Help me design a training program?

Chris Hansen said:

Hello,

I'm kind of a novice runner with two 5ks under my belt.
Last year I finished at 30.44 and this june I finished at
29.59. I plan to run another 5k on july 24 and would like
to beat my last time. I'm also biking on tuesday, thursday
and saturday so would like to plan a running program
around that. If possible I'd like to include sprinting
once or twice per week to help build strength and because
I like the way it puts a spring in my step.

Focus on building endurance. If you're racing at close to
10 minutes per mile, endurance is the limiting factor,
not speed.

Your program does not include any running base work. It's
fine to do cross training, but you need your running base.
You're not going to become proficient at distance running on
less than 10 miles a week.

Intervals twice a week makes sense for people who are
running 50 miles per week or more. It's a misuse of time
and effort for you. If you enjoy running fast, do a few
strides (google this newsgroup for information on these) at
the end of your training runs. These are fun, and don't
wear you out too much.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

"Chris Hansen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm kind of a novice runner with two 5ks under my belt.
Last year I finished at 30.44 and this june I finished at
29.59. I plan to run another 5k on july 24 and would like
to beat my last time

Try running rather than strolling. That should do it.

Quoted message said:

Your program does not include any running base work.

I guess I'm not sure what base work is. How would I
include it?

Thanks.

Chris Hansen said:

Quoted message said:

Your program does not include any running base work.

I guess I'm not sure what base work is. How would I
include it?

Base work is easy steady-paced running.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

<< Intervals twice a week makes sense for people who are
running 50 miles per week or more. It's a misuse of time and
effort for you. >>

i do intervals just to break the monotony. same pace running
just bores me. is this bad?

<<If you enjoy running fast, do a few strides >>

what exactly are strides? i have yet to get a clear picture
of this. thanks!

\\ - - // ( @ @ ) +--------oOOo-(_)--oOOo----
+ +------------------------Oooo----+ oooO
( ) ( ) ) / \ ( (_

Donovan said: << Focus on building endurance. If you're
racing at close to 10 minutes per mile, endurance is the
limiting factor, not speed.>>

so like, if i have 30-40 min 3x/week to run, is it better
to run faster consistentl in that time (for me, ~ 5.9 -
6.3 mph) or better to vary? meaning, these days, i get
ultra bored running slower. i suppose for others, my fast
pace IS slow. 🙂

\\ - - // ( @ @ ) +--------oOOo-(_)--oOOo----
+ +------------------------Oooo----+ oooO
( ) ( ) ) / \ ( (_

Virginiaz said:

<< Intervals twice a week makes sense for people who are
running 50 miles per week or more. It's a misuse of time
and effort for you. >>

i do intervals just to break the monotony. same pace
running just bores me. is this bad?

What do you mean by "intervals" ?

Quoted message said:

<<If you enjoy running fast, do a few strides >>

what exactly are strides? i have yet to get a clear
picture of this. thanks!

I said, GOOGLE! Google, dammit! google!

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Virginiaz said:

Donovan said: << Focus on building endurance. If you're
racing at close to 10 minutes per mile, endurance is the
limiting factor, not speed.>>

so like, if i have 30-40 min 3x/week to run, is it better
to run faster consistentl in that time (for me, ~ 5.9 -
6.3 mph) or better to vary?

It's better to focus on getting up to around 5x/week for the
same duration.

A small amount of speed (strides, GOOGLE for it !!!) helps
combat boredom, this is the main reason (perhaps the only
reason) to do speed at this stage.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

One dark day on Usenet, [email hidden] (Virginiaz) said
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

<< Intervals twice a week makes sense for people who are
running 50 miles per week or more. It's a misuse of time
and effort for you. >>

i do intervals just to break the monotony. same pace
running just bores me. is this bad?

<<If you enjoy running fast, do a few strides >>

what exactly are strides? i have yet to get a clear
picture of this. thanks!

Strides are a short burst of fast-paced running. One
example: On a 400m track accelerate the straight-aways and
jog the turns. So on the straight- aways accelerate from 0
to 50 meters to a fast, controlled pace and maintain that
pace until 100 meters (the turn). Then slowly jog the turn
to recover for the next straight-away. During the strides
make sure you focus on your form. Try to remain relaxed.

If you're training for distance running, strides are
probably the least important of the 4 types of training
(long runs, VO2, LT, basic speed). But as noted earlier,
they might help break up the monotony as well as improve
your running economy and form.

Do strides on your moderate training days. Not during a hard
day and not during a recovery day. However, it’s OK the day
before your long run.

Phil M.

--
The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as
fighting well.

Baron De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as
fighting well.

Perhaps. Depends upon what you seek. Immortality, or a comfy
bed for the night.

Quoted message said:

Baron De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games

...and drunkard, egotist, elitist, and sychophant. How come
he's only remembered for his one success?

Phil M. said:

Do strides on your moderate training days. Not during a
hard day and not during a recovery day. However, it’s OK
the day before your long run.

On 3 days a week training, I find it hard to comprehend how
one can have "easy days", "hard days" and "recovery days".
The whole point of my posts in this thread is that on such a
low training volume/frequency, one should focus on base work
with strides or possibly fartlek(*) to break the monotony.

(*) no I'm not going to explain what this is, google!

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

It's better to focus on getting up to around 5x/week for
the same duration.

5x/week won't leave much time for other things. What if
you're trying to do things like biking, strength training
and martial arts in addition to running? I realize you won't
excel at any one activity when you do more things but how
would you make the best use of the time you have? I could
get some running in 4 days per week but recovery might start
to be an issue.

Thanks.

One dark day on Usenet, "np426z" <[email hidden]> said news:cc0vvf
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as
fighting well.

Perhaps. Depends upon what you seek. Immortality, or a
comfy bed for the night.

Quoted message said:

Baron De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games

...and drunkard, egotist, elitist, and sychophant. How
come he's only remembered for his one success?

Not a bad accomplishment for a sychophant.

Phil M.

--
The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as
fighting well.

Baron De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games

"Chris Hansen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

5x/week won't leave much time for other things.

Pardon? What *are* you doing with your time? I'm
(relatively) normal yet can run for an average of an hour a
day without compromising either my professional or personal
life. Nor am I alone in this. Try getting up an hour earlier
or partake of a course in time management.

Quoted message said:

What if you're trying to do things like biking, strength
training and martial arts in addition to running?

That's a rhetorial question, right?

Quoted message said:

I realize you won't excel at any one activity when you do
more things but how would you make the best use of the
time you have?

Yunno, I would happily trade my soul for the answer to
the question 'how should I make the best use of the
time I have?'.

Quoted message said:

I could get some running in 4 days per week but recovery
might start to be an issue.

<splutter>

Recovery? From running 4 days per week? Get real.

Chris Hansen said:

Quoted message said:

It's better to focus on getting up to around 5x/week for
the same duration.

5x/week won't leave much time for other things. What if
you're trying to do things like biking, strength training
and martial arts in addition to running?

How you want to arrange your personal life is your business,
but if you want to take your running up a level, you need to
do it more often than 3 times a week.

Until then, stick to base training. Also do some strides to
add variety to your workouts. You can do the strides at the
start, middle or end -- whatever you prefer.

You will probably get faster over time even on 3x/week base
training, but increasing that to 5x would make a substantial
difference.

Quoted message said:

I realize you won't excel at any one activity when you do
more things but how would you make the best use of the
time you have?

Not much you can do about the running -- you really need the
workout frequency to get good at it.

Some of the other stuff:

Biking: you can work fairly hard in these workouts. Risk of
injury is lower than running due to lack of impact. So you
can push the intensity. I'd recommend making at least one of
your bike workouts an interval workout. The others should be
at a reasonably hard pace (80% max heart rate or more)

Strength training: do compound movements. Squats, bench
press, pullups, overhead press. No goofing off with wrist
curls or "isolation" movements -- you spend more time
hitting less muscle groups like this. Use supersets to save
time. For example, alternate bench and bent over dumbell
rows, then alternate squats and overhead presses. That's a
full body workout, and you can do it in about 20 minutes.

More generally: combine workouts so that the overhead is
pooled. For example, if you follow a weights session with a
run, you only need to get changed and shower once, but if
they are separate, you need to do them twice.

Quoted message said:

I could get some running in 4 days per week but recovery
might start to be an issue.

You'll be fine.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

One dark day on Usenet, Donovan Rebbechi <[email hidden]> said
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Phil M. said:

Do strides on your moderate training days. Not during a
hard day and not during a recovery day. However, it’s OK
the day before your long run.

On 3 days a week training, I find it hard to
comprehend how one can have "easy days", "hard days"
and "recovery days".

Sorry, I missed the part about 3 days a week. The post to
which I was responding had nothing about it. I guess it
was further up in the thread. More than anything, the
strides might help break up the monotony if things are
getting boring.

Quoted message said:

The whole point of my posts in this thread is that on such
a low training volume/frequency, one should focus on base
work with strides or possibly fartlek(*) to break the
monotony.

(*) no I'm not going to explain what this is, google!

Aww, pleeeeeze?

Phil M.

--
The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as
fighting well.

Baron De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games

Chris Hansen said:

Quoted message said:

It's better to focus on getting up to around 5x/week for
the same duration.

5x/week won't leave much time for other things. What if
you're trying to do things like biking, strength training
and martial arts in addition to running?

Depending upon what you are doing for these, you could bike
(or run) to/from work or do strength training while dinner's
cooking or watching tv (depending on what you're doing for
strength training) after a warmup run or bike, bike/run to
gym, bike to trailhead, then start running, etc. There's
lots of ways to save time.

Quoted message said:

I realize you won't excel at any one activity when you do
more things but how would you make the best use of the
time you have? I could get some running in 4 days per week
but recovery might start to be an issue.

Recovery is an important issue that you'll have to figure
out how much your body can handle. Your total volume is
likely to be greater with the cross-training, but not
infinite - and it will change as your conditioning improves.

You can still make lots of progress with 3 days running /
week (esp. if one is hills) and cross-training, depending of
course on what you're doing. How much you emphasize running
depends on your priorities of running faster or longer vs
doing more types of training. It's always interesting trying
to juggle schedules to accommodate the various activities
and rest of life 😉

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd
Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One dark day on Usenet, "np426z" <[email hidden]>
said news:cc0vvf [email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The essential thing in life is not so much conquering
as fighting well.

Perhaps. Depends upon what you seek. Immortality, or a
comfy bed

for

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the night.

Quoted message said:

Baron De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games

...and drunkard, egotist, elitist, and sychophant. How
come he's only remembered for his one success?

Not a bad accomplishment for a sychophant.

Au contraire. He started a devisive and (ultimately) unfair
event between nations and individuals who are prepared to
lie, cheat and 'bend rules' -
i.e. do *anything* other than 'fight well'.

To suggest otherwise is to ignore the evidence of your own
eyes. The modern Olympics stink.

Donovan Rebbechi said:

How you want to arrange your personal life is your
business, but if you want to take your running up a level,
you need to do it more often than 3 times a week.

...SNIP...

Quoted message said:

You will probably get faster over time even on 3x/week base
training,

What about something like this

Tuesday 15' up, drills, 10->15 x 30"/30" at vVO2max, 10'
down Thursday 15' up, 15->30' threshold, 10' down Sunday
Long run 1h30->2h30

interspersed with plenty of stretching, wouldn't you be
optimising your running time, rather than running 5x all at
base aerobic pace?

Or is that getting the paces right is the hard bit and so to
be avoided til you have some experience?