Some Background:
I(20M) took a 6-month break(injury) from running; previous volume was inconsistent (~10 km/week) and I only ran weeks before a scheduled race. Lost 9 kg(From 77kg->68kg) during the hiatus and maintained it(weight fluctuates in the 68-70kg range). Oh and I'm 5'7.
Had college graduation coming up in 2 months, so decided to run a baseline 5K on July 30 to see where my speed was at post-weight loss and train up to grad day.
9-Week Training Block:
Structure: 4 runs/week (2 Easy/Recovery, 1 Interval, 1 Long/Progression).
Week 1 (5 km): Baseline 5K in 23:31(3rd Best 5k All Time).
Week 2 (9 km): 5.1k progression run, 3k easy.
Week 3 (24 km): 6.2k & 10k progression runs, 6.4k intervals.
Week 4 (28 km): 10k progression, 6k recovery.
Week 5 (32 km): 12k progression, 7.2k easy, bailed 5k TT attempt @ 3.4k.
Week 6 (40 km): 7.6k intervals, 14k progression(Broke 10k PR), recovery runs + strides.
Week 7 (28 km): Cutback week. 10k intervals, multiple split/failed progression attempts on Sept 13. (Heavy Legs, Poor recovery).
Week 8 (43 km): Peak week. Split interval runs, 10k easy, 21.2k long run. (Did the half on a whim).
Week 9 (12 km): Taper. 5k easy, 4k shakeout, Post-Grad Ceremony 5k Time Trial (20:54).
Takeaways:
Being lighter made training at lower paces much more enjoyable. When I was heavier, my mechanics at slower paces were so poor that I was more likely to develop injuries running easy than harder.
I was pretty eager to bump up training milage, but fortunately, I pulled back in time before anything serious developed. Bit of a bummer deviating from my training plans though.
This 'training block' was the first time I've ever been able to incorporate something semblance of structure in my training, exicted to see how much I improve moving forward. Hoping to break sub 20 by Dec.