Since Barton Hall is closed for finals and break for the rest of December, we can’t run on the track. Sorry! However, I’ve queued up some workouts for each of the next three weeks that you can do outdoors.
For these workouts, you’ll want to find a good flat surface that’s free of snow and ice—do not do speedwork in slippery conditions. If you can do it with a pace-appropriate friend, it will feel easier and 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 in January. It’s also an excuse to sneak in some longer stuff that would be hard for a large group on the track.
After your lunges and leg swings (yes, they’re a good idea before speedwork), do at least 10 minutes of warmup running, preferably 15. Then, do a 1-minute pickup at T pace and a 1-minute jog to get your heart rate and leg turnover up before the core of the workout. My track workout calculator doesn’t yet do time-based workouts, so look up your T pace with the Jack Daniels calculator. You’ll need a GPS watch that shows pace or run by feel at 10K to 10-mile race pace.
For the workout, 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.
If you’re running less than 20 miles per week, shorten the reps to 6, 4, and 2 minutes.
Bonus points for doing our 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.)
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