Training To Be Your Best: October 14th-20th

So here comes the promised down week to prepare you for the final invitational and get ready to run well for the post season (don't confuse down week with a week where you don't work hard!).  At this point, we should be starting to round into form as the state meet is 3-4 weeks away. Some states will have to qualify for the state meet, others like Louisiana are automatically qualified by fielding a team (I know, sad, but hopefully that changes in the future).  I will tailor the training for those who have to navigate the gamut of post season qualifying meets so don't fear!  Next week will start the prep to a state championship!

Monday- 6x800 @ end of season 3 mile/5k goal pace with easy 200 meter jog recovery, 8x strides, Strength Workout A
Tuesday- 30-40 minutes easy, Strength Workout B
Wednesday- 5x300 at near maximal effort, focusing on running fast but without losing control
Thursday- 35-50 minutes easy, 8x strides
Friday- 20-30 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- End of Regular Season Invitational Race
Sunday- Off or 30-40 minutes easy

State (or states as some people call it) is a month away and it's time to shift focus to it!

Legend:
Warm Up- A few minutes jogging, dynamic stretching, a few strides
Easy- A pace you can handle and have a conversation at the same time. Relaxed.
Tempo Run- A distance run at a pace of 5k race pace plus 30 seconds per mile.
Ins and Outs- Striding the straights and joggins the turns on the track
Strides- Not a sprint! Simply a short pickup of 50-100 meters at around 1-2 mile race pace. Full recovery.
Progression Run- Training done at progressive pace that increases throughout the run. Begin at an easy pace and finish at 5k race effort or so for the last few minutes.
Fartlek- A run of varied pace for varied time which can be anywhere from an easy jog to hard sprinting.
Hills- Not all out sprints, good paced effort around 5k race effort. Can be anywhere between 100-400 meters long.
Workout A- 10-30x pushups, 10-30x prisoner squats, 10-30x lunges, 10-30x crunches, 30-60 seconds of planks on each side and the middle, and 30-60 seconds of Australian crawl.
Workout B- 20-40x step ups, 5-20x tricep pushups, 30-60 seconds of bridging, 10-20x dips, 30-60 seconds of pedestal, and 30-60 seconds of scissor kicks.