Running Around 5.1.11

I always feel like Dogwood kicks off the real heart of the Spring racing season. Plenty of races are available over the next month, and your fitness should be getting close to peak. Now is the time to take advantage of all the hard work we've been doing. Get out there and race!

This week we're going to work on race-specific strength - either 800m or 1000m repeats (depending on your speed) at halfway between T & I paces. For example, if your T pace per lap if 100 seconds and your I pace per lap is 80 seconds, then this workout would be run at 90 seconds per lap. Rest will be short - 200m in 90 seconds with some adjustments allowed based on pace. So please read the details. I'll bring a print out with me to the track for anyone who needs it.

Distance adjustments: If your time to run 1000m at this pace exceeds 5 1/2 minutes, then run 800m repeats instead.

Time adjustments: If your time exceeds 4:30, take 90-100 seconds rest. If your time exceeds 5:00, take 90-120 seconds rest. If your time exceeds 5:30, take 90-120 seconds rest.  Maximum rest is 2 minutes. If jogging 200m in less than 2 minutes is too fast, then shorten the jog distance to 100m.

Week 16 of Spring 2011 training. Now for the workout summary.

1. 4-8 x 1000m @I/T pace with 200m jog in 90-120 seconds. Recommendations based on weekly mileage:

50+ mpw: 7-8x1000
40-50 mpw: 6-7x1000
30-40 mpw: 5-6x1000
30 mpw or less: 4x1000

or adjustments for 800m runners:

45-50 mpw: 8-9x 800m
40-45 mpw: 7-8x 800m
35-40 mpw: 6-7x 800m
25-30 mpw: 5-6x 800m
25 mpw or less: 4-5x 800m

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