Running Around 10-26-09

We have a great race coming up this week with the Millhouse 15k. There are lots of other fun races in November too including Buddy's 5k and Autumnfest 8k. I've designed our training schedule so we are running our best during the month of November, peaking during the last 2 weeks. So get out there and run some races!

This week we'll focus on sharpening for the Millhouse race. If you're not running it, not a problem. This is a great late season workout whether you are racing or not. We'll start with some tempo work since it's been a few weeks since we've done any. We'll finish with some 400's to continue honing our speed and running economy.

We're coming off the season's hardest stretch of training, so don't overdo this workout. Keep it under control and on pace. This late in the season, it's easy to push the workout too hard when you're feeling good. Better to save some of that energy for racing.

Finally, with a Sunday race, try to do some striders later in the week to stay sharp. 4-6 x 100m at the end of a run on Friday or Saturday.

Week 15 of 19 training for Autumnfest 8k.... Now for the workout summary:

1. 2-3 x 1600m @T-pace with 60 seconds rest + 2-4 x400m @R pace with 400m jog recovery. Recommendations based on weekly mileage ...

50 mpw: 3 x 1600@T + 4 x 400m@R
45 mpw: 3 x 1600@T + 3 x 400m@R
40 mpw: 2 x 1600@T + 4 x 400m@R
35 mpw: 2 x 1600@T + 3 x 400m@R
30 mpw: 2 x 1600@T + 2 x 400m@R
<= 25 mpw: 2 x 1200@T + 2 x 400m@R 2. Striders: 4-6 x 100m
Use a recent race to get your T &R paces here:
http://www.panix.com/%7Eelflord/vdot.html
-or-
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

Running Around 10-18-09

We're closing in on November, so the next few weeks we'll return to some faster running to work on sharpening and running economy. With that in mind, we'll do some pure speed this week with 400m repeats. Concentrate on being fast, but in control. These are close to full speed, but not quite. It's better to back off a little on the pace in favor of running smoothly and efficiently. Concentrate on good form and fast turnover. That will help you run efficiently.

Recovery for the workout is a 400m jog between repeats. No restrictions on time, so take as long as you need to feel like you're ready to attack the next one.

Week 14 of 19 training for Autumnfest 8k.... Now for the workout summary:

1. 4-12 x 400m @R-pace with 400m jog recovery. Shoot for around 5% of your weekly mileage for the hard running.

50 mpw: 10 x 400m
45 mpw: 9 x 400m
40 mpw: 8 x 400m
35 mpw: 7 x 400m
30 mpw: 6 x 400m
25 mpw: 5 x 400m
<= 20 mpw: 4 x 400

2. Striders: 4-6 x 100m

3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout] 3-6 x 1200m @I-pace w/400m jog recovery. Rest time must be 30 seconds less than work time. Shoot for around 8% of your weekly mileage for the hard running. Recommendations based on weekly mileage:

50 mpw: 5x1200m
45 mpw: 4x1200m + 800m
40 mpw: 4x1200m
35 mpw: 3x1200m + 800m
30 mpw: 3 x 1200m
<=25 mpw: 3x1000m 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 10-12-09

Sorry for the late delivery of this week's workout. This will be the final week of pure I-pace work. We'll make some minor tweaks. First, we're dropping the recovery time to 30 seconds less than your work time. So if you complete your repeat in 4:15, maximum rest is 3:45. Recovery is 400m-600m jog.

Also, I'm going to throw in an option to super-size the workout by adding some distance to each repeat. If you've been running 1000's, you can bump it up to 1200's this week. If you've been running 1200's, you can bump it to 1400m or 1600m repeats. However, I'm going to set the maximum time for an individual repeat to 5:35. That means you need to complete 400m in ... 83.75 for 1600m repeats, 95.71 for 1400m repeats, or 1:51 for 1200m repeats. With these, I also want to keep rest to 4:30 or less.

This super-size stuff is a little complicated, so drop me an email if you have any questions. I won't be able to make it to the track this week.


Week 13 of training for Autumnfest 8k.... Now for the workout summary:

1. 3-6 x 1200m @I-pace w/400m jog recovery. Rest time must be 30 seconds less than work time. Shoot for around 8% of your weekly mileage for the hard running. Recommendations based on weekly mileage:

50 mpw: 5x1200m
45 mpw: 4x1200m + 800m
40 mpw: 4x1200m
35 mpw: 3x1200m + 800m
30 mpw: 3 x 1200m
<=25 mpw: 3x1000m

2. Striders: 4-6 x 100m

3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout] 3-7 x 1600m @T pace with 60 seconds rest. Shoot for about 10% of your 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

Running Around 10-5-09

We're going to take a break from the I-pace and switch to a mixed-pace workout. The main goal is to get some tempo work, but we're going to spice it up a little by adding some faster R-pace stuff at the beginning and end to make it an R-T-R sandwich.

Start with 200m repeats @R pace with equal distance jog recovery. Followed by T-pace 2000m repeats with 75 seconds in between. We'll finish up with a matching set of 200s. When you switch back to 200's, keep the rest at 75 seconds between your last 2000 @T and your next 200 @R. 35 miles per week and under will do 1600's instead of 2000's.

Keep the 200s under control. Efficiency and economy are the key. Don't overexert to get an extra second. Better to back off to 98% and run smoothly. When you switch to the T pace, hold back that first lap. You're going to be temped to run it too fast following the R-pace of the 200s.

Week 12 of training for Autumnfest 8k.... Now for the workout summary:

1. R-T-R sandwich. Equal distance (200m) jog for recovery following 200s. 75s between T intervals. Breakdown based on weekly mileage:
50 mpw: 3x200m@R + 3 x 2000m @T + 3x200m @R
45 mpw: 4x200m@R + 2 x 2000m @T + 4x200m @R
40 mpw: 3x200m@R + 2 x 2000m @T + 3x200m @R
35 mpw: 3x200m@R + 2 x 1600m @T + 3x200m @R
30 mpw: 2x200m@R + 2 x 1600m @T + 2x200m @R
25 mpw or less: 2x200m@R + 2 x 1600m @T + 2x200m @R

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

3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout] 3-10 x 1200m @I pace w/400m jog recovery. Rest should be 3-5 minutes not to exceed your interval time. Volume should be 7-8% of weekly mileage for the hard running. Run 1000m repeats if you cannot complete 1200m in less than 5 minutes.

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