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5K/10K workout
Distance Focus (more than 10K as max race distance)
6x
Each training group flips a total of three coins to determine the length of the repeat for the evening. Three heads means three laps for that repeat. Two heads would mean two laps and one head would mean one lap. Each training group would follow this scenario until they’ve flipped the coins six times. Once your six sets are done, the workout is over. As some of you might have figured out, all tails means no repeats for that set and the workout just got shorter. Call it luck.
The benefit to a workout like this is that the question of the distance remains for every throw, so the workout can not be predetermined mentally before you get started. This makes an athlete more open to unpredictable situations that we encounter along the way. In addition to that, the speed at which the workout is conducted is going to differ dependent on which of the three distances your training group ends up with for the various repeats. This workout tends to be tougher than you think!
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.
Hills, strength work, speed work in disguise
Tonight we are going to step off the track and run some hills. We are going to use Southfield Road and we are going to break the hill into four segments. The plan is to run the 5k loop in a clockwise direction where we end up on Southfield Road for the end of the run. The hill will be marked out with four different markers splitting the hill in quarters. The work out will be to run at an accelerated rate 1/4 of the way up, then back down, ½ the up, then back down, ¾ of the way, then back down, then finally all the way up. This would be one set. Depending on how you feel, choose one set, two sets, or three.
The aim for hills is to run with good form up the hill, to run aggressively. Hills are speed work in disguise. Hills beg for greater knee lift, a higher oxygen demand, and a greater need for efficiency. With my high school runners we do a hill session at least once a week from the beginning until just before the end of the season. Hills build strength as well as help prevent injuries by reducing the stress on the joints while accelerating the heart rate. Traditional speed work can strain ligaments, tendons and joints, especially in older athletes where hills tend to moderate the intensity level with the help of gravity. Also hills make you strong so when you encounter one during a race, while it might not be enjoyable, you can relish the fact that others around you hurt more than you because of it!
1x/2x/3x
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 test, tempo work
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 “up-tempo” 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 “up-tempo” 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 useless. 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.
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 you’re 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 tune up 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
300 meters “smooth”, 300 meters “quick”, 100 meters “smooth”, 100 meters “quick”
4x / 5x
Run 300 meters at a fast recovery pace, then pick it up to race pace for 300 meters, then coast through 100 meters and get back up to race pace for the last 100 meters = 800 meters total
This workout was created so my high school runners could get in a little “change of pace” training right before a meet without emptying the gas tank. I will have them do two or three of these the day before a meet simply to get the legs moving and to make sure they don’t get too used to easy running pace, the speed they do most of their easy runs at. Which makes this an excellent early season workout or tuneup workout to do before running a race you want to run well or PR in. Once you get used to a particular pace to train at, getting out of that pace can be hard. The body works towards efficiency, and if most of your mileage is run at 8 minute pace, that’s where it will go automatically. The idea of speedwork is to adjust what is normal, provide a range of normal, making it easier for you to step it up when the time comes. This workout provides such a stimulus without making you “go to the well.”
Distance Focus (more than 10K as max race distance)
300/100 workout
5x /6x
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.
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