Evolving the Blueprint: What’s New (and What’s Not) in My Winter Training

I could talk about training all day, every day, if you let me—and today, I’m going to do just that. This winter, we’ve made some key adjustments to my training while holding onto the principles that have worked well. In this newsletter, I’ll break down what’s stayed the same, what’s changed, and why these shifts matter. The goal? To continue evolving as an athlete while maintaining consistency over the long haul. Let’s dive in.

First, this is what has stayed somewhat similar:

1. Double Threshold

   1. Ahhh yes, the Tinman Elite guys and I have continued drinking the double threshold Kool-Aid. Which, in fairness, is what you should be doing if you’re going to do it. We have continued to include a single double-threshold workout every week. One week it is 2ks in the morning and 1ks in the afternoon. The other week it is 1ks in the morning and 400s in the afternoon. Rinse and repeat. I get lots of questions and quirky comments on my Strava when we started doing this consistently and it’s definitely a hot topic at the moment. Some people put it on a pedestal, claiming the only way to be great is by doing copious amounts of double threshold training. I like to remind them that the entire mens 1500m podium in Paris— does in fact not do double threshold. However, it has worked well for the type of runner I am, and I would like to continue doing it in moderation, as it has been good for our team overall. The paces have dropped a bit, as you would hope after a year+ of doing this consistently. But, I am still not running as fast as you would think. As my good friend Kyle Merber said to me on the phone the other week, “all you do is run 5 minute mile pace for a ton of intervals.” Pretty much. I read “The Norwegian Method” by Brad Cup this fall and he talks a lot about how important controlled volume is for these type of sessions. We frequently use a lactate meter to ensure we’re not overdoing it and most of the time we are keeping things very under control- and that means running slower than you would think! We do two sessions in a day, not to run harder, but run more at the right intensity.

2. Hills- with a bit of twist.

   1. In the fall of 2023, heading into 2024, we kept hill sessions simple. Basically the same 20×200m hill repeats every week on the same hill. All run around 32-33 seconds. Hard, but very manageable. This year, we extended the hills in hopes of producing more lactate. Sessions like 2×400-300-200-300-400—up at altitude, these longer hill reps are brutal. But with very little hard track work in the fall, these are the one day in the cycle we can “get after it.” So, these have been a staple every two weeks and we certainly have run hard on these than we were on the 200m reps all last year. But, when you’re not touching the track for anything hard- this is your one “test” day.

3. Intensity- or lack their of.

   1. I don’t feel like I’ve had to “grind” too much this fall. Everything has been chill. I am taking the approach that the best training plan for me is the one I can replicate week in and week out, for an entire year. So, intensity has been lower this fall. I haven’t had any amped up workout days or days where I needed to go to the well. And last year was similar, because I wasn’t racing indoor track— you don’t need that many hero reps.

Here are a few changes we’ve made to my training this winter:

1. Long Runs-

   1. In 2024-25, we decided to MAKE THE LONG RUN HARD AGAIN. All last year, I basically jogged a 90-minute long run once a week. This was great for me physically, as I do not enjoy the long run and it beats me up like nothing else. However, I felt like it softened me a bit mentally and I don’t like that feeling on the starting line. The long run has always been one of my biggest training weaknesses. I am pretty good at the short fast stuff, the VO2 max stuff, and the threshold stuff, but really struggle on longer reps/longer and faster runs. I’m sure there is tons of science about why I should do this and that but at the end of the day, feeling like a beast on the starting line is so much of the battle and I wanted to get some confidence back by bringing back a harder long run. So, once every 2 weeks, I have thrown myself to the wolves and run with the marathoners. They inevitable drop me, but it’s great change up from the usual routine and has given me some confidence again in the longer stuff. Plus, I have some plans to do some longer road races in the near future, and you got to be able to survive a hard long run if you want to run well on the roads, right? An example session is something like this: 30 minutes easy, 30 minutes moderate (5:45-5:50 pace), followed by 30 minutes harder (5:10-5:00 pace.) Finishing with a 5- to 10-minute jog.

2. Mileage

   1. Most of last year, I was running 85-90 miles a week during the fall with a few weeks in the 90-95 range. At the time, this was the most I had consistently done. And it felt like a lot. This fall, I built up to the 90-95 range pretty quickly and moving up to the infamous 100 miles a week- cool for me. This hasn’t felt that bad and I finally feel like im training at a volume level that is appropriate for the races I want to run. I definitely put caps on myself in the past for how much I could run in a week but with the training intensity a lot lower, I am able to run more. Plus, with longer road races on the calendar (you’ll hear more about that soon) I want to show up knowing I have put in enough hard yards to appropriately pound the pavement.

3. More Threshold

   1. We are on a 14 day cycle. A 14-day training cycle spreads key workouts over two weeks instead of cramming them into a traditional 7-day schedule. This allows for better recovery, higher-quality sessions, and reduced injury risk. Typically, it includes 4-5 key workouts (intervals, tempo runs, long runs) strategically placed with easy days in between. It’s ideal for high-mileage runners, masters athletes, or anyone who benefits from extra recovery between hard efforts. While it requires more planning, it prioritizes long-term consistency and performance over short-term workload. So, one of the days of this cycle we have included a longer rep threshold day. This has been something like 3×2miles every other Monday. It may not seem like a lot or a big change, but having one more day in the cycle like this every 14 days will certainly add up when you zoom out and look at your training and racing over the course of many months and years.

2024 Winter Training week:

Monday-

am: 70 minutes easy

pm: + Gym

Tuesday- 

am: 65 minutes with 6×100m strides.

pm: 30 minute jog

Wednesday-

am: 10×1k off 60 seconds.

pm: 25×400 off 100 jog.

Thursday-

am: 45 minute jog

pm: gym

Friday-

am: 65 minutes with drills and wicket strides.

pm: 35 minute jog.

Saturday- 

am: 75 minute hill/track workout. 14×200m hill, 2×200m track, 1×800m track.

pm: 45 minute easy jog

Sunday-

am: 60 minutes easy.

Total Weekly Mileage: 91 miles

2025 Winter Training week:

Monday-

am: 3×2 mile off 90 seconds.

pm: 5 miles easy.

Tuesday- 

am: 10 miles easy

pm: off

Wednesday-

am: 25×400 off 100 jog

pm: 6xmile off 90 seconds.

Thursday-

am: 60 minutes easy

pm: gym

Friday-

am: 70 minutes with speed dev. 6×60m hill strides + 3×60m flat.

pm: 35 minute jog.

Saturday- 

am: 5 mile jog

pm: 70 minutes with a track workout: 2×1200-800-600-400 with 2-3 minute rest between reps.

Sunday-

am: 70 minutes easy.

Total Weekly Mileage: 98 miles

Training is always a work in progress. Some things stay the same because they’re effective, while others evolve based on my physical condition, mindset, and stage in my career. This winter has been about refining my approach—balancing intensity, mileage, and recovery in a way that sets me up for long-term success. I’m excited to see how these changes translate when it’s time to race, and I’ll keep sharing the journey along the way. Let’s keep stacking the work.

Please feel free to respond to this newsletter or email me at [email protected] if there are any important topics you would like me to talk about.