TRAIN ALONG // 12.29.09

I visited the track for the first time in a long time today. The plan was to get in some great movement and a few short intense intervals. My friend and I had about 75 minutes to workout.  Here's what we did:

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MOVEMENT

Spinal Flexion/Extension (on all fours)
Thoracic Mobility with Tennis Balls
Mini-band External Rotation
Mini-band Bent Knee Lateral Walks
Knee Hugs
Leg Cradles
Hand Walks
Lateral Lunges
Squat Jump
Lateral Hops
Pillar skipping:  Linear + Lateral

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TRACK WORKOUT

8 x [400m hard + 200m easy] + an additional 200m to make 5k total.

This is one of my favorite track workouts.  It was passed on to me by Greg Welch who attributes it to another well known runner whose name escapes me.  It is a short workout that gives a ton of great feedback about fitness level and efficiency.  There are two elements the workout: the running and the rest.

The idea is to decrease your overall 5k time each time you run it, whether you run the 400s faster and take the same rest, run the 400s the same, but take less rest, or, ideally, do both.  The fitter you get, the faster you'll be able to run the 400m and the less time you'll need to recover during the 200m. The goal is to decrease the time you need for each element, and therefore decrease your overall 5K time. 

Keys to performance:

• Run the 8 x 400m hard, at a pace you can maintain for all eight sets.
• Run the 200m as recovery. Take enough time to maintain 400m pace.
• Record splits for each 400 and 200, then record your overall 5k time.

Here's how it went for me today...by 400s...

1 = 1:33
2-4 = 1:30
5-6 = 1:35
7 = 1:40
8 = 1:35

200s were between 1:03 and 1:10

OVERALL 5K TIME = 22:19

Ideally all the 400s would be the same or get faster as the set goes on.  I, obviously, did not accomplish this.  Next time I'll shoot to make the first 4 x 400s feel a bit easier, so I can finish at the same speed as I start.  I've done this workout as fast as 18:17 and as slow as 26:00.   I'm happy with where I'm at, for as little as I've been training. It's a great place to start. I'll aim to shave 20-30 seconds off each time I do it.  I usually repeat this set once every two to three weeks to evaluate my fitness.  It's great getting instant feedback from a workout like this.  What ends up happening is that you need less and less time to recover.  Its a great workout for anyone training for any distance as it helps increase the anaerobic threshold and power in the running stride.

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After the workout we finished up with:

Pillar Bridge // Diagonal Arm Lift
Single Leg Lowering
90/90 Stretch
AIS Stretching
Self-Massage

Do a dynamic warm-up.  Try out the 5km.  Use it to measure your fitness from time to time.  Push yourself.  Aim to improve.

Move well!