Month: February 2021
Week 1 of the new schedule! – but really it’s Week 9
Posted on February 28th, 2021 by Sarah Funderburk
Congrats on all of those fast miles this week, Chasers! This week, we will be starting part 2 of the schedule, appropriately named The Great Lockdown Escape. We are continuing with paired runs over the next few weeks, but then we will be able to start back with groups of 6 and track from March 29th! The next 6 weeks will be leading up to a 3k race, which we are hoping to be able to schedule in at Parliament Hill Track in some shape or form – stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed.
This week’s speed session (or workout of the week), will be a pretty straightforward but challenging one:
5-6 x {800m (at your 5k pace) [400m jog recovery]}. Total of 4000-4800m hard with 2000-2400m recovery
If you don’t feel like measuring out 800m or treking way over to Paddington Recreation ground where the track is still open, then you can either do a time-based option based on what your customized schedule on the website says (preferred option!!) or try the following:
5-6 x {3 min (at your 5k pace) [2 min jog recovery]}. Total of 15-18 min hard with 10-12 min recovery
Get at least a good 10-15 min of easy running before and after the session to warm up and cool down.
Happy Running!
Sarah

Week 8: Spring and speed is in the air
Posted on February 21st, 2021 by Sarah Funderburk
You’ve made it to the last week of Part 1 of the Speeding up for Spring Schedule, Chasers. Congrats! What better way to celebrate than a mile time trial?! 😉 (and hopefully some easing of restrictions; fingers crossed for tomorrow). There is still a bit of work to do this week before the time trial though, so let’s get to it!
First up, we have a progression run, which will help you with some eventual longer distances. The total length of the run is 1 hour, broken down as follows:
- 10 min of easy running to warm up
- 40 minutes where you progressively get faster every 10 minutes. The guide for the pacing is your estimated marathon pace + 20 sec for the first 10 minutes, and then speed up by 10 sec for each subsequent 10 min. This is assuming you are calculating your pace min minutes/mile! If you’re calculating in min/kilometer, then it’s more like 6 or 7 sec every 10 minutes. This is a guide though; essentially you’ll want to go a bit slower than a steady pace at the beginning and then be going a bit faster than a steady pace by the end. Don’t go crazy, because you’ll need those legs for the mile time trial!
- 10 min of easy running to cool down
For your usual Thursday speed session, you will be warming up the legs for the mile time trial. It’s just an easy 3 miles run followed by 4 sets of 100m strides at the end to get those legs ticking over.
You can obviously choose to do the mile trial at a time that suits you best, but the schedule is optimized to give you a several days after the progression run of easy running before “race day”. As a reminder, the two “official routes” for the mile are either in Regent’s Park or Victoria Park. See the Strava links below.
- Regent’s Park – https://www.strava.com/routes/2789261528418718246
- Victoria Park – https://www.strava.com/routes/2796131768464354712
Good luck with the time trial this week, have fun and run safely! This means being cautious of others as well as warming up and cooling down appropriately.
Part 2 of the Speeding up for Spring Schedule will be posted soon.
Happy Running!
Sarah

Week 7: All you need is love…and hills?…and speedwork?
Posted on February 14th, 2021 by Sarah Funderburk
This week you will be using those leftover valentines chocolates and candy to fuel the last set of Kenyan hills and some more mile speedwork…all gearing up for next week’s mile time trial!
First up we have a 2 x 20 minute Kenyan hill session with 3-5 minutes recovery between the sets. This is a tough one, but the prior 10 and 15-minute sessions have laid the groundwork. Again, try to do it on the same hills that you did the prior sessions; it will be the best way to guage your improvement.
For this week’s speedwork, we will be building on the mile-pacing session you did this past week, just adding a bit more distance with fewer reps. After at least a 10 minute warm-up and some drills, the session is:
6-8 x {600m (1 mile pace) [3min rest/recovery]}. Total 3600-4800m
I know 600m can be an awkward distance to measure out, but some of the straightaways in Regent’s Park around the Hub are around the right distance and will give you good pactice for one of our official mile routes for next week! So about that mile … 🙂 There are currently two route options for you to choose from:
- one in Regent’s Park – https://www.strava.com/routes/2789261528418718246
- and one in Victoria Park for those located further east – https://www.strava.com/routes/2796131768464354712
Have fun this week – I know I’m looking forward to seeing who tops the leaderboard! Looks like our Chaser ladies are tough to beat.
Happy Running!
Sarah

Week 6: Gearing up for the mile (approximately 1038 port-a-loos)
Posted on February 7th, 2021 by Sarah Funderburk
Welcome to week 6 of Speeding up for Spring, Chasers! That pesky groundhog in Pennsylvania may have declared 6 more weeks of winter, but there is only 2 more weeks until we test out your training in our mile competition (routes to follow next week!).
This week, we are still taking a break from Kenyan hills but instead will be including some threshold/tempo work along with some continued focus on mile-specific training. The Tuesday session some easy miles to warm-up, followed by some miles at tempo pace, and then some easy cool down miles. The exact mileage and pacing will depend on what you have put into the website for your goal times. Generally, your threshold pace should be what you can hold for approximately 1 hour at your best effort. For many runners, this will be somewhere between your 10k and 10 mile pace. This type of run can be a useful “bridge” between your longer Sunday runs and your speed work. If you want to read more from an expert, here is a nice article from Jack Daniels: https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20807282/threshold-training/
For this week’s speed session, you will be honing in on that mile pace, doing the following:
8-10 x {400 (1mile pace) [2min static rest or recovery jog]}. Total 3200-4000m.
Again, this week, I won’t provide a time-based alternative, as you will be able to best get that from the website. This is the session that will count toward this week’s leaderboard, so find a good spot and give it your all! The Chaser ladies are looking fierce!
And finally, if you have ever wondered how many of “those that shouldn’t be named” are in a mile…well now you know 🙂
Happy Running!
Sarah
