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Week 2 – Oct 31st thru Nov 6th

House Keeping Notes

1. Saturday Group Training for the Winter – 7:30 am
2. Mark Your Calendars - CRC/Boulder Striders Xmas Party on December 10th
3. Club X-C Champs on November 6th…we would like to have some Teams Race in Boulder

Striders colors…please let us know if you would like to run…Striders will pay your entry fee

Monday 31st            Cross Train Day

                              Lift Weights/Pilates (Mat or Reformer)/Yoga – 45 to 60 minutes

Tuesday 1st              Easy/Light Run 35 minutes

                              Include 4 x 30 sec light strides/60 sec easy within run

                              Do Light Strides after 20 minutes of Running

Wednesday 2nd         Light Fartlek Workout 

                              Meet @ East Boulder Rec - 6:30 am OR 5:30 pm

                              PLEASE BRING A HEADLAMP        

                              Warm Up 10-15 min/Stretch/4 x 30 sec strides

                              6 x 3 min @ 10 km – half marathon effort with 90 sec easy

                              run efforts @ 70-75% of max…nothing too hard

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Thursday 3rd            Easy Recovery Run 35 minutes

                              Plyo’s Class @ CAC-Flatirons – 6:00 pm

Friday 4th                 Cross Training Day

                              Lift Weights/Pilates (Mat or Reformer)/Yoga – 45 to 60 minutes

Saturday 5th             Tempo/Hill Workout from Niwot Shopping Center @ 7:30 am

                              Warm Up 10-15 min/Stretch/4 x 30 sec strides

                              7 min @ half marathon pace on the flats with 2 min active rest

                              4 x 45 sec steady up...turn...45 sec steady down

                              90 sec active rest

                              7 min @ half marathon pace on the flats with 3 min active rest

                              4 x 45 sec steady up...turn...45 sec steady down

                              90 sec active rest

                              active rest = walk/slow run recovery

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Sunday 6th               Easy Long Run – 50 to 60 minutes

                              Relaxed Pace/Hydrate on the Run

                              Easy 5 min Walk Cool Down

Easy/Light/Recovery Run - Conversational Pace/Relaxed Effort

Long Run – 60-90 sec Slower than your Marathon Goal Pace

Tempo/Sustained - Run between 70-80% Effort of Max

Fartlek – Playing with Fast/Slow Speed

Hills - Work on Good Form (drive with arms/relax the shoulders/get up on toes/quick

          turnover/mid-foot strike on the downs/look 5-10 feet in front of yourself)

Meeting Places

East Boulder Rec - follow Baseline east to 55th St. Take a right on 55th and follow the road until the sharp left turn and go past the first parking lot and tennis courts towards the Rec Center. Park on the West Side of the Rec Center Parking Lot close to the tennis courts.

Niwot Shopping Center - follow the Diagonal Highway to Niwot and take a right on Niwot Road. At the 3-way stop, take a right on 79th Street and the second left into the Shopping Center Parking Lot. Meet there for warm up to Niwot Loop Trail.

Coach's Notes

Continuous progress over the long haul is no easy task. When you’re new to something, each new experience is exactly that…a new experience. As we learn new skills, our progress is at first fast. We feel a tremendous amount of accomplishment, because we can see and feel ourselves improving and progress is obvious. Being new to something, things are very enjoyable because improvement comes very easily with little need for attention to detail. But this is a changing dynamic. As we become more proficient, the attention to detail required to continue to improve grows, as does the pressure we place on ourselves to improve. The better one gets the more effort and attention to detail it takes to improve, and the smaller the window of improvement.

This is the challenge that many coaches and athletes face. As athletes advance, the attention to detail required to continue to progress increases at a nearly exponential rate. Most athletes find there’s an inverse correlation between training detail and training enjoyment. Like anything in life, the answer is somewhere in between: neither too much detail, nor too much fun produce optimal physical progress. Three significant factors come into play when dealing with an athlete’s mindset, preparation and performance.

1. Genetic Ability
2. Desired Performance Outcome
3. Sacrifice

Think about these three components and next week I’ll elaborate a bit more on them.