Preblast – Freedom 5K

  • When:05/11/2020
  • QIC: Bratwurst


Preblast – Freedom 5K

July 4th , American Independence Day, is a short 8 weeks from now.  The plan is to build and continue fitness using a 5K/10K plan that will culminate in group or individual event on July 4th. First, the plan below, then some guidelines and explanation.

The 8 Week Plan:

  1. Week 1 – Monday, May 11th
    1. Workout #1: 4 x (2x200m Repetition-Pace w/200m recovery, 1x400m Repetition-Pace w/400m recovery)
    2. Workout #2: 4-6 x (5min Threshold-Pace with 1 min rest)
    3. Long run; Easy Pace for 25% of Weekly Mileage or 2.5 hours, whichever is less
  2. Week 2 – Monday, May 18th
    1. 8 x (400m R w/ 400m jog)
    2. 40min @ 1/2 Marathon Pace
    3. L run; 25% or 2.5 hours
  3. Week 3 – 5/25 (Memorial Day)
    1. 5 x (4min Interval-pace with 3min jog)
    2. 3 x (10min T with 2min jog/rest)
    3. L run; 25% or 2.5 hours
  4. Week 4 – 6/1
    1. 7 x (2min I, 1min jog, 1min I, 30sec jog, 30sec I, 30sec jog)
    2. 4x(200m R w/200m jog) + 3x(1000m I w/2min jog) + 2x(400m R w/400m jog)
    3. 5K Race

    4. L run; 25% or 2.5 hours
  5. Week 5 – 6/8
    1. 3 x 5min I w/4min jog + 3 x 3min I w/2min jog
    2. 15min T + 3min E + 10min T + 2min E + 5min T
    3. L run; 25% or 2.5 hours
  6. Week 6 – 6/15
    1. 3 x (4min T w/ 1min Rest) + 2 x (1000m I with 3min jog) + 4 x (200m R w/ 200m jog)
    2. 3 x (10min T with 2min Rest)
    3. L run; 25% or 2 hours
  7. Week 7 – 6/22
    1. 20min T + 4x(200m R w/ 200m jog)
    2. 4 x (5min T w/ 3min jog) + 6x(200m R w/ 200m jog) + 2mi Acceleration Run dropping 5sec per 400m
    3. L run; 25% or 2 hours
  8. Week 8 – 6/29
    1. 4 x (4min T with 2min jog) + 4 x (200m R w/ 200m jog)
    2. 5K/10K RACE

The Guide:

The Plan in Document Form

Please feel free to download and modify this Workbook.  We will be using Sheet 1 – 8 week plan, and Sheet 2 – 24 week plan is there for a reference.

Target Paces

There may be some new terms like R-pace, I-pace, and T-Pace that will be unfamiliar with some looking at a plan like this for the first time.

First, target paces are established by going to this calculator and inputting a recent race or Time Trial result.  Read Full Instructions, background and insight on how to use Jack’s calculator.  If you don’t have a recent race result, I caution you from putting a Goal Pace into the calculator for a 5K or 10K race that you want to hit, for that could lead you into over-exertion, but it will at least give you a starting point.  Fill to out the Table in the Worksheet and save a Copy for future reference. An App is also available for the calculator here – Google Mobile App, Apple Mobile App.  The Mobile App is VERY handy to look at before a workout.

Second, this is an excellent article with video links for the training paces that are used: Running Intensities Built Into VDOT O2 – What And Why?

A loose guide:

  • Repetition (or R) Pace is your 1 mile race pace
  • Interval (or I) Pace is your 2 mile race pace
  • Threshold (or T) Pace is your 1 hour race pace, and it works out to approximately 1:00/mi slower than your R Pace.
  • Easy Pace is the pace used for most everything else, including Long Runs.

Modify

The base for the plan is a 24 week 5K-15K plan by Jack Daniels PhD from the book Daniel’s Running Formula. The adaptions for our 8 week 10K Plan are to remove Phase 1 – the first 6 weeks of base building (average of 30min run on 5 days per week, with a long run on the weekend), to select weeks from each of the remaining 3 Phases, and to remove a 3rd Speed workout during the week.

There are other small changes to some workouts allow for F3-Swift workout principles to allow for regrouping and no man left behind, Preferring Time over Distance (not everyone has a GPS watch or track), and removing the “top end” of Interval quantity to keep to a 60minute workout and lower mileage.  If you would like the Full workout, please visit the shared workbook and see the 2nd Sheet.

If the interval workouts here are too much mileage, I recommend cutting the number of intervals, not the pace or time/distance of each interval.  As an example, instead of 4 x 5min intervals, try 3 x 5min intervals and use the rest as Easy Running.  Some workouts call for a Range

Weekly Mileage and Long Runs

Weekly mileage is individual to each athlete based on your Base Mileage (i.e. what is my average mileage over the last several weeks).  Daniels and many other experts advocate for not increasing your weekly mileage at too great a rate – FLATTEN THE CURVE!  This ranges from a conservative no more than 10 miles per week added every 3rd week to a slightly more progressive but still cautionary no more than 1 hour per week running increase.  A large increase in weekly mileage can lead to Stress Fractures and other injuries.

The Long Run guidelines are based on Daniel’s recommendation that it should not be more than 25% of your Weekly Mileage.  For some runners, this may mean 8 miles.  For other runners, this may mean 15 miles.  There is no hard cut-off to say that if you run 30% of your week in a single day, you’re going to be injured, but it’s a slippery slope to keep building most of your mileage into one day if it is not something you are used to.  Do Bootcamps count as mileage?  Perhaps, don’t be focused on the GPS miles during a Bootcamp, but perhaps use a conservative 3 miles per 45 minute workout.  4 miles per 60 minute workout.  More miles if the Bootcamp was really running focused on the legs or actual running.

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