For the Z1/Z2 runs, if I feel good then I finish the last 5 mins “hard” otherwise I stay in Z1/Z2. After easy runs, I always try to do a few strides <20s.

We know that mitochondrial biogenesis responds to regular stimuli - double days are great - but note there is only one double-run day in the 14 days to avoid too much lower leg run stress.

Wednesday says ÄR interval workout. ÄR stands for Ängby Runners which is my local run club. I set the weekly interval session for them which will change with the periodization. These are currently speed-focused but depending on the period they could be Z3, Z4, or Z5.

Friday Week 1 Z7 Hill Intervals - these hill sprints are done mid or at the end of a 60-minute easy run. These are 6 to 8 seconds (don’t go longer) ALL OUT 100% start at 4 reps and work up to 10. Allow full recovery 3 to 5 mins between. These will not feel aerobically taxing as these are working on neuromuscular and nervous system stimuli resulting in running economy gains and injury prevention.

Friday Week 2 Z6 Hill Intervals - also done mid or at the end of a 60-minute easy run, these are 30 to 45 seconds with 6 to 12 reps at 85 to 90% effort. Walk back recovery.

Sunday Week 1 Double Threshold format: AM - 5 x 6 mins (1 min) and PM - 10 x 3 min (1 min) perfect for a treadmill. Target intensity is below the anaerobic threshold (LT2) - Sunday Week 2 is a long run.

I’m not convinced that double threshold days are that important for recreational athletes, but I enjoy the format and it makes the treadmill fun. Interestingly, the double threshold sessions on Ingebrigtsen/Bakken/Almgren et al are the sessions that create the media froth. Why don’t their 20 x 200m hill repeats at 8 to 10 mmol get more attention? If I had to prioritize I would choose the latter. (See A Week With Jakob)

I like the idea of doing a 5km time trial (e.g. Parkrun) every 4 to 6 weeks to gauge progress.

As stated in Maxim 1, I don’t schedule full rest days. I take them when needed or when forced (family, work, etc) but I do keep an eye on the progressive overload so if de-load doesn’t come naturally I know when to take the foot off the gas.

How to Progress Training Stimulus

If you are not used to this volume and/or mix of intensity I would recommend the following progression:

1. Establish a weekly routine of Z1 & Z2 aerobic workouts, these can be a mix of running and some form of cross-training (establish means months not weeks!).

2. When you have achieved consistency in these sessions week in and week out add a small quantity of Z6 and Z7 stimulus. This means adding some strides and hill sprints to your easy sessions.

3. You can get a lot of performance gains from just 1) and 2) but if you want to progress further you can add in the Z3, Z4, and Z5 stimuli similar to what I have done in my 14-day block - keeping the quality run training and using cross training modalities keep aerobic volume high.

With the Valencia long game in mind, I recently joined the Envol Start Line Ready group for Q4 marathon A-Races. We had an information call with Marathon Coach Max Frankell last week (you can watch it here). If you have a late-year marathon goal I can recommend it, the group is equally suited to pure runners and multisport athletes alike. I like the idea of building your speed base early, and having accountability partners and generally like-minded athletes to stay inspired and motivated.

I will also take on the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championships on September the 1st. I thought I was done after my 2021 appearance but Teamie Daniel Kernell talked me into doing the big dance again. So I will be back on the hallowed course; 70km total distance over and between twenty-four islands with 60775m of running and 9285m of swimming. Keep an eye out for Team Envol Lucha Libre this swimrun season.

Getting faster at 55 is an exciting mission - to achieve things you’ve never done before, you need to do things you’ve never done before. For a full list of my 2025 events see LINK. Next week we will look at some of the hacks I plan to incorporate into my plan in 2025. Train smart and have fun.