I could use help with the direction of these workouts since they’re hard to develop in a vacuum. Please reply to this post to let me know if you’re running the workouts or not, and, especially if not, what would make them more useful or relevant to you.
Middle Distance Workouts (5K to 15K)
Workout: 4 by 800m at T pace, with 3 minutes of rest between each rep. The East Hill Rec Way or Waterfront Trail FLRC Challenge courses would work well for this workout. Finish with 6 by 30-second strides.
Long Run: 25-30% of your weekly mileage at E pace
Long Distance Workouts (Half Marathon to Marathon)
Workout: Just a basic tempo workout to get your blood moving. 12 minutes at T pace, finishing with 1 minute at I pace to simulate a kick. Then jog for 3 minutes and do it again. If your mileage supports it, feel free to do a third one. You might do this workout on the Black Diamond Trail FLRC Challenge course so you can focus on holding the paces appropriately without hills or turns or intersections.
Long Run: 25-30% of your weekly mileage at E pace
Resources
Introduction:Background and advice, particularly for those not running 20-25 miles per week
Hey Adam, I have not been doing the workouts but hopefully will start in the next few weeks - lately I’ve just been trying to keep up with @lizhartman as we run each of the challenge courses together on Tuesdays! While I don’t have any races planned, I am planning some fun 20-30 mile “local” destination point to point trail runs (West Rim Trail in PA, Letchworth Branch trail, and just some good old FLT exploring) in the next few months. Speed and hills are both nice to gain strength and endurance for these types of runs! I’m contemplating trying to run the women’s FKT for the West Rim Trail (West Rim Trail (Lycoming County, PA) | Fastest Known Time) - 6h 31 mins doesn’t seem too ridiculous… but aiming for just a nice fun run with the dog at this point (:
thanks for continuing to post workouts and sorry it’s been vacuum-like lately… I suspect everyone is still getting used to the spring weather!
You should definitely go for that West Rim Trail FKT! Amelia Kaufman and I ran that trail together two years ago and found it both challenging and beautiful. I think the 6:31 FKT isn’t very strong and you’d have a good chance of beating it. If you want, I can send you my .gpx file from the run going south to north.
At the time, Pine Creek Outfitters—an outdoor store near the trail—had a shuttle service to drop us off at the south end for $20/person, so we could run back to the car at the northern terminus. I don’t know if Covid has put a stop to it.
I’d love a gpx file! Planning a scouting out and back run first with a group of friends and then going back later to do the whole thing. It looks beautiful! Conveniently enough I have a friend who lives nearby to pick me up at the north end (: although I did read about Pine Creek Outfitters - sounds like they weren’t operating last season because of COVID, unclear about this year so far.
@Jack we have our first FLRC Challenge group run this Saturday! Check out the post here, and hope you can join us!
@adamengst I always see these and think “I should try this” and then I don’t. I don’t know if I get overwhelmed because I haven’t taken the time to internalize the lingo, or I don’t know if I’m mentally able to do that work solo. I like reading them and imagining doing them, though.