Running Around 6-21-09

Happy Fathers Day to add the Dads out there!

Hot summer days mean base training. More of it this week. The recommended workout is an easy run on the roads or greenways. Since we're trying to build mileage in this phase, try adding 1/2 mile or a mile per week to your Tuesday run.

There are a few reasons we do base during this time of the year. First, you can't be at your peak all the time, so I setup the training cycles to peak in May and November. Also, starting a new training cycle is a great time to build your mileage back up or increase it from where you were in the previous cycle. Adding mileage is one of the more stressful aspects of training. So we want to be smart about the training workload. Doing hard workouts or intervals while building mileage is a lot of stress and will increase the risk of injury. Finally, it's hot and humid and sunny. Conditions are tough for running in general, and they're even worse on the track. So it's a good opportunity to get away and run some shady routes at easier paces.

For those that are interested in staying on the track, follow the series of summer track workouts.

Week 5 of base training .... Now for the workout summary:

1. Easy road run 4-10 miles -or- Summer track maintenance workout see http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/2008/06/summer-track-workout-progression.html.

2. Striders: 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