Running Around 6-26-06

You guessed it ... more base training. We'll meet at the usual time and place for some road running this week. Be patient. Some faster stuff is coming soon.

Congratulations to Tuesday night regular, Gary Sperl, who completed the Coeur d'Alene Ironman triathlon this weekend!

Fall marathoners ... this is the third week of a 20-week training cycle.

This week, the workout is a progression run. It's a simple concept, your pace progresses (gets faster) during the workout. The total length of the run should be 1 hour. The first half should be at your regular long run pace. The second half should be at marathon pace. You can run the first half on the roads -- maybe one of the warmup routes and finish on the track, or you could do it all on the roads or all on the track. It's up to you. No breaks in between. This should be a continuous run. Since you're starting easy, you can start without a warmup, but be sure to do at least a short cooldown run. Finish with some striders.

Tuesday: Progression run: 30 minutes easy pace, 30 minutes marathon pace + 4 x striders
Weekend: Long run ... keep building

If you're running Chickamauga, this is your week 1. See last week's email for week 1 workouts. http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/2006/06/running-around-6-11-06.html

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

Running Around 6-19-06

Summer base training continues this week. We'll start to add some quality in July. Until then, enjoy the low-key summer running. There is a trail run scheduled for Norris on Sunday. If you've never been to Norris to run trails, this is a great chance to expand your horizons and eat some pancakes afterward. See http://www.ktc.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=109 for all the details.

On Tuesday, let's meet at the usual time and place for a road run. I'll be doing an easy 8-10 miles for anyone who would like to join me.

Anne will being doing track work for anyone looking to do something faster. I think she said they'll be doing 400s. Also, starting next week, Anne will be the host of a group meeting at the track on Thursdays for workouts. Their focus will be a little different than Tuesday. Thursdays will be less goal-oriented -- instead focusing on year-round maintenance type workouts. I'll be providing the workouts, but Anne will be the group organizer. More details soon.

Fall marathoners ... this is the second week of a 20-week training cycle.

Tuesday: 3200@T + 3200 @ marathon pace + 3200@T with 2 minutes rest in between + 4 x striders
Weekend: Long run ... keep building

If you're running NYC, this is your week 1. See last week's email for week 1 workouts. http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/2006/06/running-around-6-11-06.html . Chickamauga, keep working on base training.

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

Running Around 6-11-06

More base mileage this week. Let's do a road run of whatever distance you feel gives you a good workout. 8-10 miles seems reasonable to me. For road racers, we have a few more weeks of base building, so enjoy the easy running while you can. Use this time to build your mileage without the added stress of track workouts.

I won't be at the track this week since I have to travel for work, but if anyone is interested in running an easy 10 or so on Wednesday, drop me an email.

If you feel like doing a track workout for summer racing, Anne has a good summer workout schedule. See her at the track for more details. I'm sure she would love some training partners.

Fall marathoners ... this is the first week of a 20-week training cycle. You should start this cycle at the proper time for your marathon. If you are running Chicago or Marine Corps, start this week. If you're running NYC or Chickamauga, keep working on base training.

Tuesday: 4-6x 1600@T with 1 minute rest + 4 x striders
Weekend: Long run ... start building

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

Running Around 6-5-06

We'll continue with our break from the track this week with a road run. We'll still meet at the track, but we'll go wherever -- there is no set plan. I will be doing around 8.5 - 9 miles at a very relaxed pace if anyone would like to join me. 8-10 miles is a good distance for the road run.

While we're not yet into the formal part of the fall training cycle, this is the beginning. We start by building a solid base. The goal is to build your mileage intelligently. Summer is a great time for building base mileage because you don't worry about how fast you're running. Just go out and run. If it's hot & humid, you will run slower. That's OK. Believe it or not, you can get faster by just getting out the door and running.

I don't want to disuade anyone from summer races. We have some great summer races: Fireball, Carter Mill, Summer Solstice, etc. So, if you have some specific goals for the summer, talk to me, and we can put together some specific workouts.

Fall marathoners ... you should be working on your base right now too. Next week, I'll have some general guidelines. My goal is to provide you with workouts aimed at improving your marathon performance. It won't be a daily schedule, and it won't be appropriate for beginners. If you have questions that fall outside what I plan on providing, please ask.

See you at the track ....