Running Around 1-31-11

I hope everyone is enjoying the January thaw we've been having! This week we'll go back to the track for tempo miles. This is a bread & butter workout that is particularly good preparation for the longer races we have on the schedule between now and the Knoxville Marathon.

As many of us are increasing our mileage and/or long runs in preparation for the longer Spring races, I want to remind you to keep the pace of your long runs under control. It's a long training run not a race. Don't get caught up in running a particular pace unless you've decided ahead of time to make it a workout. You may feel good during the run, but will pay for an over-ambitious effort if you're not careful. Training is not about running fast on a particular day - that's racing. When you push it too hard one day, your next run will likely be a bit compromised. That's OK if you're ready for it and if it's part of your training plan.

I speak from experience. Saturday morning was a great, fun run with the marathon training group. I was cruising along, clicking off miles at a pace that was 15-25 seconds per miles faster than I should have been running. Sunday was payday. My legs were heavy and sluggish. I was 30-40 seconds per mile slower than my regular daily training run pace. Not a fun run.

So keep it under control. Find the balance of pushing the pace a little without going overboard.



Week 3 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.
 
1.  3-6 x 1600m @T pace with 60 seconds rest. Volume should be 10% of your weekly mileage.

2. Striders at least once this week 4-6x 100m.

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 1-24-11

One of the goals of early training is building strength. This serves us directly by being able to run longer and faster, but also provides the groundwork we will need for harder, faster workouts later in the season. With that in mind, we're going to work on strength this week by running hills!

For all of the details about location and warmup routes, see http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/2010/01/hill-workout-details.html

Alternatively, I've been considering running repeats on the greenway path that goes up an over the river on the Alcoa Hwy bridge. However, I haven't had time to research the distance and lighting. The footing will be better for sure. It looks to be about 1/4 mile, so close to the Cherokee Blvd route. If anyone wants to give it a try, go for it. And please report back if you do.

Anyone who would rather run on the track can repeat last week's workout. 

Week 2 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.
 
1.  4-10 x hill repeats. Recommendations based on weekly mileage ...
50 mpw: 8 x hills
45 mpw: 7-8 x hills
40 mpw: 6-7 x hills
35 mpw: 5-6 x hills
30 mpw: 5 hills
0- 25 mpw: 4 hills

2. Striders at least once this week 4-6x 100m.

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 1-17-11

I don't know about you guys, but I was excited to be able to run without tights/hat/gloves a few days this week!

We've had 6 weeks of base, but now it's time to get things started on our Spring training cycle. Calhoun's 10-miler is coming up this weekend, so let's do some tempo miles as a rust-buster. Don't expect too much from yourself if you've only been running base. If you're in between on number of miles, go with a more conservative approach on this first workout of the year.

Week 1 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.
 
1. 3-6 x 1600m @T pace with 60 seconds rest. Volume should be 10% of your weekly mileage.

2. Striders at least once this week 4-6x 100m.

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 1-10-11

More snow! I hope everyone is enjoying the wintery weather. Anyone wishing for 90° and sunny? Obviously the conditions are less than ideal for any kind of formal workout. So this week let's do a progression run on the roads or greenway.

The goal is to run 20-30 minutes at elevated pace during the second half of the run. I'm saying elevated pace because there are no strict guidelines. One good rule of thumb is about 30 seconds per mile faster than your easy training pace. If you're training for a marathon, then marathon goal pace is good too. For example, if you're running for an hour, start easy for 30 minutes, pick up the pace for 20-25 minutes and then finish the last 5-10 minute easy.

If you despise road runs and need a track fix, here is the official off-season base training plan. I know it says summer on the title, but it easier to link to it than create another one for winter:
http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/2008/06/summer-track-workout-progression.html

Week 6 of Winter base. Now for the workout summary.
 
1. Progression run on roads or greenways: 4-10 miles with 20-30 minutes at elevated pace. Wear something reflective!

2. Striders at least once this week 4-6x 100m.

Running Around 1-3-11

Happy New Year to all!

With the new year, I'm going to make some adjustments to my  role as track workouts coach/coordinator. I need a little more flexibility in my schedule; I can't make a commitment to being at the track every week like I have in the past. I will be there as often as I can, but not every week. I will continue to provide emails and workout advice. I'll also reiterate the invitation that if there is someone out there interested in taking over the coaching reins, let me know. The invitation is open ...

We're going to continue with winter base mileage again this week. But I'm going to add the option of making your run a progression run. That simply means running the second half faster than the first. The exact pace isn't particularly important, but it should be at least 30 seconds per mile faster than your easy run pace. Ideally, I'd like to see the pace be T-pace + 30-40 seconds. So, if your T-pace is 6:45, then try to hit 7:15-7:25. As far as length goes, I'd like to see the elevated pace for at least the last 3 miles of your run.


You should be working on increasing your total mileage and long run a little each week during the base period.

If you despise road runs and need a track fix, here is the official off-season base training plan. I know it says summer on the title, but it easier to link to it than create another one for winter:
http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/2008/06/summer-track-workout-progression.html

Week 5 of Winter base. Now for the workout summary.
 
1. Road or greenways run (with optional progression): 4-10 miles. Wear something reflective!

2. Striders at least once this week 4-6x 100m.