Since Barton Hall is closed for finals this week, you’ll want to find a good flat surface that’s snow-free for this workout. If you can do this with a pace-appropriate friend, it will feel easier and be more fun. Feel free to fit it in anywhere during the week, though try to avoid the day before another hard workout.
To accommodate the cold, footing, and extra clothing, this workout will be a bit slower and based on time rather than distance, using your T pace (roughly 10K race pace). The goal here is to build aerobic strength and endurance — we’re putting in some base to support the faster workouts once we get back on the track on January 2. It’s also an excuse to sneak in some longer stuff that would be hard for a large group on the track.
After at least 10 minutes of warmup running, run 10 minutes, 5 minutes, and 3 minutes at T pace, with 3-minute recovery jogs after each one. Once you’ve done the last 3-minute recovery jog, do six 30-second strides, where you evenly increase your pace to what feels like your R pace, hold it for the remainder of the 30 seconds, and then jog for 30 seconds before repeating. Focus on maintaining good running form while doing the strides, and if you can’t hold it, call it a day. Cool down with at least 10 minutes of jogging at the end.
Bonus points for doing our warmup lunge matrix and leg swings, plus the strength and mobility exercises afterward—it’s always tough to make time for the supplementary work when you’re not with the group, but it makes a difference in the long run. (And the mile.)
Since we can’t be together as a group, if you have a few minutes, report back on where you did this workout and how it went!
And if anyone wants to organize a particular pace-group workout time/place, feel free to post here too.
Resources
- Warmup: Jay Johnson’s Lunge Matrix and Leg Swings, then 10 minutes of jogging
- Cooldown: 10 minutes of jogging, then Jay Johnson’s Strength and Mobility
- Pace Calculator: Jack Daniels’ VDOT Running Calculator