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Week 1 – February 4th thru 10th

House Keeping Notes

1. President's Cup X-C on Saturday Feb 16th...Website:  www.teamboco.com
2. NO Wednesday Evening Group on Feb 20th…please join the morning Group
3. Spring Session starts the Week of February 4th…Reg. Form is up on the Website

Long Run Schedule for Boston

Feb 17th – 18 miles

Feb 24th – 16 miles

Mar 3rd – 22 miles

Mar 10th – 15 miles

Mar 17th – 17 miles

Mar 24th – 21 miles

Mar 31st – 15 miles

Apr 7th – 10 miles

Apr 15th – BOSTON

Monday 4th              Cross Train Day

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

Tuesday 5th             Easy/Light Run 40-45 minutes (Boston Crew – 50 minutes)

                               Include 5-6 x 30 sec light strides/60 sec easy within run

                               do light strides after 20 minutes of running

                               Sports Conditioning Class @ CAC-Flatirons – 10:45 am

Wednesday 6th         Fartlek Workout         

                               East Boulder Rec @ 6:30 am OR Potts Field @ 5:30 pm

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

                               2 x (1/2/3/2/1 min ladder)…done as follows:

                               run 1 & 2 min @ 5-10 km effort with 60 sec easy

                               run 3 min @ 10 km effort with 90 sec easy

                               take 2 min active rest between sets

                               end 5 min @ half marathon effort

                               active rest = walk/slow run recovery                                

                               Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Thursday 7th            Cross Train Day

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

                               Sports Conditioning Class @ CAC-Flatirons – 6:00 pm

Friday 8th                 Easy Recovery Run 40-45 minutes (Boston Crew – 50 minutes)

Saturday 9th             Bonzies Workout from Potts Field @ 7:30 am

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

                               9 min @ half  marathon pace with 3 min active rest

                               5 x 45 sec short hills with easy down recovery

                               3 x 3 min @ 10 km pace with 90 sec active rest

                               active rest = walk/slow run recovery

                               Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Sunday 10th             Boston Crew – 20 miles

                               Easy Long Run – 70-80 minutes

                               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

Coach's Notes

Welcome to Spring Training!!! We are flowing straight into training…however…for those joining that were not in the Winter Groups…please make sure to take these next four weeks a tad easier….always do the lower end of the daily runs and run the harder days controlled. Although it is still theoretically winter…we’ll Prep for those racing Spring marathons and Bolder Boulder on May 27th!!!

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.

Let's work on those SPM’S (strides per minute) and become a more efficient runner.