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Week 2 – November 5th thru 11th

House Keeping Notes

1. Xmas Party scheduled for Saturday December 15th
2. THERE WILL BE training on Saturday November 24th (Thanksgiving Weekend)
3. ONLY a Morning Group on Wednesday November 21st
4. Long Run Schedule for CIM Marathon:

Nov 18th – 15 miles

Nov 25th – 10 miles

Dec 2nd – RACE…CIM

Monday 5th              Cross Train Day

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

Tuesday 6th             Easy/Light Run 45-55 minutes

                              Include 5 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 7th        New Portsea Fartlek

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

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

                              3 x 2 min @ 10 km effort with 60 sec easy

                              4 x 45 sec fast turnover with 75 sec easy       

                              2 x 4 min @ half marathon effort with 2 min easy

                              4 x 75 sec @ 5-10 km effort with 60 sec easy

                              take 2 min active rest between each set                                                                                                 

                              active rest = walk/slow run recovery                                 

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Thursday 8th            Cross Train Day

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

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

Friday 9th                Easy Recovery Run 45-55 minutes

Saturday 10th          Tempo Workout from East Boulder Rec - 7:30 am

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

                              workout on bike path @ flatirons golf course

                              Marathoners

                              3 x 3 km…done as follows:

                              run #’s 1 & 2 @ marathon pace with 3 min active rest

                              run # 3 @ half marathon pace

                              Non-Marathoners

                              3 km…2 km…2 x 1 km combo…done as follows:         

                              run 3 km @ half marathon pace with 4 min active rest

                              run 2 km @ half marathon pace with 3 min active rest

                              run 2 x 1 km @ 10 km pace with 2 min active rest   

                              active rest = walk/slow run recovery

                              Cool Down 5-10 minutes

Sunday 11th            Easy Long Run – 70-80 minutes

                              CIM Runners – 21 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

Coach's Notes

Science into Speed…an informed athlete is a faster athlete. While physical ability…aerobic capacity, muscle strength, biomechanics…is important for success in running, unlocking that physical potential often requires a fundamental knowledge of sports science and technology. Though the sterile setting of a laboratory can be far removed from the unpredictable nature of training and racing, observations from scientific research can definitely translate into improved performance. Putting together a comprehensive program requires a careful balance of easy runs, interval workouts and long slow distance and because of this; training presents a unique challenge to pros and beginners alike.

Endurance training can be simplified into stress and response. Properly applied stress…in the form of training…elicits positive response, in the form of improved fitness. Understanding how this occurs can help the athlete walk the line between not enough (undertraining) and too much stress (overtraining).

Progressive Overload – for your fitness to steadily improve over time, it’s necessary that the training load gradually increases. The intensity of effort…as measured by volume, intensity, distance and frequency of training over time…must progressively change for continued improvement. Because the performance benefits gained from repeating the same workouts will diminish over time, training stress should increase accordingly.

Specificity – you can’t fool your calf muscles…they know the difference between going out for a recovery run or jumping on the track for an interval workout. Although used in both, the way in which they are used is different. In other words, to get better…or faster…training needs to mimic the specific muscular demands. Base training can be more general in nature, but as your race approaches, training will include sessions that mimic the nature of the race.

Individuality – since you are unique, it therefore follows that your training should also be unique. You can’t simply follow your training partners plan and expect the same results. Every athlete will respond differently to training stress…and that of work, travel and family…therefore a training plan should be adjusted to achieve optimal results and prevent under or overtraining.

An abundance of research suggests that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is valuable for every level of athlete, especially those pressed for time, even though most racing is performed at a lower exercise intensity than HIIT.

Strength training is often overlooked in favor of more endurance training. However, muscle strength is a key determinant of economy…a measure of the energy it takes to run at a given speed…one of the three pillars of endurance performance.

Recent research suggests that static stretching has little effect on performance and injury risk. A 2017 review article in Research in Sports Medicine concluded that “stretching does not possess properties that warrant it a useful or effective tool in the warm-up regimen of long distance runners.” The article continues by recommending that endurance athletes focus on a warm-up routine of low-intensity activity and remove stretching practices altogether. The review also found little evidence that stretching prevented the injuries typically seen in endurance athletes.

To prepare, perform and recover from training and racing, runners can benefit from familiarizing themselves with the best practices and current research in endurance sports. In that way, a runner can translate science into speed. For all the effort one puts into training, make sure that it matters; use the latest science to improve performance. After all, adaptation shouldn’t be limited to the physical. A willingness to adapt to changing conditions…and embracing new information…can help you reach your full potential.