Week 5 - July 12th thru 18th
Monday 12th Easy/Light Run 35 minutes
Include 5 x 30 sec light strides/60 sec easy within run
Tuesday 13th No Run - Cross Training Day
Do ONE of the Following after Warm Up:
Warm Up 10 minutes on the Stationary Bike - THEN
Lift Weights/Pilates (Mat or Reformer)/Yoga
Cool Down 10 minutes on Stationary Bike
Wednesday 14th Light Fartlek/Tempo Workout
Meet @ Tom Watson Park - 6:45 am OR 6:00 pm
Warm Up 15 min/Stretch/4 x 25 sec strides
5 x 3 min with 2 min easy @ half marathon effort
End with 5 x 60 sec fast turnover/60 sec easy
Cool Down 10 minutes
Thursday 15th Easy Recovery Run 35 minutes
Friday 16th No Run - Cross Training Day
Do ONE of the Following after Warm Up:
Warm Up 10 minutes on the Stationary Bike - THEN
Lift Weights/Pilates (Mat or Reformer)/Yoga
Cool Down 10 minutes on Stationary Bike
Saturday 17th Easy Longer Run 75-80 minutes
Relaxed Effort-Pace/Hydrate
Sunday 18th Easy Recovery Run 30 minutes
Easy/Light/Recovery Run - Conversational Pace/Time on Legs/Relaxed Effort
Fartlek/Tempo - Run between 65-85% effort of Max
Group Meeting: Tom Watson Park @ 6:45 am OR 6:00 pm
Follow the Diagonal Highway to 63rd Street. Go north on 63rd for about a half mile and look for the sign saying Tom Watson Park on your right. Parking Lot is opposite Coot Lake on east side of 63rd Street. DO NOT Park @ Coot Lake Trailhead.
Coach's Notes
I have noticed quite a few of you saying you have hit a "slump" or have "little motivation" to get out there and train right now. You are not alone. There's no better feeling in the life of a runner than getting fitter. When every workout seems both faster and easier than the last. And there's no worse feeling than the dreaded plateau. When your speed and endurance unexpectedly level off, and before you know it you're training hard just to keep from sliding backward. and you ask yourself, "what happened?". There are a few common causes of stagnation in training. Often it is an indication that you have peaked--that your body has reached the short-term limit of its adaptive potential. This is likely to be the case if you have been increasing your training steadily for many weeks. The only solution here is to take a short break from running, maybe do some cross-training for a couple weeks, and then begin a fresh training program. The above is the worst case scenario. Other times a plateau is merely an indication that you need a brief recovery period to absorb recent training before you resume your build-up. Factors in your life outside of training can also cause a plateau by sapping precious energy. These factors can include job stress, inadequate sleep, fatigue from travel, and poor diet. Such things are not always avoidable. However, always bear in mind that as your general well-being goes, so goes your running. So, do the best you can to maintain a balanced and healthy overall lifestyle at all times. Perhaps the most correctable cause of stagnating fitness is inadequate variation in your training. You have to continually challenge your body in new ways if you want to keep getting faster and stronger. So, the first thing you should do when you encounter a plateau is to take a recovery week, the second thing you should do is to vary your training. Exactly how you vary your training, depends on what you've been doing up to this point. Any variation is good as long as it remains specific to the demands of your races and it represents an appropriate challenge. Stress depletes the Body. Running is a Great Stress Reliever. Work smarter not harder and take your recovery days seriously. Eat 5-6 balanced mini-meals. Surround yourself with loving people and don't OVER analyze your running.