The Soggy Sock: Reaching Peak Weeks

Written by Dr. Christina Schultz

This is the light at the end of the tunnel, folks: peak week.

At this point in your training, you’ve built a strong base and progressed to more specific training, and taper time is just around the corner. If you’re not familiar with “peaking,” or are new to running, traditionally this week or two will be the most intense training of your cycle, and will include at least a couple of these components:

• Your longest long run (with or without race-pace intervals)
• Faster intervals at low-to-moderate volume with longer recovery time
• More work at race pace

These workouts are the “key workouts” you’ve been building toward. When working with running clients, before a training cycle we sit down and identify two to four key workouts that hit various components of their goals and give them the confidence they need to feel ready. We work backward from there and build to these workouts over the one or two peak weeks before tapering.

Unfortunately, life happens, and sometimes you show up and have a bad day. It’s important to remember that a workout not going perfectly doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not ready. I encourage my athletes to take a step back and look at their training with a thousand-foot lens. Often it’s evident, based on the athlete’s whole training block, that they’re prepared; that day just wasn’t their day.

Here are three things to prioritize during this time to make the most of it:

Recovery

Maybe you go to bed a half-hour early, schedule physically demanding chores around this week, take extra time to mentally decompress, or use other recovery tools you have access to.

Nutrition

This could easily fall under recovery, because one of the best things you can do to be prepped for your next workout is to fuel your body before and after it. Proper intake before working out is like adding fuel to the tank before you even use it, so you’re closer to baseline afterward. Fueling well afterward helps you top off the tank for what you used up.

Go easy

At this point, easy and recovery runs are well-known, important parts of training that prepare you for the next hard day. During peak weeks, you may choose to take this to the next level. This will look different for everyone, but for some it may mean running extra slow on easy days, or exchanging recovery runs for a light swim, bike ride, or even a brisk walk.

About the author: Dr. Christina Schultz

Dr. Christina Schultz graduated with a degree in exercise science from Florida Atlantic University, where she was a captain for the cross country and track teams. She went on to earn a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine, where she also served as a head high school cross country coach and distance track coach. During this time, she became a certified strength and conditioning specialist to enhance her ability to treat athletes and improve their performance.

Christina moved from Jacksonville, FL to Greer, SC with her dog Rosie to help keep the community active. She continues to run in her spare time and enjoys exploring the city and hiking.