We have four weeks of training before our first practice together!
Competitive runners have a level of grit, determination, and work ethic that helps us accomplish high goals in athletics (and in the classroom!). We know we our early season workout times are not comparable to our peak season workout times from last year, but we can’t help it sometimes. This is one of the reasons I want us to stay off the track for most of January. Right now we want to happily build some base…and fartlek runs can be our best friend.
Here are suggested workouts for January…if you follow this plan, you will feel great when we get together in February and you will be racing out of your shoes in April.
This weekly schedule is also set up for you to join Coach Smith and the sprinters in the weight room on Mondays and Thursdays. This is optional but it should be fun, you will learn something about working with weights, and it will help your running!
Suggested runs (this is repeated in Discord):
Mondays: Warm up, then 6-10 hill repeats (a mix of reps from 12 seconds up to 30 seconds). Then continue your run with option to join Coach Smith and the sprinters in the weightroom. (January 5: 4 x 12 sec and 2 x 24 sec, at Linda Vista this would be four to the stairs and two to the top. January 12, six to the stairs and two to the top. January 19, four to the stairs and four to the top; January 26, four to the stairs and four to the top). Hill repeats are so good for us in the early season!
Tuesdays: Longer maintenance run (whatever you need based on your current mileage, this should be about 40-50 minutes after your warm up and drills. Homestead Loop; Jollyman XL and variations; Matadors’ Point and variations; Varian and extended runs; Memorial Park. Also…this is not a bad day to add 6 x 60 meter sprints, pretty much all out. It will help you rock and roll tomorrow! Josh Cox said two of his coaches–both Terrence Mahon and Joe Vigil, all people I learned from, would have him run those the day before a workout.
Wednesdays: Fartlek runs! See above for the reasoning behind these runs. You can run these anywhere, including the track, but I’d stay off the track if possible…we will be on the track a lot in February, March, and April. You could run these out where we run Matador Miles, or on the Palm Tempo route, the RR tracks, or anywhere you won’t have to worry too much about traffic and lights. (January 7: 10 to 12 x (1 minute surge at 5km race pace + 1 minute recovery at conversational pace; VO2MAX focus. January 14, 4 to 5 surges, 3 to 5 minutes each, at lactic threshold pace–slightly slower than 5 km race pace–with a two minute jog at conversational pace to recover between each surge (you can add six strides OR two x 150 after this one). January 21, 5 surges of two minutes long at something close to your 3200 race effort, with two minute jogs in between…this will stimulate your VO2MAX but also start the process of mental callousing for racing; January 28, surges of 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, and 1 minute, all followed by 2 minutes of conversational pace jogs. Your effort should increase in each one, so the 5 minute surge should feel like 80% (say lactic threshold effort) and the 1 minute surge should be almost all-out. These fartleks should be fun and should set you up for a great February of training!
Thursdays: Maintenance run (like one of the Jollyman variations, so you get between three and seven miles), then if you can join Coach Smith and the sprinters in the weight room.
Fridays: Maintenance run (for example, Varian/purple dino + back to school on Foothill), then 6x100m strides on the track (I like to run these strides as in-and-outs, going all the way around the track not back and forth…push the straights, walk or jog the curves of the track).
Saturdays: Long run! With hills. Try to add a fast finish in the last mile, and / or strides, after every run. January 10, I’d vote for Up and Over + Seven Springs and embrace the mud. January 17, Horse + Garrods. January 24, Up and Over + Garrods. January 31, Horse again…or REI…or Rancho?
Sundays: Rest and / or cross-train.
Fartleks are great workouts for the transition between our base phase of training to the racing season. This training will stimulate the desired adaptations in our bodies and set us up for success when we get to the championship portion of the season. We want to avoid the most common trap for competitive runners—training too fast, too early, and by the end of the season, racing too slow.
Good luck and don’t hesitate to reach out for questions!
