Running Around 11-24-08

We've been training hard since late summer. Now is when all of your hills, long runs, and track workouts in the blazing heat and pouring rain finally pay off. With a Thursday race, we won't have a formal workout on Tuesday. Instead, I'll recommend doing some 200s, long striders, or pickups as part of your regular training run today or tomorrow. Don't go crazy, just get the legs moving fast and smooth. With that in mind, I'm setting the pace at I pace which is slower than we typically run for 200s. Focus on form and turnover; speed is secondary.

Good luck and fresh legs to everyone running on Thanksgiving. I will be traveling, so I won't be at the race.

With the final race of this training cycle, it's time to start thinking ahead. This is when I typically recommend taking some time off from training. A week or so will give you some down time to rest from a strenuous training cycle. You won't lose much fitness, and it will be offset by the gains made resting. You'll be fresher mentally and physically, ready to start the next training cycle.

If you still have some races you want to run in the next few weeks, go back and pick your favorite workouts from the month of November. Just be sure to schedule some down time to recover from this training cycle.

Final Training for Autumfest 8k. Now for the workout summary:

1. 2-4 x 200m@I pace with 200m jog incorporated into a 3-5 mile run.

Use a recent race to get your training paces here:
http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html
-or-
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

Running Around 11-16-08

I'm sending out another reminder that Elijah is still looking for a few more volunteers to help at Autumfest 8k. Anything you can do to help a fellow Tuesday night regular would be appreciated. You can still help even if you are running. There is plenty of stuff to do before and after the race. You can talk to Elijah on Tuesday or send him an email at eshekinah4@aim.com.

We're less than 2 weeks from our peak race, Autumnfest. We also have another great race this week in the Cross Knox 15k. So this is taper time. If you haven't already started cutting your mileage, now is the time to do it. A reduction of 10-20% each week is a good guideline for tapering. Adding an extra day of striders this week can also be helpful at this point in the season.

So for the main workout, we have some easy T pace stuff this week paired with some 200s for sharpening.

If you are not racing this weekend and typically do 2 workouts each week, the #2 will give you some nice turnover without too much fatigue. You could easily run this at R pace, but stay disciplined or it becomes too much for a taper/sharpening workout.

Training week 15 of 16 until Autumfest 8k. Now for the workout summary:

1. 2-4 x 1200m@T pace with 60 seconds rest + 2-4 x 200m@R pace with 200m jog. Total distance on the track should be 8% of weekly mileage or less.

2. Sets of (400m, 800m) @I pace with 200m jog recovery. Each set totals one mile (400m, 200m, 800m, 200m). Keep the rest short (1:30-2:00). Total distance on the track should be 8% of weekly mileage or less.

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


Use a recent race to get your training paces here:
http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html
-or-
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

Running Around 11-10-08

I'll just cut straight to the chase this week. The main workout for this week is 1000m repeats. The short rest is going to make it tough, but it's not crazy hard. Try to keep the rest to 2:00 or less. If anyone did this workout last week as either the primary or secondary workout, do the 1b workout instead.

If you're running Buddy's, these are both good workouts for the week of a race. Since it is a Sunday race, I'll recommend doing some striders on Friday and/or Saturday to stay sharp. If you're not doing Buddy's, the T-pace maintenance is a good second workout for those who do 2 workouts.

As we wind down the fall season, this is the last tough workout. The next 2 weeks are going to be much easier!

Training week 14 of 16 until Autumfest 8k. Now for the workout summary:

1a. 3-10 x 1000m @I pace w/200m jog recovery. Volume should be around 8% of weekly mileage
-or-
1b. Sets of (1x800m + 1x400m + 2x200m) all@R pace. Rest is 400m jog following the 800 & 400. Rest is 200m jog following the 200s. So based on miles per week...

50 mpw: 2 sets + 800 + 400 + 200
45 mpw: 2 sets + 800 + 400
40 mpw: 2 sets + 800
35 mpw: 2 sets
30 mpw: 1 set + 800 + 2x200
25 mpw: 1 set + 400 + 200
20mpw: 1 set + 800

2. 3-6 x1600m @T pace w/60 seconds rest. 10% of weekly mileage.

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

Picture

Here is a picture from a few weeks ago ...

Running Around 11-3-08

In case you haven't heard, tomorrow is election day, so before you do your workout, Go Vote! For the Knoxville runners, you can find out where to vote and look at a sample ballot here: http://www.knoxcounty.org/election/ ... you can find out information about the candidates here: http://www.knoxnews.com/voterguide/

Our peak race for this training cycle is Autumnfest, but if you are not planning on running the race, Elijah could use some volunteers. This group has always been great about supporting each other on and off the track, so anything you can do to help a fellow Tuesday night regular would be appreciated. You can still help even if you are running. There is plenty of stuff to do before and after the race. You can talk to Elijah on Tuesday or send him an email at eshekinah4@aim.com.

For the workouts this week, we're working on sharpening for the races throughout the month of November. If you ran Millhouse 15k yesterday, and your legs are a little tired, it's OK to wait until Wednesday to do the workout. Since everyone responds differently to racing, I'll give the Millhouse runners the option of doing some T-pace miles instead of 400s. Even though it's a longer interval, I personally think it's easier to do T pace on tired legs.

Training week 13 of 16 until Autumfest 8k. Now for the workout summary:

1a. 5-12 x 400m @R pace w/400m jog recovery. The hard running should be 5% of weekly mileage. Total distance on the track should be about 10% weekly mileage.
-or-
1b. 3-6 x1600m @T pace w/60 seconds rest. 10% of weekly mileage/

2. 3-10 x 1000m @I pace w/200m jog recovery. Volume should be around 8% of weekly mileage.

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