OK, so I could do a search, but I haven’t posted anything in so long I wanted to avail myself of doing so. Please humor me.
A wise man once said, relative to run training: “Speed work is the icing on the cake. You don’t have a cake yet.”
I’ve spent the start of ‘07 in a run training focus block. Been averaging over 40 mpw (would be more like 45 mpw but for the 10m I did the first week o’ Jan when I was just getting over a long lingering bout of bronchitis, but I digress). My running has improved quite a bit on just the volume uptick, which is very nice. I’m in far better run fitness now than at my peak last season, have set some nice PB’s in races and trainnig, and I want to bump it up another notch.
So, here’s my thing - I have a 10k at the end of Apr, and then a sprint Du the week afterwards, and I want to put some “icing” on my “cake”, now that I actually have some semblance of a “cake” for the first time in my adult life.
Run gurus - what say ye? What sorta workouts would you suggest I should be doing?
I could use the ideas in Slowman’s “How to Kill your 10k PR” article, but I’m interested in what y’all have to suggest as well.
Other than a coupla races so far this year, and doing some strides the week prior to said races, I’ve done zero speed/interval/tempo/rep/etc work. Everything has been at Z1 or Z2.
Ah, c’mon - nobody has any speedwork run training suggestions?
Or a link to a recent laboriously long discussion of same?
Sheesh, I can’t believe I had to resort to BUMPing myself… what’s the world coming to?
BarryP has quite a few posts describing different run training strategies for different events/scenarios. I’m just as lazy as you though and don’t feel like searching for them.
its not as high tech and complicated as many here would like but since you seem to be a bit new to higher mileage running I would suggest one speed session per week and one tempo run per week. 12X400 or 6X800 or 3X1mile and then 20:00 to 25:00 at tempo pace for the other workout. Each workout includes a 10:00 warmup and 10:00 cooldown.
I’m definitely new to high(er) mileage running. Last year’s avg was <28 mpw, the prior year was like 18.5 mpw, and prior to that it was hardly any running of note.
I remember the 12x400 from HS track…
Thx, basic and low tech is probably more than adequate for me for now. Any suggestions for rest interval time for say the 6x800 set?
(that’s probably more my speed (pun unintended) for now, and I don’t hafta go to a track to do it, I have a pretty accurate and reasonably flat 1/2m section of my normal run course I can use for repeats)
THX!!
-M
“Everything I need to know about running I learned from this post”
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1038855#1038855
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Hey welcome back brah !!! This place wasn’t the same w/o you .
Fast doodes like you should not be posting shit like this Mikey ; ) Are you trying to turn pro on us ? So as far as this cake stuff…Twinkies and HoHo’s for you. It’ll give us slower guys a chance to at least stay in the same zip code.
Maybe we’ll see ya at Hairy Man…not crazy about that cold swim,but its a nice course.
Id say if you are going to do 6X800 you should take 400 recovery inbetween. Again, not rocket science, just old school speedwork:)
ML, do the Simon Lessing approved 12x400 on 62-63 seconds…that should set you up for either a PB or being injured…seriously though…15-20 min warm with A’s and B’s, 8x100m accelerations with 100m jog recovery (accelerate the straightaway, jog the turns), 4x800 at 10K race pace with 400 m recovery jog, and then 10-15 min cooldown with A’s and B’s. That gives you 4000m of speedwork in a session…once per week should be more than enough given everthing else you are doing. Even split each 200m split for the 800’s, so you are really holding your 10K race pace…not yoyoing all over the interval. Try doing the last 800m 8 seconds faster than the rest by doing each 200m split 2 seconds quicker.
Dev
GREAT link Ken, THX!!
PS - c’mon, no mention of squats anywhere in there, how can I take it seriously?
And thx everybody else for the idears, I haven’t done speedwork in so long I’d fogotten how.
I’ve got 6 weeks to play with before that 10k, so I’ll incorporate some o’ this stuff in there gradually between now and then, and see what it gets me.
Fish - dude, ya gotta do Harriman. Because it is there.
what the heck are “striders”?
GREAT link Ken, THX!!
PS - c’mon, no mention of squats anywhere in there, how can I take it seriously?
Ironic, isn’t it, since running is the one triathlon discipline in which squats might help…
I have the old RW w/K. Souza on the cover and a profile of Mark Allen, Kenny, and Liz D inside…
Mark did essentially the same thing Simon reported doing in your Xtri interview.
Fwiw, that’s been my bread & butter 8-10x400m every Tuesday night starting in the late spring w.1min rest, work down to low 70’s/ high 60’s…
Add in the requisite maint mileage and you’re good to go.
But plyometrics will help even more than squats
Seriously though…ML can throw some bounding drills in at the end. Just do 50’s on the grass on the infield football field at the track, counting strides trying to cover the 50 in the least number of strides :-). That will help him outsprint Itzeasy at the Epicman smackdown.
do 12-16 400s, or 6-8 800s, or 3x2 mile ins/ outs (400 in @ between 5-10k pace/ 400 out at 1/2 marathon pace).
WASAAAAP
Have you been doing any tempo work?
That would be the first element of some faster training.
For 10K 5-6 x 1000m with 400 - 600m jog recovery may be a good workout, or else 4-5 x 1200m. The intervals should be 3.5 to 5 minutes in duration. The 12 x 400 can be good as well, the key is to keep recovery at 2:00 jog max and run them all solid. This would all fall under the umbrella of interval training. I do not do this type of training much anymore.
I like just doing speed if I get the urge to do something other than tempo or easy running. 2-3 x 400/300/200/100 with easy 400m jog in between is a great way to get the wheels turning. You would be amazed at how sloppy you are on the 100s and 200s. This may be too intense a workout for old people as you could pull a hammy or something. I also like 5 x 300m now that I am old. Back in college we used to do 10 x 300m with 100m walk (i.e. 60 second rest) at say 50-52; this is a great workout for a 1500/3000m guy.
Better stick to 6 x Sierra Nevada, with chicken wing recoveries.
MAtt-
I think we need to take ML to Mexican Radio for some serious cerveza and burritos before he attempts such endeavours.
6 x Sierra Nevadas on 5min intervals works best for the 40-44 bus.
Dudes, I have to find a way to make the Tupper Lake smackdown happen…at worst my extended family disowns me for showing up late to a wedding that someone would schedule the day of Tupper Lake…what nerve…seriously, they should outlaw weddings…what a waste of time…if the bride and groom can make it to 10 years without breaking up, then hold a huge party…but having a party the day you get married is celebrating the finish of a marathon at mile 1!!!
<< Better stick to 6 x Sierra Nevada, with chicken wing recoveries >>
Can I hire you as my coach? This is gold, Jerry, GOLD!
Zip on the tempo training (well, I did do a 5k and a 5m race, does that count?)
If’n the weather permits (it’s s’posed to f’n snow, again - arrgh!), that’ll be the first thing I do, pop off a nice tempo run, in lieu of whatever mid-distance easy run I woulda done otherwise.
Go with that sorta thing for a week 'r two, then add in some faster schtuff if I haven’t imploded any body parts by then.
Dev - much as I’d love to have at ya at Tupper, being that it is only 3 wks prior to LP (yer stilll doing LP again, right?), and you’ll get disowned by a part of the family (that you don’t care about anyway, but that’s where the rich uncles who die and leave ya millions come from, right?), it’s probably best to take a pass this year.
If I miss Tupper, I’ll just go blow my Ironman LP race again by racing the Peterborough Half Ironman 2 weeks out. It seemed to work well last year for both Jeff Beach and I