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Week 2 - February 20th thru 26th

House Keeping Notes

1. Saturday Group Training for the Spring – 7:30 am
2. Weekly Schedule POSTED on the front page of the Website during Base Training

Long Run Schedule for Spring Marathons:

Mar 5th – 21 miles

Mar 12th – 15 miles

Mar 19th – 18 miles

Mar 26th – 21 miles

Apr 2nd – 15 miles

Apr 9th – 10 miles

Apr 17th - BOSTON

Monday 20th            Cross Train Day

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

Tuesday 21st            Easy/Light Run 40 minutes

                              Include 5 x 30 sec light strides/60 sec easy within run

                              do Light Strides after 15 minutes of Running

                              Marathoners – 45 minutes

Wednesday 22nd       Light Fartlek Workout 

                              Meet @ East Boulder Rec – 6:30 am

                              Meet @ Potts Field – 5:30 pm    

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

                              4 x 90 sec @ 10 km effort with 60 sec easy

                              4 x 2 min 30 sec @ half marathon effort with 90 sec easy

                              4 x 60 sec @ 10 km effort with 60 sec easy

                              take 2 min active rest after each set

                              active rest = walk/slow run  

                              run efforts @ 70-80% of max…controlled efforts

                              marathoners…end 2 x 3 min @ half marathon effort with 90 sec easy 

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Thursday 16th          Easy Recovery Run 40 minutes

                              Marathoners – 55 minutes 

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

Friday 24th               Cross Training Day

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

Saturday 25th           Undulating Tempo Workout from Tom Watson Park @ 7:30 am

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

                              5 x 5 min with 2 min active rest…run as follows:

                              odds @ marathon pace…70% of max

                              evens @ half marathon pace…75% of max

                              active rest = walk/slow run recovery

                              marathoners - 10 min @ marathon effort to finish up

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Sunday 26th             Easy Long Run – 65 minutes

                              Marathoners – 15 miles

                              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.

Potts Field – CU Outdoor Track between Foothills Parkway and 30th off of Colorado Avenue

Tom Watson Park - follow the Diagonal Highway to 63rd Street. Go north on 63rd for about a half mile and look for the sign saying Tom Watson Park on your right. Parking Lot is opposite Coot Lake on east side of 63rd Street. DO NOT park @ Coot Lake.

Coach's Notes

Cadence Boost is something all runners should look to improve on. Research has shown that 180 strides per minute is the optimum stride rate. Foot strike, posture, arm swing and stride rate are all factors when it comes to one's running economy. As you improve each of these technique variables, you'll be able to run faster while using less energy.

Stride Rate is of particular importance because it's indicative of one's overall running form. Runners with loping styles tend to have a lower foot strike frequency, taking longer strides and tending to get more air (bounding) between each foot strike, which means more energy is expended vertically as opposed to horizontally. On the other hand, athletes with higher foot-strike frequency (in the 180 strides per minute range), tend to be more mid- to forefoot strike oriented with greater horizontal velocity, shorter strides and better posture. Their more efficient form yields faster overall running on fatigued legs.

There are several ways to improve your running cadence:

1.  incorporate strides into your easy runs where after 20 min easy you do 5-7 x 30 sec    

       pick-ups where you work on quick turnover and executing perfect form (Tue runs)

   2. run on a treadmill once in a while at your aerobic pace with the incline at 2-3 percent and

       focus on taking shorter, quicker steps as you run the incline

   3. doing drills and plyometric training where you are working on quick cadence and power

       (Darren’s Class on Tue @ 10:45 am or Thu @ 6:00 pm at CAC-Flatirons)

Next time we doing a fartlek...in the middle of the interval count how many strikes you have in 60 seconds and see how efficient you are...that is taking into account the fatigued legs and elevated heart rate. Also…during your long runs as the legs fatigue and you start getting into a rut…count your foot plants in a minute and see if your cadence is dropping off from been efficient…if you have dropped off…inject some pace back into your stride and notice the difference in how you feel when your legs are flowing at a good cadence.

Here's to those spm’s (strides per minute) and becoming more efficient.