Training To Be Your Best: April 7th-13th

Time is flying.  We are almost in the middle of April and for us down in Louisiana we only have one more week after this before the District Championships!  With five weeks left, we know that peaking needs to be a concern, but don't over think it!  With the past week we've already began the gradual slide down to the faster workouts with a little less volume and that theme will carry the rest of the season.  For those athletes whose seasons don't end until the end of May or even in June, this guide is tailored to peak at a May 10th state meet.  You can figure out your state meet date and work backwards from there using this training guide as well.  Let me know how you do!

The LSU Outdoor Track is the goal destination for runner in Louisiana in May.

Monday- 8x400 @ 1600 race effort with descending recovery starting at 90 seconds and shortening by 10 seconds each rep.  Example: 90 seconds after first rep, 80 after second, etc.  Full warmup.
Tuesday- 35 minutes easy, 8 strides. Strength Workout A.
Wednesday- 3x800 @ 1600 race effort,  12 minute standing recovery.  Full Warmup.
Thursday- 6x200 every 1 minute at 800 effort. Example: 2:08 runner runs in 32 seconds, has 28 second recovery.  Full warmup.  Strength Workout B.
Friday- 30 minutes easy, 8x strides
Saturday- Invitational Meet
Sunday- Off

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 jogging 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.
Sprints- Not a stride! This is near maximal effort (while maintaining control of your body). Form is crucial in this type of running.
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.
Pacing Calculator from McMillan