Base Training Group 3 - Week 4 (Lighter)

Monday 28th               Easy/Light Run 35 minutes

Tuesday 29th              No Run - Cross Training Day

Wednesday 30th         Light Fartlek Workout

Thursday 31st             Easy Recovery Run 35-40 minutes

Friday 1st                    No Run - Cross Training Day

Saturday 2nd               Easy Longer Run 55-60 minutes

Sunday 3rd                  No Run - Rest Day

 

Easy/Light/Recovery Run - Conversational Pace/Time on Legs/Relaxed Effort

Fartlek - Run between 65-85% effort of Max

How Fit Are You - Continuation...

6) Joint Mobility - most runners realize their muscular flexibility could use some work, but they don't think about the range of motion of their joints. Joint Mobility is a measure of how effectively you are able to move your ankles, knees, and hips through a normal range of motion. When these joints are tight, your body recruits other muscles, which then become overworked and vulnerable to injury.

Test It: Bar Squat - stand with feet shoulder-width apart and press a lightweight bar overhead. Squat down as low as possible without letting the bar fall forward. Return to standing and repeat twice more. Repeat the test with your heels elevated on a two-inch-high board. Fair if you have trouble maintaining form in either heel position.

Improve It: Squat-to Stand - stand with feet shoulder-width apart and grab your toes with your knees bent (if necessary). Keeping arms straight, pull your glutes down and lift your chest while holding your toes. Reach up one arm, then the other, to form a "Y". Stand up, keeping arms raised. Repeat 10 times.

7) Speed - whether it's setting a personal record or finishing your 5 mile route faster, most runners are interested in getting faster. What you may not realize though, is that speed training can help prevent injury because it demands that muscles fire hard for a split second. This requires more power than slogging out miles, and therefore builds more muscle that can protect you from the wear and tear of distance running.

Test It: Lap Test - go to a track and warm up, stretch and do some strides. Using your watch, time yourself for 400m all out. Most of us do not have that fast turnover and so will be Fair.

Improve It: Speed Drills - (i) quick step - take as many short steps as possible for 5 yards. Walk 5 yards, then repeat. Do three sets of five reps. Rest 30 seconds between sets. This drill trains the brain and muscles to communicate superfast, so the muscles fire quickly to improve stride frequency. (ii) straight leg bound - run 30 yards, taking as big a stride as possible while keeping legs straight. Rest 60 seconds and repeat up to 5 times. This drill works the hamstrings and glutes, the two muscle groups that control stride length.

8) Endurance - can be thought of as how well all of your systems work together; your heart-stroke volume (the amount of oxygenated blood pumped to the muscles with every beat), your muscle strength and efficiency (the muscles ability to turn that O2 into energy they need to contract), your metabolism (how efficiently you metabolize fat and carbohydrates to use for fuel and flush out lactate build-up, believed to be a cause of muscle fatigue), and your neuromuscular system (your brain and body's ability to communicate about which muscles to contract and when). You work on your endurance every time you run, but the only way to track your progress is to have a controlled test that gauges how well these systems work together.

Test It: Treadmill Tempo - set the treadmill at one degree incline and warm up for 10 minutes. Do 30-minute tempo run at 80-85 percent of your maximum effort, which is a bit slower than 10-k race pace. Cool down 5 minutes, and note the distance you covered during the 30-minute tempo. Depending on your age, Fair is anywhere from 3.4 miles to 4.1 miles.

Improve It: Endurance Builders - Boulder Striders will help you out here.

9) Cardiovascular Strength - if your workouts are always at the same, comfortable pace, your cardiovascular system probably isn't as fit as it could be. You need to move out of that comfort zone and force the heart to work harder and act more quickly in order to improve your cardio-vascular fitness. Your heart is like any other muscle, when it's challenged, it grows stronger and when it's stronger, it can pump more blood with each beat, delivering more oxygen-rich blood to the muscles so they can perform their best.

Test It: Step-Ups - the best test is to have your Lactate Threshold tested at a Sports Medicine Center. A simpler test involves using a 12-inch high step, and stepping on and off for 3 minutes. Step up with one foot and then the other and step down the same way. Try maintain a steady, consistent four-beat cycle, "up, up, down. down". After 3 minutes, sit down and immediately check your heart rate beat for one minute. Depending on your age, Fair ranges from 101-119 beats per minute.

Improve It: Hill repeats - hill training forces muscles to recruit 2-3 times more muscle fibers than flat-land running, which makes it a great way to improve one's cardio-vascular strength.

During the Spring Session...the Striders will work on getting you Aerobically strong...but we'll emphasize building your Anaerobic capacity to make you faster for Bolder Boulder.