The Individual’s Program Must Be Flexible
Bowerman's Training Principles
9. The individual’s program must be flexible.
A common mistake by coaches and runners alike is to be guided by the training plan rather than let the athlete guide the plan.
It’s a subtle distinction but important to highlight.
Athletes are not robots. They’re dynamic, fluid biological organisms in constant flux. To pretend the contrary is folly.
No coach can predict the state of being of their athletes every day. Surprises always pop up. Therefore, the best training plans are works in progress, not final drafts.
Planning offers direction and priorities to training, aiding the decision making of the coach in moments of conflict. In unexpected situations, coaches need to know what is and is not important and proceed according to their priorities.
If the training plan calls for a 10-mile steady run at 6:00 mile/pace but a runner reports being tired from a fitful night’s sleep, how does the coach respond?
Do they give the athlete the day off? Cut the volume in half to 5 miles? Relax the intensity of the pace? Make no accommodations? Or suggest a light shakeout jog?
Any one of these options has merit. The response of the coach will depend on the training plan priorities and what they think will be best for the athlete both short and long term.
One could make a case for a rest day: the athlete didn’t sleep well, so their ability to coordinate and concentrate is compromised.
Or restructuring the day’s training plan slightly or entirely — some stimuli is better than no stimuli.
Or even making no accommodations — we don’t wait to run races until everyone in the field feels 100%.
If this situation occurs in the accumulation, or general, preparation period of training a high priority is consistent exposure to internal loads. Getting the work in is what counts. Pace doesn’t matter so much. So the coach may decide to have the runner run 10 miles steady, at a 6:00 mile/pace “effort,” which may record as 6:25 miles due to the runner’s preexisting fatigue.
If this situation occurs in the specific, or transmutation, period, a high priority is hitting paces. So the coach may reduce the volume to 5 miles at 6:00/pace.
And if this situation occurs in the taper or competitive period, the highest priority is freshness or recoverability of the runner. In this instance, a rest day or light jogging may be prescribed.
The best coaches are masters at calling audible. They can quickly read the athlete and circumstance and make correct decisions. This ability is a product of both in-depth planning and clarity about priorities during different periods of development.