5km Test Sunday ---- Question

trap_star · Post by **trap_star** » March 27th, 2007, 5:48 pm

If I had a 5km erg test on Sunday, would it be ok to do a category 4 workout on Friday? Or will that affect my erg score?

Thanks

trap_star · Post by **trap_star** » March 27th, 2007, 9:20 pm

Any ideas? Anyone have experience with doing high intensity within 48 hours of a test, or should I take a safer route and do some steady state category 6 work?

thanks again

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » March 27th, 2007, 9:41 pm

I'm not sure what you mean by categories, but the day prior to my previous 5k PB I totally bombed out on a failed attempt at a 2k, then finished up the session with 3 hard sets of 4x 1:00 with 1:00 rests.

I didn't expect a PB the next day but started within range and kept getting faster, eventually lowering it by 27 seconds. So it is possible for you to go for the 5k two days after your session.

On the other hand if you totally wear yourself out then you might not be recovered. What you do depends on your goals and how important the the test is to you. Personally I might go moderately hard but would make sure to keep a good reserve for recovery and the test.

trap_star · Post by **trap_star** » March 27th, 2007, 9:49 pm

sorry, category four means roughly 4-6 splits above a 6k pace (or more like 5-7 above a 5k pace). So someone who was pulling a 1:45 for 5k, category 4 = 1:50,1:52. I think I'll still do the workout (isn't through the roof intense like tough speedwork) but I'll make sure to have an extensive cooldown + stretching. I'm still contemplating whether I should take saturday off though.

almostflipped · Post by **almostflipped** » March 27th, 2007, 11:46 pm

Interesting, I normally hear Cat 4 quoted as 6k+2, but it does go higher as duration increases. In any case, the answer is no, you generally would not do anything that taxing so close to the test (this varies from person to person, I speak from my general experiences competing and coaching but have seen different methods work for people). Generally your last medium to hard workout would be on Thursday and Friday/Saturday would be something that is recuperative in nature, but still has hard work thrown in to keep you accustomed to pulling hard. Most athletes I have seen are better off doing something rather than taking the day off prior to a test piece. Below is an example of the training I would assign prior to a 6k I was concerned with, but not completely peaking for:

Tuesday: 80' piece (60' at Cat 5, 20' of 45"on/15" sprints)
Wednesday: 60' Cat 6
Thursday: 2-3 sets of 6 x (1'on/1'off), pressure around 2k or slower (some judgement needed, want to work hard but not kill yourself), plenty of rest between sets
Friday: 45' Cat 6
Saturday: 30-45' Cat 6 with power 10's every 5-10' (varies depending on how the athletes appear to be, might be power 20's even)
Sunday: Test piece

Again this is the general structure (not necessarily the workouts I would use everytime) that I've seen work for myself and my athletes. It may not be best for everyone and some experimentation is needed. Personally I enjoy the 80' piece prior to a 6k, but I've also used Cat 4 work on that day.

trap_star · Post by **trap_star** » March 29th, 2007, 9:54 am

almostflipped wrote:Interesting, I normally hear Cat 4 quoted as 6k+2, but it does go higher as duration increases. In any case, the answer is no, you generally would not do anything that taxing so close to the test (this varies from person to person, I speak from my general experiences competing and coaching but have seen different methods work for people). Generally your last medium to hard workout would be on Thursday and Friday/Saturday would be something that is recuperative in nature, but still has hard work thrown in to keep you accustomed to pulling hard. Most athletes I have seen are better off doing something rather than taking the day off prior to a test piece. Below is an example of the training I would assign prior to a 6k I was concerned with, but not completely peaking for:

Tuesday: 80' piece (60' at Cat 5, 20' of 45"on/15" sprints)
Wednesday: 60' Cat 6
Thursday: 2-3 sets of 6 x (1'on/1'off), pressure around 2k or slower (some judgement needed, want to work hard but not kill yourself), plenty of rest between sets
Friday: 45' Cat 6
Saturday: 30-45' Cat 6 with power 10's every 5-10' (varies depending on how the athletes appear to be, might be power 20's even)
Sunday: Test piece

Again this is the general structure (not necessarily the workouts I would use everytime) that I've seen work for myself and my athletes. It may not be best for everyone and some experimentation is needed. Personally I enjoy the 80' piece prior to a 6k, but I've also used Cat 4 work on that day.

Thanks for the info and reply, I appreciate it.