Running Around 5-18-09

Week 20 of 20 .... That means we only have a few training days left until our final race of the season - Expo 10k/5k! We're going to do something very similar to what we did last week. If you keep to the prescribed paces, you should finish the workout feeling invigorated instead of fatigued. Given the quality of the workouts we've completed this Spring, this one should feel surprisingly easy.

You guys have posted some great results in the last month or so. It's proof that hard work and consistency pays off! I expect that will continue this weekend with some fast times at Expo. I think the new course is actually a little bit faster than the previous one.

Looking ahead ....

With the end of the training cycle, the next phase of training is rest. Progress comes from stress + rest. If you keep piling on the stress (i.e. training), your performance will eventually start to regress rather than improve. So I recommend taking 7-14 days off from training at the end of the cycle. If you still have some races on the calendar, than keep training. Otherwise, schedule some down time. I'll have more details in next week's email.

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

1. Mix ... 1-3 x 1200m @T pace w/60 seconds rest + 1-2 x 400@R pace with 400m jog + 1-4 x 200@R pace with 200m jog. By weekly mileage ....

50 mpw: 3x1200@T w/60s + 2x400m@R w/400m jog + 3x200@R w/200 jog
45 mpw: 3x1200@T w/60s + 2x400m@R w/400m jog + 2x200@R w/200 jog
40 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 2x400m@R w/400m jog + 3x200m@R w/200m jog
35 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 2x400m@R w/400m jog + 2x200m@R w/200m jog
30 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 1x400m@R w/400m jog + 2x200m@R w/200m jog
<= 25 mpw: 1200@T w/60s + 1x400m@R w/400m jog + 3x200m@R w/200m jog


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

3 [Optional 2nd weekly workouts - pick one]
a. 2-6x1200m@I pace with 400m jog recovery. 7% of weekly mileage.
b. 2-5 x1600m @T pace with 60 seconds rest. 8-10% of weekly mileage



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