Running Around 4-24-11

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We've got one of the top races of the Spring, Dogwood 5k, coming up this week. Also some mile races if you are looking to test your top-end speed. So, we're going to back off a tiny little bit and do a mini-sharpening workout.

Start with 200m repeats @R pace with equal distance jog recovery. Followed by some T work. We'll finish up with a matching set of 200s to make an R-T-R sandwich. More details in the summary below.

Keep the 200s under control. Remember 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. 

This  workout is a little lighter in volume than usual, so feel free to add on some additional 200s if you want more mileage on the track. If you decide to do that, keep it balanced with the same number at the beginning and end.


Week 15 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.

1. R-T-R " sandwich". Equal distance jog for recovery following 200s. 60s between T intervals. Breakdown based on weekly mileage:
50 mpw: 4x 200m@R + 2 x 1600m @T + 4x 200m @R
45 mpw: 3x 200m@R + 2 x 1600m @T + 3x 200m @R
40 mpw: 2x 200m@R + 2 x 1600m @T + 2x 200m @R
35 mpw: 3x 200m@R + 2 x 1200m @T + 3x 200m @R
30 mpw or less: 2x 200m@R + 2 x 1200m @T + 2x 200m @R

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

3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout Thurs/Fri] :
Race or ...
3-10 x 1200m @I pace w/200m 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/racepaces/rp

Running Around 4.17.11

We'll change it up a little this week. Pure and simple - 400m repeats. This is a great warm weather workout.

We'll run these at R pace. R-pace is fast, but we don't want to run fast at the expense of good form. Concentrate on quick turnover, smooth strides, and staying relaxed - especially in the last 150m or so. It's better to back of the speed ever so slightly than to strain and flail to hit a particular time.

Week 14 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.

1. 4-12 x 400m @R pace with 400m jog recovery. Volume (not including rest) should be 5% of your weekly mileage.

50 mpw: 10-12 x 400m w/400m jog recovery
45 mpw: 9 x 400m w/400m jog recovery
40 mpw: 8 x 400m w/400m jog recovery
35 mpw: 7 x 400m w/400m jog recovery
30 mpw: 6 x 400m w/400m jog recovery
25 mpw: 5 x 400m w/400m jog recovery
20 mpw or less: 4 x 400m w/400m jog recovery

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

3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout Thurs/Fri] :
Race or 3-6 x 1600m @T pace with 60 seconds rest. Volume should be 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/racepaces/rp

Running Around 4.11.11

This week we're going to build on the I-pace stuff we have been doing by mixing in some 200m repeats at R-pace. All of the recoveries will be a short 200m jog. This workout has 2 goals. First, it will help us when we transition to some faster running (mostly R-pace) in a couple of weeks. Also, we will work on being strong and efficient when the pace is changing. In a race, it's rare to run a steady pace/effort throughout. Sometime there are hills or surges that require a quick change of gears that sting your legs or leave you breathing harder than you'd like. You need to gather yourself and get back on pace and into rythym again. I'm hoping this will help simulate that, and help us work on being more efficient in those situations.

We're going to do sets of 200m repeats at R-pace followed by 800m at I-pace. The recovery is going to be 200m jog following the hard running. So a full set is (200m @R + 200m jog + 800m @I + 200m jog). That will be repeated from 2-5 times depending on your weekly mileage. For some of you, there is an extra 200m @R + 200m jog added on to make the total mileage work out right.

Note that my group (50 mpw) will be doing 1200m repeats for the I-pace followed by 400m jog.


Week 13 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.

1. Sets of (200m @R with 200m jog + 800m @I with 200m jog). Recommendations based on weekly mileage:

50 mpw: 3x (200m@R + 1200m @I) + 200m@R ... with 200m recovery following 200s and 400m recovery following 1200s.
45 mpw: 5x (200m@R + 800m@I ) ... all with 200m jog recoveries.
40 mpw: 4x (200m@R + 800m@I ) + 1x 200m @R all with 200m jog recoveries.
35 mpw: 4x (200m@R + 800m@I ) ... all with 200m jog recoveries.
30 mpw: 3x (200m@R + 800m@I ) + 1x 200m @R all with 200m jog recoveries.
25 mpw: 3x (200m@R + 800m@I ) ... all with 200m jog recoveries.
20 mpw: 2x (200m@R + 800m@I ) + 1x 200m @R ... all with 200m jog recoveries.

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

3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout Thurs/Fri] :
Race or 3-6 x 1600m @T pace with 60 seconds rest. Volume should be 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/racepaces/rp

Running Around 4.4.11

Great day for racing yesterday! I hope everyone ran well or at least enjoyed the crowds and festivities along the course. For those of you that volunteered and/or were out there cheering for runners, Thank you! We really appreciate it.

Personally, my legs are tired and sore, so I will not be ready to put in a quality workout tomorrow. If you are in the same boat, I would suggest waiting until later in the week to do a workout. I'll probably be ready by Thursday or Friday. If you jump in too soon after a hard race, you will likely setback your recovery while struggling through a sub-par workout. Take an easy few days; you've earned it.

With that in mind, we'll have two options this week. First for those recovering from yesterday's Knoxville Marathon races, an easy road run is recommended. I would say something in the neighborhood of 60-75 minutes max. So let's say 6-10 miles.

If you didn't run yesterday but were really inspired and motivated, and you're ready to hit the track, then let's do some more I-pace stuff. Either 1000s or 1200s depending on your pace. It's the same workout we did two weeks ago.

 Week 12 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.
 
1a. Easy road run: 6-10 miles.

-or-

1b. 3-8 x 1200m @I pace w/200-400m 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.

If you are running 1200s a good rule of thumb is one repeat for every 10 miles of weekly mileage. If you are running 1000s, look back to March 14th's workout for suggestions based on weekly mileage. 3 is the minimum unless you are returning from an injury, etc.

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

3. [Optional 2nd weekly workout Thurs/Fri] :
Race or Hilly Road Run: Find a route that will take about an hour to run with 6-8 hills of varying length. Run the hills hard - like you would during a hill repeat workout. Relax on the downhills and the flats.

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