Nothing but crickets after last week’s workout, so I’ll try this one more time and see if people are actually doing the workouts. Here are the workouts for this week. Please reply with comments about how your runs went, if the workouts felt too easy or too hard, and anything else. I’ll need feedback to adjust these appropriately to the people who are doing them. These are pace-based workouts, so they should be appropriate for anyone—you just have to slot in the pace that’s appropriate for your fitness level. Questions welcome!
If you’re not yet running 20-25 miles per week, or want to read the introduction to this workout series, see last week’s post. Remember, the Jack Daniels pace calculator and options for warmup and cooldown are at the bottom of this post.
Middle Distance Workouts (5K to 15K)
It’s important to have a recovery day or two after each workout, so I’d suggest trying for Tuesday for Workout 1, Thursday or Friday for Workout 2, and Sunday for the long run. Whatever works for you is fine, though.
Workout 1: Ladder of either 1-2-3-3-2-1 minutes (lower weekly mileage runners) or 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 minutes (higher weekly mileage runners), all at I pace, with a 1-minute jog after each repetition. If you’re unfamiliar with a ladder, the idea is that you run 1 minute at I pace, then jog 1 minute, then run 2 minutes at I pace, then jog 1 minute, and so on, up the ladder and then back down. Remember, you can think of I-pace as 5K race pace.
Workout 2: 2 by 2 mile at T pace with a 3-minute jogging rest in between. Remember, T pace is similar to a 5-mile or 10K race pace.
Long Run: 20-25% of your weekly mileage at E pace
Long Distance Workouts (Half Marathon to Marathon)
For the marathon, I think one workout a week is sufficient, but the long run is even more important, so it’s best to do the workout on Tuesday or Wednesday such that you’re fresh for a good long run on the weekend.
Workout 1: Ladder of 4-5-6-5-4 at M pace with 3-minute jogging rests. M pace is the pace you can race in a marathon (not the pace you want to run, but the pace you can actually do now).
Thanks, Adam! These workouts look great! I’m planning on doing this week and last week’s starting in a few weeks so I hope you’ll keep them coming. I giving myself a few weeks of low intensity running as I’m working on building up mileage a little. ~ Liz
Totally fine, Liz. It’s important to make sure you have the appropriate base mileage before diving into any workouts. Jack Daniels always emphasizes several weeks of easy running at the start of any cycle.
Hi Adam! I appreciate the workout plans and the effort it takes to put them together. Honestly I’m a bit overwhelmed with work at the moment (mine and my kids’) and have been focusing on keeping my kids active. My daughter is a runner, so we’ve been hitting the trails and getting her up to speed. My son is a swimmer and has been a much bigger challenge!!! But I do appreciate having the option of these workouts. It’s one less thing I have to plan.
You’re welcome, Julie! They shouldn’t be that hard to keep going, if they’re being useful (even as something to aspire to soon) to folks in the running community.
So what do swimmers do when they can’t get in the pool, isometrics in the bathtub?
I did the marathon ladder this morning! Couldn’t remember if there were two 6 min intervals or one, so I channeled my inner @julie19 and @gvanloon and did two, which felt hard but good for 55-60 weekly mileage. The dog had fun but was understandably confused by all the pace changes @lizhartman when your mileage is higher we should do these workouts together!
Great to hear! Clearly, dog training schools need to add classes on how to get your dog to do intervals. I can only imagine the doggy thoughts, “Why is she running fast again? I don’t see any squirrels?”
Ooo, if only we could get dogs to hit specific paces! “6:00 minute pace, Rover.” I’d love a dog that could pace me.
Right now just long walks with the dog and pull-ups! Coach did just sent us some workout ideas, the dryland flutter kicks on your stomach seem like a real ab-buster. Have yet to try them.
You guys are too funny! Looing forward to picking up workouts up again in a few weeks. Well, party looking forward to it, haha! @gplwoo, for sure let’s do some together. With social distancing, I won’t have to feel bad getting left behind!
