Running Around 4-30-06

All right! Spring racing season is now officially in full swing. Looks like the conditions were favorable at Dogwood since there were some fast times posted. I wish I could be out there racing with you all. I'll be back in the fall after I've spent the summer strengthening and rebuilding my base.

There are some good races coming up between now and Expo with Run for the Deaf 5k this coming weekend and Lakeway 5k the week before Expo. I always like racing the week before a big race since I think it helps me get sharp mentally. However, I think this sharpening and taper this is more art than science. If anyone has something in particular that works well for you, I'd love to hear it.

Your mileage should be a little off your peak, but hold off on really cutting back until after this week. Unless you have some longer racing coming up, you might consider dropping the mileage on your long run. I wouldn't go less than 10 miles (or 90 minutes -- whichever is less), though.

This week we'll do some stuff to target 10k race pace plus some short stuff to get those legs turning over. If you haven't run a 10k recently, you can get a reasonable pace prediction here: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/rununiv/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

I'll be doing an easy road run of about 5.5 - 6 miles if anyone wants to join me.

Now for the workouts ... Week #17 in the training cycle and 4 weeks to Expo:

1. 3-4 x 2000m w/ 2:00 jog rest. Pace is 10k race pace + 4 seconds per mile. So, if your 10k pace is 6:30, run these at 6:34 pace. Don't drop below 10k pace. Then, 5 min light jogging. Then, 3-6 x 200m @R w/ 200m jog.

2. Striders TWO times this week. 6-8 x 100m

3. Optional second workout: 2x200 @R w/200m recovery + 2 x 1000m @I pace w/2 min jog + 2-4x400m@R w/400m jog.

Get your paces here ... http://www.panix.com/~elflord/vdot.html

Distance running video

Not bad for an amateur. All it needs is a cool tag line at the end, and it could be a commercial.





From ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Tsx1taTig&watch2

I don't run for money. I run because I love it.

Cool New Balance commercial.

"Like anything, there will be times when you think about quitting, but you never find that point when you do quit. It's about going beyond that. You think about what your motivation is. I don't run for money I run because I love it."

Running Around 4-25-06

Sorry this is so late. I'm on the road, and I've had some trouble getting internet access ...

Let the racing begin! This week we move to the most rewarding phase of training - sharpening and taper. We've been working hard since January, and now it starts to pay off. I expect nearly everyone will be running Dogwood this coming weekend, so this week's workout won't be too strenuous.

At this point in the cycle, you should be cutting your mileage a little.

Now for the workouts ... Week #16 in the training cycle and 5 weeks to Expo:

1. 2x1600m @ T pace w/1 min rest +
2x800m @I pace w/2 min jog (keep these at I pace - no faster) +
3x400m @R pace w/400m jog

2. Striders TWO times this week. 6-8 x 100m

3. Race Dogwood 5k.

Get your paces here ... http://www.panix.com/~elflord/vdot.html

Running Around 4-17-06

Hopefully you had a chance to get out to the Sea Rays relays this weekend. If not, you missed some excellent runners. The invitational masters mile was a good race, and it was fun to watch guys that we train with and race against battling it out on the track.

We'll continue with I-pace/VO2max work. After 4 weeks of this stuff, your body should be beginning to adapt and feel comfortable running at this intensity. This phase is always the hardest for me, but after the 4th or 5th workout, I usually feel like I'm making some progress.

I had a special request for a hill workout this week. Since I think hill workouts are a good workout almost any time in the training cycle, I'll give you two workouts to choose from: hills or track.

Before I get to the workouts, here are some quick guidelines for I-paced workouts:

1. To get the most bang for the buck, the repeats should be right around 5 minutes in duration. You can probably push that to 5:15, but I wouldn't go any shorter than 4:30.

2. Rest is jogging. The time is equal to or less that the length of the I-paced running. If you're looking for a little tougher workout, cut the rest rather than increasing the intensity. You can also try progressively reducing the rest during a particular workout. For example, start with 4:00 rest and reduce it to 3:45, 3:30, etc. A variation on that is to reduce the rest over the length of the phase. So, in week 1, you would do all your repeats at 4:00 rest. By week 5 in the cycle, you might be down to 3:00.

3. Keep the volume at around 8% of your weekly mileage.

Now for the workouts ... Week #15 in the training cycle and 6 weeks to Expo:

1a. 3-6 x 1200m @I pace with equal TIME jog for rest. The rest will probably work out to be about 400m.
Volume: The I-paced running should be about 8% of your weekly mileage
Adjustments: If you cannot run 1200m at your pace in less than 5 minutes, run 1000m repeats instead.

1b. 6-12 x hills @R intensity. I gave a detailed description of the hill route and the warmup route back on 2/19. See http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/ if you need a refresher. If you want a longer warmup, you can run the greenway out to Sequoyah Hills instead. That's about 2.8 miles. See the route here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=50927

2. Striders TWO times this week. 6-8 x 100m

3. Optional second workout: 22 minutes continuous @T pace. If that's too strenuous, cut it in half an take 1:30 rest in between.

Get your paces here ... http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html

Running Around 4-9-06

A short email this week since I've been out of town all weekend, and I'm leaving town again tomorrow morning.

This week we'll do a mix of distances to continue work on V02max. This will probably be our most difficult workout since we're throwing in a 1600m @I pace.

Now for the workouts ... Week #14 in the training cycle and 7 weeks to Expo:

1. A ladder @I pace. See below for distances based on your weekly mileage. The rest will vary, but jogging a lap should get you close to the time. Volume: The I-paced running should be about 8% of your weekly mileage, so ....

50 miles per week: 800m, 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m @I pace. Rest should be the same TIME as your 1200s.
40 & 45 mpw: 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m @I pace. Rest should be the same TIME as your 1200s.
35 mpw: 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1200m @I pace. Rest should be the same TIME as your 1200s.
30 mpw or less: 800m, 1200m, 1200m, 800m @I pace. Rest should be the same TIME as your 800s.

2. Striders TWO times this week. 6-8 x 100m

3. Optional second workout if you're not racing: 4-6 x 1600m @T pace with 1 minute rest.

Get your paces here ... http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html

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If you've run a marathon recently, you'll be better in the long run if you take a few more easy weeks. However, I understand some folks like to jump back into racing. So, if that's you, jump right into the workouts for Expo. Your body will let you know if you're ready for it. If not, the second workout might suit you a little better.

South Doyle Track

Running Around 4-3-06

Ahhh ... I think Spring is finally here. I wish I could be out there pounding the pavement, but the hamstring is still day-to-day. I'll probably be back to running hard right about the time the hot, humid weather gets here.

We're getting close to the heart of the Spring racing season, and hopefully the training we've been doing will serve everyone well. We've setup the schedule to peak for (or around) Expo. However, you can still race well leading up to it. In fact, I highly recommend getting some races under your belt in the next few weeks. It always takes me a few races to get back into it mentally and physically when shifting from the longer winter races (1/2 marathon, 30k, etc.) back to shorter stuff like 5k & 10k. If you've been doing striders regularly (hint, hint) you will probably have an easier time getting your 5k legs back.

It's a good idea to pick one or two races to focus on before Expo. If you want to race often, I'd suggest training through all but one or two. That is, don't cut mileage or intensity instead rearrange your week so that your easier days are Thursday & Friday. For your focus races, it's OK to cut mileage & intensity a little between Wed & Sat. Sometimes, I'll take a recovery week (see last week's message) the week before a race I'm focusing on (instead of the week of). I guess it takes a few days for the effects to kick in. You may be different, so experiment to see what works for you.

We'll continue with VO2max work with 1200's. They are the bread & butter of this phase.

Now for the workouts ... Week #13 in the training cycle and 8 weeks to Expo:

1. 3-6 x 1200m @I pace with equal TIME jog for rest. The rest will probably work out to be about 400m.
Volume: The I-paced running should be about 8% of your weekly mileage
Adjustments: If you cannot run 1200m at your pace in less than 5 minutes, run 1000m repeats instead.

2. Striders TWO times this week. 6-8 x 100m

3. Optional second workout if you're not racing: 4-6 x 1600m @T pace with 1 minute rest.

Get your paces here ... http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html

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Marathoners .... if you want to jump on the Expo bandwagon, please take another week of recovery with easy running. No workouts. Next week, start in with the regular workouts.