Running Around 11-26-07

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 ... The new training cycle starts now - with rest and recovery. Next we'll move back into base building for several weeks. That means some road runs on Tuesdays.

I will be starting my week off today. See you all next week.

Now for the workouts ...

1. Easy road running. Striders following the run. 4-6x100m.

Running Around 11-19-07

Well, we've almost completed our training cycle. Our peak race is a few days away. As they say, the hay is in the barn, so the plan for this week is to just do some easy running from now until Thursday. There will be no official workout for Tuesday, and I will not be at the track. But if you all want to meet for an easy run, that's fine.

Be sure to get in a set of striders on Tuesday and/or Wednesday during your run.

If you are not racing Thursday but Saturday instead, do workout #2 from last week.

Good luck to everyone and enjoy the results of all your hard work during this training cycle!


Now for the workouts ... 3 training days until Autumnfest 8k:

1. Striders. 4-6x100m.

2. Race Autumnfest 8k.

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

Running Around 11-12-07

First, I will not be at the track this week due to work obligations. I think you all know the routine. Don't skip the striders!

We're about a week and a half away from our final race of the year. With that in mind, we'll work hard on Tuesday since that's more than a week before the race. I'll recommend workout #2 on Saturday or Sunday this week with easy running between Sunday and race day. If you don't do the second workout, at least do some additional striders to keep your legs sharp and your turnover fast.

Now for the workouts ... 10 training days until Autumnfest 8k:

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

2. 2-3 x 1200m@T pace with 90 seconds rest + 2-4 x 200m@R pace with 200m jog.

3. 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 11-5-07

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. But if you're like me, and you're not going to get your workout in unless it's on Tuesday, then be smart about pushing yourself and take a couple of extra easy days following this one. In either case, plenty of time to recover for Buddy's 5k on Sunday if you're planning on running.

I'm keeping the volume at 8% for this I-pace workout and going with the assumption that if you're trying to peak at Autumnfest, your mileage will be coming down and therefore the number of repeats will be down by one or two. Ask me if you're wondering about your specific workout.

Now for the workouts ... 16 training days until Autumnfest 8k:

1. 4-8 x 800m@I pace w/200m jog. Limit rest to equal time or 3 minutes - whichever is less. Volume should be 8% of weekly mileage.

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