What strength training plans/cross-training plans you usually do? Any recommendations for me?

[jcross485]

I've experienced the same. I don't count on them happening, and there's never any sign when one might happen. They're just gifts.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a skinny young triathlete. When I had enough time to train, I noted that my progress often happened in discrete steps.

An example is that for months I would run a local ~10k route at the same pace, notably struggling and slowing on some of the rolling hills. Then one day I would suddenly be running 5s/mile faster, and I was faster up the hills, and felt better doing so. And this improvement would remain - it wasn't just a one off good day. A few months later another discrete improvement might happen, and again, for no apparent reason. Something just clicked in my brain or body, and I made a jump. It certainly helped that I would sometimes run that route twice in a single day, but what's really important is that my improvements were discrete, not gradual or continuous (linear or otherwise).

I'm 100% in line with you.

[Rowan McSheen]

I'm a few days late here but this is exactly what happens with me when coming back from an injury or other layoff. I'm currently working on regaining my fitness after being wiped out by covid at the start of the year and this time as well the improvements have been not a gradual and linear progression but a series of sudden steps. As Reuben describes, I spend a while struggling on a given route then all of a sudden I'm knocking minutes off my time at a lower hr and with an easier overall feel. And staying there until the next step.

If that's weird good to know I'm not the only one