Monadnock Regional Milers

Medium distance pace work

5K/10K workout
500 meters @ pace/ 300 meters R
3x/4x/5x
500 meters (1 ¼ laps) run at race pace with 300 meters (3/4 lap) recovery jog, three sets or four sets or five sets

Distance Focus (more than 10K as max race distance)
500 meters pace / 300 meters R
5x/6x/7x

Beginning runners
Prepare to cover 10 laps (2 and ½ miles) by running as easily as you can for one lap, then walking for one lap. As your fitness improves add one lap of running to the workout, while keeping the walking lap the same until you can run for 10 laps straight. Now you are ready to begin the 5K/10K workout regime.

5K/10K workout
10 x 200 meters CONT with 200 meter recovery
10 continuously run 200 meter repeats, at goal 5K race pace, with a recovery jog of 200 meters, starting with a recovery 200 as well

Distance Focus (more than 10K as max race distance)
10 x 200 CONT w/200m R
10 minutes easy recovery running
10 x 200 CONT w/ 200 m R

This workout can be measured many different ways which is why I consider it my bread and butter workout. If your tuning up for a race, by running the “quick” repeat section at race pace you prep your legs for the speed you want them to move at for the race. Run the recovery real easy and it’s a nice tuneup before the race. If you want more strength from the workout, add an extra set of CONT 200 repeats to bulk up the mileage. If you want a more tempo based workout, run the “quick” repeats at race pace, but only back off a little on the recovery sections. If we are doing more than one set, we’ll run right at pace for the first ten, recover how we need, and time the entire workout. On the second set, we’ll decrease recovery time and towards the end of the set, start cutting down the at pace time so we are going faster. Then a comparison of the two sets can be measured against each other.

Beginning runners
Prepare to cover 10 laps (2 and ½ miles) by running as easily as you can for one lap, then walking for one lap. As your fitness improves add one lap of running to the workout, while keeping the walking lap the same until you can run for 10 laps straight. Now you are ready to begin the 5K/10K workout regime.

5K/10K workout
10 Lap Time Trial, 3 min on, 3 R
10 laps run uptempo (by effort), 3 minutes quick, 3 minutes recovery, until ten laps have been covered

Distance Focus (more than 10K as max race distance)
same as above

The ten lap time trial is a fitness measurement that allows you to compare the fitness level you are currently at with a measurement you’ve taken previously or with one you will take in the future. The idea is that your going to run “uptempo” for the first three minutes then ”coast” the next three in an effort to recover. The idea is to run the ten laps as quickly as possible without turning the workout into ten laps all out effort. As a runner gains fitness, the speed for the “uptempo” 3 minutes will likely increase. Additionally, the “coast” speed will also improve, meaning through improved fitness, the total time in which it takes to cover ten laps will get faster. *** Important! it’s imperative that you keep track of your results. Unless you have something to compare it to, the end time will be relatively usless. Really this goes for all your speed work.

Beginning runners
Prepare to cover 10 laps (2 and ½ miles) by running as easily as you can for one lap, then walking for one lap. As your fitness improves add one lap of running to the workout, while keeping the walking lap the same until you can run for 10 laps straight. Now you are ready to begin the 5K/10K workout regime.

 negative split run, tempo work

5K/10K workout
40 minute negative split run

Distance Focus (more than 10K as max race distance)
Same as above or 50 minutes

I started using the negative split run after about 6 years of coaching distance runners and realizing that high schoolers had a hard time conceptualizing what a “tempo” run was. Many times their regular “easy” runs would turn into these as either the distance or the pace would eventually catch up with the lesser trained or slower athletes that tried to stay with the faster guys. So what I did was steal a concept where the athletes would begin on an easy run for time, get out to the half way mark, and turn around and come back faster than they went out. Due to the fact that part way out on a run you’re more tired than before you started, running faster on the way back helps develop appropriate pacing and forces athletes to focus on preserving their form during the end of the run.

The workout isn’t intended to be an all out “ballbuster.” You should feel good and strong when you finish, not splayed out. Tempo runs are supposed to happen at your aerobic/anaerobic threshold so you should finish feeling fast and confident.

The rail trail headed north towards Hancock/Greenfield would be a great place to run a negative split run.

Beginning runners
Prepare to cover 10 laps (2 and ½ miles) by running as easily as you can for one lap, then walking for one lap. As your fitness improves add one lap of running to the workout, while keeping the walking lap the same until you can run for 10 laps straight. Now you are ready to begin the 5K/10K workout regime.

Fitness assessment, strength work 

5K/10K workout
Distance Focus (more than 10K as max race distance)

Warm up => (1600 => recovery mile => 800 => recovery mile => 400) => cool down

The Michigan is a workout adapted from the University of Michigan. The “original” workout consists of 1600 meter, 1200 meter, 800 meter and 400 meter fast effort runs on the track, with a “recovery” mile run off the track sandwiched between efforts. The entire effort is measured by time as is each of the repeats. The goal of the workout is to run strong efforts on the track while running quickly during the recovery. The results are then interpreted to denote both strength and speed.

For instance, if someone were to run the workout a second time and the overall time were the exact same, the results could still be different. Let’s say the overall is the same, but the repeats are faster, then the athlete has gotten faster, but their overall fitness, or their ability to recover has lessened. If their repeat times are slower, then their ability to recover has gotten better, but their speed has dropped.

However if they’ve seen improvement, the results could still reveal differences in improvement. If their repeats got faster but relatively no change to their recovery, then speed has improved without gains to recovery. If the repeats are the same, but recovery is vastly improved, they’ve seen gains to their efficiency without gains to speed. If both have improved, then there have been gains in both efficiency and speed.

We’ve used a variation of the Michigan for ten years now. We’ve removed the 1200 meter segment to make it more appropriate for high school use. It’s gone from being our toughest workout to one of the most anticipated workouts of the year, as the athlete’s know it will reveal the gains they’ve made during the season. We do it just a couple weeks into the season and then about five weeks later.

Beginning runners
Prepare to cover 10 laps (2 and ½ miles) by running as easily as you can for one lap, then walking for one lap. As your fitness improves add one lap of running to the workout, while keeping the walking lap the same until you can run for 10 laps straight. Now you are ready to begin the 5K/10K workout regime.