Category: Seniors/vets endurance training

The fitness focus this week and until the new year will be working on getting our aerobic threshold as close as possible to our lactate threshold; there is a good, albeit cycling focused, article here. On Thursday we have a set focused on good pacing – but will also work around lactate threshold.

The technical focus will be working on maintaining a good posture and light-footedness

Strength and Conditioning

All exercises should be body weight variants only unless an S&C coach (can be me) has agreed you have perfect form. Good examples of form can be found on https://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises

Squat to Pop Squat progression

Split squat to alternating leg lunge jump

Suggested Drills for the week

Straight leg run

A-progression

B-progression

Tuesday Session

10 minutes warm-up

2 x 20 minutes at a pace where conversation is no longer possible but short sentences with brief gaps to breathe are still possible – this should be somewhere between your half marathon pace and your 10km race pace

5 minute cool-down

Thursday Session

20 mins easy warm up – include the suggested drills for the week

FOUR TIMES: 4×400 progressing pace from Max ‘easy’ pace to Marathon Pace to 5km pace to max effort

5 mins cool down

Weekend Session

Minimum of 10 minutes warm up

Do a long run (distance will be up to you but this should be your longest run of the week) on a course that has rolling hills.

The fitness focus will be lactate shuttling; we will be working around (above and below) threshold pace (the pace you can run for around an hour for most people).

The technical focus will be more XC focused.

Strength and Conditioning

All exercises should be body weight variants only unless an S&C coach (can be me) has agreed you have perfect form. Good examples of form can be found on https://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises

Side Plank with hip dip, Supine Toe Tap (not on exercise DB; lie on front raise one leg, tap toe on floor and raise leg again do some reps then change legs), Bird Dog

Suggested Drills (and technical work) for the week

Tight turn course

Straight Leg Run

B-march

B-skip

Srides focusing on arm drive

Tuesday Session

8 mins easy warm up

1 minute, 2 minutes, 4 minutes, 8 minutes, 8 minutes, 4 minutes, 2 minutes and then 1 minute at ‘max effort for that time’. With 2 minutes at a recovery pace (probably 5-10s per km slower than marathon pace) between each effort

8 mins Cool Down

Thursday Session

20 mins easy warm up including (extra) drills

4 TIMES:

400 m @ marathon pace, 200m @ 5km pace, 200m @ half-marathon pace, 200m @ 5km pace, 200m @ half-marathon pace, 400m @ marathon pace

5 mins Cool Down

Weekend Session

Long run with a stride (accelerate to 90% sprint pace, hold for 20 breaths then decelerate) every 1km

This weeks fitness focus is on efforts slightly under threshold (maximum lactate steady state) and unpredictable surging efforts- starting to get specific to the demands of cross country racing with efforts from 40 minutes to an hour.

Strength and Conditioning

All exercises should be body weight variants only unless an S&C coach (can be me) has agreed you have perfect form. Good examples of form can be found on https://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises

Squat to Pop Squat progression

Split squat to alternating leg lunge jump

Suggested Drills for the week

Ground touches (while running)

Leg swings

Carioca (Grapevine)

Tuesday Session

10 minutes easy running to warm up

Twenty minutes of effort – spend 2-3 minutes building to a pace where you are gasping for breath, then dial back the pace a little bit to the point where you can say 3-4 words – hold that pace. If you feel that you could manage a full sentence of talking then accelerate until you just start to gasp for breath and then ease back a little.

5 minutes easy

Repeat the twenty minutes effort

5 minutes cool down

Thursday Session

10 minutes easy running

Drills

Dice Fartlek – there will be dice at the end of each straight. You will roll the dice…

1 = 200m easy

2 = 200m Hard

3 = 400m Hard

4 = 400m easy

5 = 600m Hard

6 = 800m Hard

Cool down

(Inspired by https://www.snackinginsneakers.com/fartlek-workouts/ )

Sunday Session

A long (relative to your normal weekly runs) run make sure to include some hills in the route every time you encounter a hill, even a small one, put in a max effort for the first 30 seconds of the hill (or the whole hill if its a really small hill).

This weeks fitness focus is on efforts slightly over threshold (maximum lactate steady state) – starting to get specific to the demands of cross country racing with efforts from 40 minutes to an hour.

Strength and Conditioning

All exercises should be body weight variants only unless an S&C coach (can be me) has agreed you have perfect form. Good examples of form can be found on https://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises

Squat to Pop Squat progression

Split squat to alternating leg lunge jump

Suggested Drills for the week

Ground touches (while running)

Leg swings

Carioca (Grapevine)

Tuesday Session

10 minutes easy running to warm up

FIVE TIMES: 6 minutes running at 10km / cross-country race effort and 3 minutes easy running

5 minutes cool down

Thursday Session

10 minutes easy running

Drills

5 x 800 with reducing rest (starting at 120 seconds rest)

Cool down

Sunday Session

A long (relative to your normal weekly runs) run with strides (accelerate to 90% of your max speed and hold for 10-15 seconds) every 1km.