Running Around 2.27.12

Although it's great for long-distance races that are featured this time of year, we can't do T-pace forever. It's time to start working on some faster stuff (I-pace). For the next several weeks our main focus will be working on mid-range intervals at I-pace. The goal of these workouts is to improve VO2 max (your ability to transport and utilize oxygen during exercise). It takes a couple of weeks to adjust, but eventually you'll become more comfortable and efficient at this pace. These workouts will help those who are focusing on the Knoxville marathon or half improve speed and fine-tune fitness in time for the big race. For everyone looking past the marathon, this is the perfect set-up to get ready for 5k/10k season in April & May.

For I-pace, the rest duration is very important. It must be less than or equal to the time you've spent running hard. So if you run 800m in 4 minutes, then your rest must 4 minutes or less. Typically you'll be able to handle a little bit less rest. The absolute maximum rest should be 5 minutes. As we progress through the I-pace phase, we'll reduce the rest.

Also, now is the time I usually add a second weekly workout to the schedule. This is completely optional based on your goals and ability. I usually do the second workout on Thursday or Friday. If you are only accustomed to doing one but want to move up to two, try it every 2nd or 3rd week at first. Then eventually work up to 2 workouts every week.

Workout Summary

A. 4-10x 800m @I pace with equal time jog recovery (not to exceed 5 minutes). Typically you can jog 200-400m during the recovery. The hard running should be 7-8% of weekly mileage. Recommendations based on weekly mileage ...
50+ mpw: 9-10x 800m w/200m jog
45-50 mpw: 8-9x 800m w/200m jog
40-45 mpw: 7-8x 800m w/200m jog
35-40 mpw: 6-7x 800m w/200m jog
25-30 mpw: 5-6x 800m w/200m jog
25 mpw or less: 4-5x 800m w/200m jog

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

C. [Optional 2nd weekly workout Thurs/Fri] : 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

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Plug in a recent race result to get your training paces here ...

• http://www.attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp
• http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/racepaces/rp

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  Join the Tuesday Track Workouts at Tom Black Track group on Facebook.

Running Around 2.20.12

Back to tempo this week. We're going to keep building the progression by running 2400m repeats. The good news is that we now get 90 seconds rest. You can either jog (about 200m) or not. Your choice. Remember the key to these T-pace workouts is consistent, even pacing. We're working on being strong and efficient while running relatively fast. If you start too fast or are too ambitious, you're going to blow up at the end.

Since these are long, some of you will have a mix of 2400s and 1600s. Pay attention to the rest as it is different depending on the length of the work that comes before it. If you're in between and feeling ambitious, go ahead and move up to the next level.

No marathon training runs this week since the Whitestone 30k is on the schedule.

Workout Summary

A. 2-4x 2400m @T pace with 90 seconds rest. Recommendations based on weekly mileage ...
50+ mpw: 4x 2400m @T with 90s rest
50 mpw: 3x 2400m @T with 90s rest + 1600m @T
45 mpw: 3x 2400m @T with 90s rest
40 mpw: 2x 2400m @T with 90s rest + 1x 1600m @T
35 mpw: 1x 2400m @T with 90s rest + 2x 1600m @T with 60s rest
30 mpw: 2x 2400m @T with 90s rest
0- 25 mpw: 1x 2400m @T with 90s rest + 1x 1600m @T

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

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Plug in a recent race result to get your training paces here ...

• http://www.attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp
• http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/racepaces/rp

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  Join the Tuesday Track Workouts at Tom Black Track group on Facebook.

Running Around 2.12.12

This week, we'll run some hills. Hills are tough. But hill workouts are great for improving your strength and running economy. Besides, if you live and race in East Tennessee, you can't avoid the hills. Here is a full rundown on the hill workouts: http://trackworkouts.blogspot.com/2010/01/hill-workout-details.html

Tuesday is Valentines Day, so many of us will have plans that are higher priority than track work. If you want to try to meet up on a different day, location, or time, try posting something on the Facebook group page to see if someone else has a compatible schedule. If you are doing this on your own, you don't need to use the Cherokee Blvd hill, although it is a great one for hill workouts. Just find a hill in your neighborhood that is about 1/4 mile long. The one at Cherokee is 0.3 miles.

The marathon training group resumes this Saturday - 8 am at Eddie's Health Shoppe in Suburban Plaza (where Barnes & Noble is locate). The route is typically through West Hills park & neighborhoods then out along the greenways all the way to Wynnsong theater.

Workout Summary

A. 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

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

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Plug in a recent race result to get your training paces here ...

• http://www.attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp
• http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/racepaces/rp

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  Join the Tuesday Track Workouts at Tom Black Track group on Facebook.

Running Around 2.5.12

We've been doing a lot of tempo work so far. It's great for building fitness early in the season and also works well for the longer races featured on the KTC schedule this time of year. However, we don't want to get too far into training before we get a little bit of work on turnover and speed. This week we're going to do a combination of tempo (T-pace) mixed with some faster R-paced 200s.

Competition and terrain cause us to vary our effort and pace in races, so we're going to use this workout to model those kinds of changes. We're going to alternate 1600m at T pace with 200m at R-pace. A full set is: 1600m @T pace, 60s rest, 200m @R pace, 200m easy jog. Repeat that 2-4 times depending on your weekly mileage. If you fall in between on your mileage, feel free to move up or add an extra 1600 without the 200. Details are listed below.

Finally, Strawberry Plains 1/2 marathon and 10k coming up this weekend, so there is no marathon training run scheduled. Hope to see you out there racing.

Workout Summary

A. 2-4 x (1600m@T + 60s rest + 200m @R + 200m jog). Recommendations based on weekly mileage:
50 mpw: 4 sets
35 mpw: 3 sets
25 mpw or less: 2 sets

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

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Plug in a recent race result to get your training paces here ...

• http://www.attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp
• http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/racepaces/rp

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  Join the Tuesday Track Workouts at Tom Black Track group on Facebook.