EDIT: First post edited to show link for viewing and editing:

View Updates: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pGfgkRUvLwmFwPN-1XWFWbQ

For non participants, you can see what your training partner is doing and you can beat him/her up in stealth mode so that you don't get outsprinted for a Kona slot next summer (this is like old school San Diego, where all the pros like Monty and Molina were trying to one up each other in training)....

Participants link for editing: http://spreadsheets.google.com/...gkRUvLwmFwPN-1XWFWbQ

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Hey guys,

Tomorrow is Dec 1, which means the run challenge that I promised starts tomorrow.

The goal of this entire thing is to lay down a solid run base by doing volume through frequency in short bursts of running. The minimum requirement is doing 30 minutes for the run to count. It can be outdoors or on a treadmill, but it must be running (no water running, no bogus elliptical trainer...). Walking does not count...there must be 2 feet off the ground at some point in every stride (the difference between race walking and running).

• You can take days off
• You can double up runs in a day
• You can take rest days
• You get no credit for going hard
• you get no credit for going long
• You can go as slow as you want

For a run to count as a double, it must be separated by at least 1 hour. I have to pick a duration to separate 2 runs and it can't be 1 minute or 5 minutes, and putting 1 hour in between means that I will allow you to count a run-swim-run, run-bike-run, run-wts-run, run-XC ski-run, run-McDonalds-run as 2 sessions as long as the thing in between lasts for at least 1 hour (be it 40K on the bike, or a session at the donut shop).

Last year _EH_, Jana and I put down 100 days in a row of running 30 min or more with ZERO rest days. This year, I plan to take rest days, and also double up some days, cause frankly on some days when I was XC skiing 60K, doing a run later in the day was pure torture and had limited value and barely resembled my slowest pace even in an Ironman...I want to enjoy training.

So here are the clubs:

1. Platinum Club = 100 runs in 100 days (March 9th)
2. Gold Club = 100 runs in 110 days (March 19th)
3. Silver Club = 100 runs in 120 days (March 29th)
4. Bronze = 100 runs in 130 days (April 8th)

For the moment, just post here if you want to participate. I'll try to set up some type of a google spreadsheet like Tigerchik did for the swim challenge.

It is great training for anyone doing a spring marathon or an early season triathlon, and you'll be shocked by how quickly you accumulate mileage, all without getting injured...because the focus is keeping them short and aerobic. By all means feel free to run longer than 30 minutes, but the main goal here is to get you out the door, 5-7 times per week, especially given that the weather is generally shitty for riding in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

EDIT: Question about runs shorter than 30 minutes

I want to encourage people to run whenever possible. If you run less than 30 minutes, no, you don't get credit for doing a "complete" run for your final "club" status. However, there are times when you can't get the entire thing in because you have to emphasize another sport or you only have time for a 15 minute transition run, or you have to get groceries or get to work. So I still want to encourage you to run and there can still be some form of credit for the minutes and distance on a cumulative basis.

So basically let's say you do a 15 minute run covering 3K. You can't enter this as a "complete run" for your "club status", however, if you do many of these over the winter, they all add up to more base, so what you CAN do is add these 15 minutes in your entry for the next run...so if your next run is 45 minutes, and 9K, just put it in as 60 minutes and 12K and take some partial credit for it. Also you cannot add two 15 minute runs to count for a single 30 minute run...you have to run 30 minutes continuously in one training session for it to count as a whole run :-)


thanks...see you on the virtual training loops!

Dev

PS. Sorry for the late notice...life got in the way