Running Around 7-30-07

First things first ... Due to the Junior Olympics events at Tom Black Track, the Tuesday workout group will meet at Cherokee Blvd tomorrow. Same time as usual, 5:30 pm. Meet at the big parking lot on the West end of the Blvd - where the Dogwood 5k starts.

You can watch events live online at .... http://www.aaujrogames.org/trackfield_playon.php

Cherokee Blvd gives us some nice options for workouts, so I'll give you some flexibility this week. First option is hills. Run the 2.5 miles as a warmup, do hill repeats, return 2.5 for a cooldown.

The second option is a continuous 10k tempo run at marathon pace. Do at least a mile warmup/cooldown for this option. Run 2 loops of the Dogwood 5k course. The mile markers along the Blvd should serve as a good guide for pacing.

Final option is a 70 minute progression run with 35 minutes easy/35 minutes hard. You probably need to hit the greenway to get enough distance for 70 minutes worth of running.

Striders on the grass would be a good addition to any of the workouts.

These are all great workouts for building strength and stamina as we near the end of our summer base training.

Now for the workouts ...

Choose 1 of:
1a. 4-10 x hills @R intensity. Here is the hill workout route. http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=9492

1b. 10k tempo run @MP.

1c. 70 minute progression run. 35 minutes easy followed by 35 minutes @MP.

Plus:
2. Striders. 4-6x100m twice this week.

Get your paces here: http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html -or- http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

Running Around 7-23-07

I haven't heard any complaints about the off-track workouts, so we'll go with another longish quality run this week. Let's bump the duration/distance up a little this week. Try to add 10 minutes to what you've run the last two weeks (maximum of 10 miles or 70 minutes). Let's do 30 minutes easy, 25 minutes at MP then 5 minutes a little faster than MP. Finish with the last 10 minutes easy to "cool down". Remember that MP is just a guideline. 30 seconds per mile faster than your easy pace is also a good number to shoot for. The idea is to run at an elevated pace for an extended period.

Next week, there are Junior Olympics event at the track, so we will be meeting somewhere else. It will probably be Cherokee Blvd, but that's not set in stone. If you have a suggestion, let me know.

Hill workouts are in the not-too-distant future, so keep that in the back of your mind.

Now for the workouts ...

1a. 70 minute Progression Run: 30 minutes easy + 25 minutes MP + 5 minutes faster than MP + 10 minutes easy.

1b. (alternative to 1a) 20-22 minutes continuous run @T pace.

2. Striders. 4-6x100m twice this week.

Get your paces here: http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html -or- http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

Running Around 7-16-07

We'll do a progression run on the roads & greenway again this week. The goal of these is to improve your comfort level and focus, running at an elevated pace for an extended, continuous period. Let's stay with 30 minutes easy followed by 30 minutes around marathon pace (MP) for a total of a 1-hour run. You can go longer if you want, but keep the fast stuff in the second half of the run. Let's also add some striders at the end of the workout.

Now for the workouts ...

1a. 1-hour Progression Run: 30 minutes easy + 30 minutes MP.

1b. 2-4 x24000 @T pace w/2 minute rest.

2. Striders. 4-6x100m twice this week.

Get your paces here: http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html -or- http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

Running Around 7-9-07

We'll bump up the intensity a little this week, replacing the plain old boring road runs with a progression run on the roads & greenway.

Progression runs start easy and get faster during the run. This week we'll progress from easy pace to marathon pace (MP). Even if you're not a marathoner, you can still run MP. You're don't need to worry about hitting the specific pace. It's just a number to shoot for, a guideline.

The goal for this week is 30 minutes at the faster pace. For a 1 hour progression run, the first 30 minutes should be at your easy/long run pace. The second 30 minutes should be at MP. The goal this week is to just reintroduce your body to some faster running after weeks of easy road runs. If you fell like you need it, run a couple of cool down laps around the track. Let's also add some striders at the end of the workout.

Now for the workouts ...

1a. 1-hour Progression Run: 30 minutes easy + 30 minutes MP. You can go longer and run the final 30 minutes at MP.

1b. 3-5 x 1600m @T pace w/1 minute rest.

2. Striders. 4-6x100m twice this week.

Get your paces here: http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html -or- http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php