Running Around 11-28-10

Autumnfest was the end of our fall training cycle, so it's time to start thinking about what's next. I recommend taking some time off from training at the end of a training cycle. 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. Do some cross training if you want, or do nothing. At the very least, cut your mileage back and/or take a few extra days off.

Rest is a very important part of our periodized training philosophy. You've asked your body to work hard for several months, so some recovery is required. Remember, Stess + Rest = Progress. You can't be at your best all year long. If you don't give yourself time to recover now, you'll be less likely to be able to perform at your best later.

There are a few races this week, so if you're not ready to call it a season yet, I've included a workout that is great for sharpening. Just be sure to schedule some down time soon to recover from this training cycle. Personally, I'm racing one more week and then taking a week off.

Finally, this is a great time to let me know how I'm doing with the workouts. Are you getting faster? slower? set any PRs? Do you like the spring and fall training cycles with the goals of peaking for Expo and Autumnfest? I'm open to any ideas you have. I'm doing this for you guys, so if it's not working, let me know, and I'll make adjustments. If there are any particular workouts you love or hate, that's good information too.


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.

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

Running Around 11-15-10

Good to see some fast performances over the last 2 weekends! Hopefully everyone is feeling fit from the long season of workouts. Now is the time to see all of your hard work to pay off. 

We're used to racing on the weekends, so a Thursday race really throws off our schedule. But I have a suggestion for adjusting your schedule to accommodate the change. We're used to a track workout 4 days before a race, and a long run 6 or 7 days before. Run the regular workout tomorrow. Then do a long run on Thursday or Friday. Follow that with a track workout on Sunday or Saturday. That essentially shifts the schedule by a couple of days to make the Thursday race seem like a Saturday race.

For the Tuesday workout we'll do a mix of R & I paces. The rest is short, so that should be motivation to stay under control and on proper pace. I'm also including the suggested workout for Sunday below. It's a light taper workout.

We will not have an official workout scheduled for Tues 11/23 since that is just 2 days before the race.

Week 19 of Fall 2010 training. 9 more training days in until Autumnfest. Now for the workout summary:

1. Mix workout R/I/R paces. Recommendations based on weekly mileage:

45+ mpw:
4x200m @R pace with 200m jog + 3x1000m@I pace with 200m jog + 2x400m @R pace with 200m jog

40-45 mpw:
3x200m @R pace with 200m jog + 3x1000m@I pace with 200m jog + 2x400m @R pace with 400m jog

35-40 mpw:
3x200m @R pace with 200m jog + 3x800m@I pace with 200m jog + 2x400m @R pace with 400m jog

30-35 mpw:
2x200m @R pace with 200m jog + 3x800m@I pace with 200m jog + 2x400m @R pace with 400m jog

<= 30 mpw:
2x200m @R pace with 200m jog + 2x800m@I pace with 200m jog + 2x400m @R pace with 400m jog

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

3. Recommended Sat/Sunday Workout:  
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 ....

45+ mpw: 3x1200@T w/60s + 2x400m@R w/400m jog + 3x200@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

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 11-8-10

The goal this week is to work on some speed and turnover but without burning ourselves out with a mega workout. It mixes in some easy T-pace work followed by some good solid R repeats.


As we wind down toward the end of the season, this is a good time to start cutting your mileage back a little. No more than 5% this week, though.

Week 18 of Fall 2010 training. Now for the workout summary:
1. Mix ... 1-2 x 1200m @T pace w/60 seconds rest + 2-4 x 400@R pace with 400m jog + 0-2 x 200@R pace with 200m jog.

By weekly mileage ....
50 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 4x400m@R w/400m jog + 2x200@R w/200 jog
45 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 3x400m@R w/400m jog + 2x200@R w/200 jog
40 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 4x400m@R w/400m jog
35 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 3x400m@R w/400m jog
30 mpw: 2x1200@T w/60s + 2x400m@R w/400m jog
25 mpw: 1200@T w/60s + 3x400m@R w/400m jog
<= 20 mpw: 1200@T w/60s + 2x400m@R w/400m jog


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


3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout Thurs/Fri] 3-6 x 1600m @T pace with 60s rest. 10% of your weekly mileage. Recommendations based on mileage:
50 mpw: 5 x 1600m
45 mpw: 4-5 x 1600m
40 mpw: 4 x 1600m
35 mpw: 3-4x 1600m
<=30 mpw: 3x 1600m

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 11-1-10

We're closing in on the end of our Fall training, so the next few weeks we'll return to some faster running to work on sharpening and peaking. Now through the first week of December should be peak racing, so if you've got races planned, now is the time to turn it loose and run some fast times.


We've got Millhouse coming up this week, so we'll do a workout that kind of transitions from the hard I-pace stuff into a stretch that focuses on faster workouts. Instead of going crazy with something like a hard session of 400s, we'll sandwich some T-pace stuff in between fast 200s.


Week 17 of Fall 2010 training. Now for the workout summary:
1. R-T-R sandwich. Equal distance (200m) jog for recovery following 200s. 60 seconds rest between T intervals. Breakdown based on weekly mileage:
50 mpw: 3x200m@R + 3 x 1600m @T + 3x200m @R
45 mpw: 4x200m@R + 2 x 1600m @T + 4x200m @R
40 mpw: 3x200m@R + 2 x 1600m @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 1200m @T + 2x200m @R

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


3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout Thurs/Fri] 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.

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