Speed in your time of need.

Speed in your time of need.

Endurance running is a study in passion, in perseverance, in grit, and in determination.  When we race, we ask our bodies to operate at the limit of their capacity for significantly extended periods of time.  By the final third of every race our legs are heavy, our lungs are burning, our minds are exhausted, and we just want to be done.  However, it is often in this final third where the race is won or lost.  Whether we’re running for a personal best, trying to beat the guy we signed up with, or finally capture that elusive age group podium, our last chance to hit our goals come in the final third.

The next 5 weeks of swift will be focused on helping us maximize our potential and perform with strength in the final third of our races.  It will feel a little different for long standing Swift veterans, but the goal is the same, making better runners through targeted training.  In addition to training the body, this program is about training the mind.  We will be building the power, but also the restraint, necessary to peak at the right time, and finish the race with excellence.

I will be updating this pre-blast weekly to share the next stage of the training, so that home or abroad you are able to work through the program and realize the benefits.

Week 1: tale of two 1600s

-Warmup to the bull ring via direct route and complete Swift-Staple dynamic stretching

-At the top of the bull ring, commence the following ladder:

-1600 w/ 800 recovery

-800 w/ 400 recovery

-400 w/ 200 recovery

-200 w/ 200 recovery

-400 w/200 recovery

-800 w/400 recovery

-1600 w/ 800 recovery

-Each and every one of us will run this ladder at different paces, however the idea here is to get fast in the second rep at each distance.  Additionally recovery should be in the neighborhood of our usual “steady state run”. So, for me, I’m going to go for my first 1600 at 10k pace w/ recovery around 8:30/mile, my 800 around 5k pace and same recovery pace, my 400 around mile pace, and my 200 around an 800 race pace.  When climbing back up the ladder I’m going to aim to take about 15-20 seconds a mile off the prior rep.  So, if I run my first 1600 in ~6:50, my last should be around 6:30. (In order to develop your recommended paces, check out https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/ and use a recent time trial or near race performance to gauge your equivalent paces.)

Week 2: Ben for the win

-Warmup to Harney & Rushmore intersection for dynamic Stretches

-3X 8 Minutes at 5k-10k pace, 2 minutes recovery at 10k-90 seconds per mile

-Mosey to the base of Ben Nevis

-30, 60, 90 seconds up Ben Nevis (if you summit in 90 seconds, head back down) 30 seconds rest once the 6 is in, then go again.  The effort on these should feel harder than your 1 miler by a good margin.  Not giving a pace target here, but you should be thoroughly gassed by the end of 90 seconds.  Repeato till 6:10.

-Mosey to launch

Week 3: You want me to run how long?

-Warmup to Community house

-4X1200 w/ 2 minutes recovery.  First 1200 should be around 10k pace, then plan to progress 10-15 seconds per mile from there.  So if your first 1200 is at 7:30/mile, your 4th should be down around 6:30/mile.  If you finish early, run a 5th 1200 half way out and back, or sweep the six but stay above a recovery pace.  Keep in mind, with the temperatures and humidity we’re seeing, you’re likely to be 3-6% off what pace you’d be running in the spring or fall.

-Progression Run Back to launch, starting around 10k pace and progressing 10-15 seconds per mile every .25 miles. If you arrive back near the launch early, extra credit all the way down to Rushmore  and loop back around.  The idea here is to finish your progression at or below the pace of your fastest 1200.  If get to Rushmore and loop back at the last parking lot pass through before Harney, you’ll hit 2 miles half way back up the hill to the launch point.

Week 4: 

-Warm up to the top of Ben Nevis

-Through BCC, 1 Mile at 10k + 30sec/mile, recover to the six for 2:00, 3 minutes at 1 mile race pace + 30 sec/mile, recover for 2:00 to the six.

-Each cycle, cut 5-10 seconds per mile for the 1 mile interval, keep 3 minutes at the same pace.

-Run all the way to Ballantyne Commons.

-Regroup with the six and run back to launch.

Week 5: 

This week sees us returning back to to bull ring, and to the program from Week 1.  Same 1600, 800, 400, 200, 400,800,1600 with half recovery format as we did a month ago.  The only thing which we’ll shift is target paces.  We will hold our first set of reps to the same 10k, 5k, mile race and .5 mile race paces.  On the way back up, last time, we clipped 15-20 seconds per mile from the prior rep of that distance, and this week we should look to clip a little more.  Check your times from last go around and plan to out-run them!

SYITG

-Flipper