Running Around 1-8-06 (Week #1)

OK. This week we officially kick off a new training cycle. We've traditionally done 2 cycles per year. The first is geared to peaking for the Expo 5k/10k on Memorial Day weekend. The second is geared toward peaking for a race in late fall -- usually Autumnfest.

In a training cycle there are 4 phases. Each trains a different physiological system. For this cycle, each phase will be 5 weeks long.

Phase 1 is for base building and injury prevention. Ideally, we shouldn't be doing speedwork in phase 1. However, we've been on the roads for at least 5 weeks, so I think it's OK to get back to the track if you're feeling stale (mentally or physically). Just keep in mind that speedwork is a low priority in this phase. First priority should be your weekly long run and building or maintaining your mileage base. Also, we shouldn't be waring flats for workouts at this point. Save your legs for later in the year.

So ... 20 weeks to Expo. For this week, let's do:

3-5 x 1600 @ T pace with 1 minute rest between repeats. If this is your first workout back, start 10-15 seconds per mile slower for the first repeat. If you're feeling comfortable, increase the pace. Get your pace here ... http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html ... If you want to keep doing road runs, that's OK too.

Also ... 10 weeks to the Knoxville Marathon:
Since its so far into training, I don't have a specific workout for marathoners, but T pace is excellent for marathon training. You should be able to handle longer repeats and more volume - something like 2 x 5k with 3 minutes rest. Hopefully, you're also doing some continuous marathon-paced runs too. If you're not, try starting with 7 miles at pace. If you can get to 13 miles at pace in a workout, your confidence should be high for race day. If anyone is interested in specific marathon workouts, let me know, and I'll include them.

For newcomers, we start each workout with a warmup run and end with a cooldown run. There is a short option around 2 miles and a longer option of 3 miles. I've entered the routes in the USATF's online database. To view them directly, go to:
http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=2342
http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=2347

That's all for this week ...