Running Around 2-23-09

We'll stick with our 3-week rotation and go back to hills this week. If you did less than the full complement a few weeks ago, try to add one more. Otherwise, work on improving pace, form, and running smoothly & powerfully this time around.

I heard a lot of people saying their times improved from the first hill workout to the second one so lets keep that improvement going. We should have some decent weather this week and that always helps.

Week 8 of 20 of training for Expo 10k/5k. Now for the workout summary:

1. Hill repeats. 4-10 hills. Up hard, down easy. Volume should be 5% of weekly mileage. The hill is about 0.3 miles each direction. So ...
50+ mpw: 8-10 hills
45+ mpw: 7-8 hills
40+ mpw: 6-7 hills
35+ mpw: 5-6 hills
30+ mpw: 5 hills
25+ mpw: 4-5 hills
20 mpw: 4 hills

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 2-16-09

We've had 2 hard workouts in a row with many of us racing at Strawberry Plains on Saturday. So, I think we'll go with a lower intensity workout this week: T-pace miles.

I want to make an adjustment to this workout based on something Dr. Daniels said in his talk last Saturday. Typically we just go by weekly mileage guidelines for determining the number of miles to run: 10% of weekly mileage at T-pace. However, everyone should be doing a minimum of 20 minutes at T-pace. This makes it a little more complicated, but I think we're all smart enough to figure it out. I'll give you a few examples:

Runner #1: 20 miles/week. T-pace is 8:00 pace. The 10% rule says 2 miles at T-pace, but that would only be 16:00 of running. So this runner should do 3 miles at T-pace.

Runner #2: 30 miles/week. T-pace is 5:30 pace. The 10% rule says 3 miles at T-pace, but that would only be 16:30 of running. So this runner should do 4 miles at T-pace.

Runner #3: 25 miles/week. T-pace is 9:00 pace. The 10% rule says you're in between 2-3 miles at T-pace. 2 miles is 18:00, so round up to 3 miles.

Also, I'll throw in an optional 2x200m @R pace following the T-pace for anyone who is feeling frisky.

Week 7 of 20 of training for Expo 10k/5k. Now for the workout summary:

1. 2-6 x 1600m@T pace w/60 rest in between. Volume should be 10% of your weekly mileage. Minimum of 20 minutes at T-pace.

optional: 2x200m @R pace w/200m jog.

2. 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 2-9-09

We had a great group last week despite the cold and windy weather. That was the biggest group we've had for a hill workout in a long time. It was good to see everyone running hard and working together.

We'll stay on the track this week and take advantage of the warmer weather to do some speed/economy work. I don't like running R pace when it's cold. The goal of this workout is to run fast but efficiently. Efficiency and economy are the number one goal, so I'd rather have you back off on the speed a little to run smoothly instead of powering through trying to hit a particular time. Also, there is no strict requirement on recovery time. Give yourself enough recovery so you don't compromise the next repeat.


Week 6 of 20 of training for Expo 10k/5k. Now for the workout summary:

1. Sets of (200m, 200m, 400m @R pace) w/equal distance rest in between. Volume should be 5% of your weekly mileage. So a complete set is 200m hard, 200m jog recovery, 200m hard, 200m jog, 400m hard, 40m jog. Do partial sets if you're in between.

Adjustments for weekly mileage:
50+ mpw: 5 sets
45+ mpw: 4 sets + 2x200m
40+ mpw: 4 sets
35+ mpw: 3 sets + 2x200m
30+ mpw: 3 sets
25+ mpw: 2 set + 2x200m
20 mpw: 2 sets

2. 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 2-2-09

Back to the hills this week! If you did less than the full complement a few weeks ago, try to add one more. Otherwise, work on improving pace, form, and running smoothly & powerfully this time around.

Hill workouts should be run at about the same intensity you run 400m repeats on the track (aka R-pace). Even though the intensity and effort are the same, don't expect to maintain the same pace. Remember to focus on good form and light, quick steps.

The hill route is at the Kingston Pike end of Cherokee Blvd. We start at the iron gate and jog down to where the path is interrupted by the road the second time. When you get to the bottom, turn around and run up. Jog back down for recovery. Since you finish at the top, there is no need to do a recovery jog after your last one. The hill is slightly over 400m. The route is here: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=9492.

There are two warmup options for the hill workouts. The first is to run the greenway (cross the Ag bridge) out to Cherokee Blvd. That route is about 3 miles. The second route is Kingston Pike to Cherokee Blvd. Conveniently, it's almost exactly 2 miles. I've mapped it out here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=28366 ... Start at the track. Cross the bridge to the Ag campus. Cross Neyland and pick up the greenway next to the river. Follow the greenway and then continue to the intersection of Neyland and Kingston Pike. Cross over to the North side of Kingston Pike to run on the sidewalk. Follow K.P. all the way to Cherokee Blvd. Since it will be getting dark, be extremely careful -- especially crossing K.P!!

If you need a shorter warmup, I'll suggest parking at the church parking lot across from Cherokee Blvd and doing your warmup on the greenway or boulevard.


Upcoming ...
2/7/09 Metro Knoxville XC Distance Clinic.
Featuring the legendary Dr. Jack Daniels. See http://ktc.org/MsgB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3949 for details.


Week 5 of 20 of training for Expo 10k/5k. Now for the workout summary:

1. Hill repeats. 4-10 hills. Up hard, down easy. Volume should be 5% of weekly mileage. The hill is about 0.3 miles each direction. So ...
50+ mpw: 8-10 hills
45+ mpw: 7-8 hills
40+ mpw: 6-7 hills
35+ mpw: 5-6 hills
30+ mpw: 5 hills
25+ mpw: 4-5 hills
20 mpw: 4 hills

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