| Elite observations: Variety key in training plan |
| Tuesday, November 09, 2010 00:00 |
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By TOMMY MANNING Editor’s note: Manning is a math teacher and cross country coach at Fountain Valley School who finished 18th this month in the World Mountain Running Championships. He will provide periodic tips — all of which can be found here on OutThereColorado.com. Whether you are young or old, a beginner or a veteran, fast or slow, run 5Ks or marathons, most experts offer a pretty similar weekly plan. Each week consists of the following: long run, some moderate runs, speed work, and rest or easy days. To keep up fitness, add variety to your training, and not slow down, you need each of these components in your week. If you are not running one long run per week, you need to start. Likewise, if you are not getting in one speed workout each week, you need to start.
Most of your runs are going to be at what I call a moderate intensity. What is the pace of this run? I cannot say it is 8:00 min/mile or 7:00 min/mile because we are all different, so I will say it should be at a conversational pace. You should be able to talk to the person next to you and not be winded. These are your ‘normal’ distance: longer than your short runs and way shorter than your long runs. Previous entries Tips to enjoying quick post-race recovery Tips for long-term recovery after big event Taking stock in the mental side to training A typical week will have one or more speed days depending on when your competition is and how long the race is. Someone who is competing soon may do 2-3 speed workouts in a week. Someone who is far from a competition or just ended their competitive season may do one speed workout per week (or none). Speed work can be in the form of tempo runs (holding a much faster than moderate pace for a set distance or time), fartleks (alternating short segments of fast running with slow running), intervals (doing a set number of fast repeats: 400m or 800m repeats on the track, for example), or progression runs (starting moderate and increasing your pace every few minutes until you are running very fast). Speed workouts should be specific to your goal race. Marathoners do not need to do many fast 400m intervals on a track and 5k runners do not need to run 8-mile tempo runs. You should also have one or more rest or easy days each week. Your body needs time to recover from the long and speed days and if you do not have a rest day each week, you are sure to get injured or very fatigued soon. Most people take the day off on their rest days, but cross training or a short, slow, easy run also works. If you run one long run per week, one speed workout per week, and have one rest day, then that leaves four moderate intensity runs each week. If you increase speed workouts or rest days, your number of moderate runs decreases. Beginners can alter this plan to a two week plan. They should alternate long and speed runs each week. So one week would have a long run, moderate runs, and rest days, while the next week would have a speed workout, moderate runs, and rest days. |
The long run builds up endurance and stamina and is a part of every training plan. Some runners (marathoners, elites) will run more than one long run per week. Most people will just run one long run each week, however. These runs should be slower and longer than your normal run.
