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Week 2 - March 12th thru 18th

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
3. Next Week Schedules will be Password Protected.

Monday 12th            Cross Train Day

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

Tuesday 13th           Easy/Light Run 30-35 minutes

                              Include 4-5 x 30 sec light strides/60 sec easy within run

                              Do Light Strides after 20 minutes of Running

Wednesday 14th      Light Fartlek Workout 

                              Meet @ East Boulder Rec – 6:30 am

                              Meet @ Potts Field – 5:30 pm    

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

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

                              2 x 2 min 30 sec @ half marathon effort with 60 sec easy

                              take 2 min active rest after second 2:30 min

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

                              2 x 2 min 30 sec @ half marathon effort with 60 sec easy

                              active rest = walk/slow run recovery

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Thursday 15th         Cross Train Day

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

                              Adrenaline Class @ CAC-Boulder – 12:15 pm

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

Friday 16th              Easy Recovery Run 35-40 minutes

Saturday 17th          Tempo Workout from Tom Watson Park @ 7:30 am

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

                              8 min @ marathon pace with 3 min active rest

                              4 min @ half marathon pace with 2 min active rest

                              8 min @ marathon pace with 3 min active rest

                              4 min @ half marathon pace with 2 min active rest

                              marathoners end with another 8 min @ marathon pace  

                              active rest = walk/slow run recovery

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Sunday 18th            Easy Long Run – 55-60 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

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

If you have great cadence your efficiency will improve and ultimately you will run faster. 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 improving those spm’s (strides per minute) and being a more efficient runner.