Running Around 11-25-06

I hope everyone had a great race on Thanksgiving followed by lots of turkey.

Now that we've completed our fall training cycle, it's time for some rest. Rest is a very important part of the periodized training philosophy. You've asked your body to work hard for several months, and before you know it, the Dogwoods will be blooming, and you'll be thinking about fast times again. If you don't give yourself time to recover now, you'll be less likely to be able to perform at your best later. You can't be at your best all year long.

So ... my suggestion is to take some time off from running. A week or 10 days is OK, and you won't lose too much fitness in such a short time. Do some cross training if you want, or do nothing. At the very least, cut your mileage back and/or take a few extra days off.

If you're thinking Knoxville Marathon or Half, the timing is perfect for a break. You can take some down time and start back with the official training group the first week of Dec. If a break now doesn't fit your schedule, consider one between now and the end of the year.

Looking ahead ... for the next several weeks, we'll go back to base building for our next training cycle. That means some road runs on Tuesdays.

Running Around 11-18-06

Final week in the training cycle and 4 training days until Autumnfest ...

There will be no formal track workouts this Tuesday due to the Thursday race. For Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll recommend a few easy miles followed by 4-6 striders.

A Sunday workout would give you the same number of days between workout and race as we would normally have for a Tuesday workout and a Saturday race. So, if you feel like doing a workout tomorrow (Sunday), try ... 2 x 1600 @T pace w/1 min rest + 4 x 200m @R pace w/200m jog rest.

You've put in the miles and the workouts, now it's time to reap the rewards. Enjoy your race on Thursday!

Running Around 11-12-06

We'll do a fairly ambitious workout this week since there will be a little over a week between Tuesday's workout and the race on Thanksgiving. In addition, I would recommend doing one of the optional workouts on Friday or Saturday with no workout next Tuesday.

If you haven't done so already, drop your mileage down this week to give your legs some added rest.

Now for the workouts ... Week #19 in the training cycle and 10 training days to Autumnfest.

1. 2 x 800m @ goal race pace w/200m jog rest + 2-8 x 400m @R pace with 400m jog rest. Total amount of hard running should be 5% of your weekly mileage.

2. Striders TWO times this week. 4-6 x 100m

3. Optional second workout A: 20-22 minute continuous run @T pace.
Optional second workout B: 2 x 1600 @T pace w/1 min rest + 4 x 200m @R pace w/200m jog rest.

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

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Fall marathoners ... this will be the last note. If you're running Huntsville or any other fall race, you should be able to go back and follow the schedule from 10-2-06 forward on http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/ Don't hestitate to email me if you have questions.

Running Around 11-6-06

It was good to see lots of Tuesday track regulars at the Millhouse 15k yesterday. And, I think, everyone took home an award! It must be the payoff for all the hard work you've been doing at the track. Let's keep it up this week, and take home more awards at Buddy's 5k on Sunday.

This week we'll do some 400's to sharpen up for our final few weeks of training and racing. Remember to work on running fast but controlled and relaxed. If you're legs are feeling a little heavy from racing on Sunday, I'll suggest an easy run on Tuesday (maybe 8 miles or so) and moving the workout to Wednesday instead.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. If you're in Knoxville, you can view a sample ballot at:
http://www.knoxcounty.org/election/pdfs/sample_ballot_110706.pdf

Now for the workouts ... Week #18 in the training cycle and 3 weeks to Autumnfest.

1. 5-10 x 400m @R pace w/400m jog rest. R-paced running should be 5% of your weekly mileage.

2. Striders TWO times this week. 4-6 x 100m

3. Optional second workout: Race -or- 3-5x 2000m @T pace w/1 min rest.

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

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Fall marathoners ... less than 1 week until race day (for Chicamauga Marathon; others see notes that follow)

1. 2x1200 @MP + 2x1200 @T. Take 1-2 minutes rest.

2. Striders TWO times this week following an easy run. 4-6x100.

3. 2 miles of continuous T pace during any of your runs this week (no later than Thursday).

Get your paces here ... http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html
Get your MP here ... http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/rununiv/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

Marathoners for races other than NYC adjust your schedule accordingly. See the previous posts at http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/ for the corresponding workouts:

Huntsville: Do the marathon workout from 9-25-06