The Big Three
Since taking eight days off running at the end of last month I've adopted a new training "strategy:" running three times a week. It doesn't seem like a lot, especially with a May half marathon in on the calendar. But these three days are very focused: tempo, speed and a long run. I've always read that these are the "big three" that you want to build a training program around. In the past I've really only focused on two: speed and the long run and added volume on other days. The miles I've run in past training cycles haven't exactly been focused, usually they are run at an easy to medium pace with no real purpose other than to chalk up the miles in my running log. This method has worked for me to a point, but I want to be stronger, faster, better than I ever have been before. For now my focus is not on volume (number of miles run in a week) it is on quality (hitting specific paces in focused workouts). With this focus in mind, here is how I've set up my March training plan: [All paces were determined using the McMillan Pace Calculator. You can calculate your own training paces HERE.]
Monday: TEMPO. Warm up one mile. Run at "tempo pace" for 20-60 min. I started week one with 20 min at tempo pace and I've been adding 5 minutes every week. I'm up to 35 minutes at tempo pace. I'd like to work up to 60 min or more. I like using a minute marker rather than a mile marker, it mixes up my focus: time instead of miles.
Tuesday: Cross Train
Wednesday: SPEED I've mostly been running 800m (1/2 mile) repeats. I started with 4x800 with a 400m recovery jog and have been adding one 800 each week. Last week I ran a timed workout instead of a"lap" workout with a more active recovery: 3 min at 5K pace with two minutes "fast" recovery (90 seconds slower than 5K pace). This week I'm going to run shorter intervals: 10x400. I'm hoping to do them on the track (if the snow has melted), because 400's on the treadmill are not fun.
Thursday: Cross Train/Shakeout Run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: LONG RUN I've been running my long runs at my "long run pace," which is pretty relaxed. I usually have to tell myself to ease back as I get going too fast (except on the hilly routes).
Sunday: Shakeout Run Super easy, slow run at recovery pace.
For the first two weeks of March I ran three times a week with a 1-2 mile shakeout run on Sunday. This past week I started incorporating another easy shakeout run on Thursday: adding a little volume.
Not running on Tuesday and Thursday has been beneficial. I've found that I'm fresh and eager for Monday and Wednesday's hard efforts and by the time Saturday rolls around I'm really looking forward to the long run. I also think that I would be very run down if I tried to add more volume at this point as I'm still only six months postpartum. This past week has been especially tough with Jack's nighttime wakings: due to the discomfort of his tissue expanders AND the fact that he is cutting his two top teeth (The gum is translucent I can see the teeth, but can't feel them yet...any day now!) he has been up as much as four times in a night. That's what he was like as a newborn, then we had two glorious months of him sleeping through the night 10-12 hours. Since we started the expansion process at home at the beginning of the month he hasn't been sleeping, which means I am not sleeping. Not sleeping means that I'm dragging during the day. I need those Tuesdays and Thursdays that don't demand a hard workout.
Even if you're a newbie runner you can still create a training plan around these three types of efforts. Tempo can be the difference between a walk and a jog, or a jog and a run. And speed intervals can be measured by mailboxes or telephone poles instead of laps around a track. And the focus of a "long run" can be on sustained effort, adding a few more minutes every weekend. Instead of using the McMillan Pace Calculator to determine your paces, use perceived effort: how hard are you breathing?
I've heard that this is the method described in the book Run Less, Run Faster although I've never read it. I should. For now these three workouts are forming the core of my training. We will see the effects of this method in two weeks when I run my first 5K!
What is your training strategy? Do you feel fresh for your hard effort runs? Have you read Run Less, Run Faster?
--Sarah
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