Category: Track Session
Week 5: More Pace Training and Friendly Competition
Posted on January 31st, 2021 by Sarah Funderburk
I hope you’re all enjoying the new Leaderboard! For this week, we will be taking a break from Kenyan Hills, which should leave you plenty of time for the speed session as well as getting in this week’s competition of 4-6 continuous miles (the substitute Chingford League race).
For the speed session this week, you will be focusing in again on practicing your pacing. It is a very similar session to the one you did two weeks ago, but this time you will be getting faster instead of slower. I know some of you found the first session challenging because you naturally ended up speeding up a bit instead of going slower. This can happen as your body warms up and finds its rhythm. However, that does not mean that this week’s session will necessarily be easier! In some ways, it should be harder because you will need to start out controlled so you CAN get faster. The original session via distance is:
4-5x {400m (10k pace) 400m (5k pace) 200m (3k pace), 200m (1m pace) [3min rest/recovery]} = Total 4800-6000m
A time-based variation for this week is:
4-5x {2min (10k pace) 90s (5k pace) 1min (3k pace), 30s (1m pace) [3min rest/recovery]} = Total 20-25 min fast running with 12-15 min recovery
Again, the most personalized way to do a timed version, though, will be to get your goal times from the website. If you want to do it by time, this is what I highly recommend. If your goal 10k time is <50 min, then the time-based suggestion above may have you trying to sustain some of the paces for too long. Similarly, if your 10k time is >55min, then the time-based suggestion may not push you hard enough. But, I want to give you the option if you did the time-based variation in week 2.
As always, warm-up with some easy running and drills and cool down with some easy running and stretches.
For those of you who are coming back from illness/injury or may not have started from the beginning of Week 1, please do exercise caution as the sessions are meant to build on each other. Your cardiovascular fitness develops faster than musculoskeletal fitness. So for those easing back into running, please do ease back in. Although a run may feel easy and good on your lungs and heart, your muscles and tendons may not be there yet. (A lesson I am still learning!)
Happy Running!
Sarah
Week 4: The weather is getting cold but the speed is getting hot
Posted on January 24th, 2021 by Sarah Funderburk
This week is all about continuing to build strength and focusing in on your 1 mile pace. In 4 more weeks, we will be putting that mile pace to the test with a 1 mile virtual race. There will be plenty of glory at stake, so get ready Chasers! The aim will be to get everyone doing the same course, which will be revealed in the coming weeks. I will be taking suggestions (and perhaps bribes).
But, back to this week’s schedule…first you will be building on last week’s Kenyan Hills with another session. This time it is 2 sets of 15 minutes. If you can, try to do the same hills/route that you did the first time. You will be better able to gauge how your legs are feeling over the route.
For this week’s mile-focused speed session, you will be doing 10-12 x 300m at your 1 mile pace with a walk recovery of 100m. The recovery should take you at least the same amount of time as it took you to cover 300m. So, for example, if you ran 300m in 1min, your walk recovery should be at least 1 minute. This week, I won’t be explicitly giving you a time-based variation because the time-based version should really be different for everyone. Instead, if you want a time-based version, I want to encourage you to play around with the pace calculator on the website. If you have customized your schedule, then it will give you your 1 mile pace for 300m. S0, for example, if I put in that I want to run a 5k in under 20 min (whew!), it is going to tell me that I should be running 300m in around 1:10. Feel free to message me with any questions!
As always, please warm-up with at least a 10min jog and some drills, and then follow the session with a cool down and stretching.
For some mile-running inspiration…https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/health-and-fitness/aaron-yoder-fastest-backwards-mile
Happy Running!
Sarah
Speeding up Week #2
Posted on January 10th, 2021 by Sarah Funderburk
Welcome to Week 2 of the new training plan. This week you’ll still have easy runs most of the week, with a 3k time trial session for your speedwork. If you are going by the original session, you will be able to see the suggested times if you customize the schedule for your target 5k pace. The original session is:
| 800m (warm-up) 2x {200m (5k pace) [200m recovery]} 3-5 min rest, 3000m time trial. Total 3400 hard, 1200 recovery. |
If you want to do a slightly more time-based session, I still recommend trying to measure out 3k somewhere for an accurate time trial. One option is approximately 3 loops of Regent’s Park inner circle. The session can go as follows:
| 5-10 min jog (warm-up), 3-4x strides with walk recovery, catch your breath and when you’re ready, do the 3000m time trial. |
Be sure to do a cool down jog and some stretching afterwards.
Whichever, session you choose, I also recommend adding in some drills to your warm-up. If you have been to the track sessions before, you can do some of our typical dynamic stretches and skips. If you’d like some guidance on what drills to do, this is a good video to watch.
Happy running – stay safe and healthy!
Sarah
Workout of the week
Posted on November 9th, 2020 by Lauren Longhurst
The track is closed but the intervals don’t stop
As I’m sure we’re all aware by now, lockdown #2 is upon us which means club runs and track sessions have come to a halt once again.
Luckily, exercise continues to be seen as essential and we are encouraged to get out for a daily dose. As we don’t yet know what the current restrictions mean for future races or club sessions, the coaching team will be bringing you a ‘workout of the week’. The aim of this is to keep a bit of structure in your training and to keep your fitness ticking over.
The session can be done in a location of your choice, on whatever day of the week suits you best. Current restrictions* state we can exercise with one person outside of our household providing social distancing rules are adhered to. Why not use this opportunity to link up with a Chaser you don’t know very well yet? Or to establish a (friendly) Myles v Donal style rivalry to take into 2021? You can continue to use the calendar to link up.
So…Workout of the week #1
6 x 3 minutes at 5k pace [90sec recovery between each one]
The aim is for consistent pacing throughout the reps so don’t start too fast! You can use the website pace calculator to help. If you’re new to intervals you may want to reduce reps to 4 or up recovery to 2 mins.
Photos for social media welcome! Reach out to the coaching team if you have any questions
Enjoy!
Lauren
*restrictions in place at time of writing
3k Time Trial Results 10th May 2018
Posted on May 11th, 2018 by Chris Zair
Great job to all those who attended yesterday’s track session, which saw the first of three 3k Time Trials on the track this summer.
Results are below, be sure to come along to the next time trial in June to track your progress!:
| Name | 10th May |
| Chris Zair* | 10:39 |
| George Viner | 11:01 |
| Stephen Nash | 11:02 |
| Vincent Guillaume | 11:11 |
| David Thorne | 11:18 |
| John Paul Hipkin | 11:27 |
| Danny Berry | 11:32 |
| Lauren Longhurst | 11:33 |
| Liv Hawe | 11:59 |
| Yoel Marson | 12:12 |
| Claire Baudouin | 12:28 |
| Alex Renton | 12:34 |
| Rebecca Bryant | 12:56 |
| Sarah Funderburk | 13:12 |
| Eamon Byrne | 13:49 |
| Lauren Hall | 13:58 |
| Michele Griffiths | 14:30 |
| Jenny Moore | 15:30 |
| Dylan Tomlinson | 15:31 |
| Ciara McManus | 15:54 |
| Stephen West | 16:24 |
| Sarah Hayward | 16:40 |
*recorded pre-session, proof on Strava!
Thursday Track Sessions – Winter/Spring 2017
Posted on December 28th, 2016 by Urban Bettag
January
| Date | Session |
|---|---|
| January, 5th | Running Form Drills 30′ Whistle Fartlek |
| January, 12th | Oregon Circuits |
| January, 19th | Running Form Drills Cruise Intervals |
| January, 26th | Short Intervals 6x 600m (5k) [200m Active Recovery] |
February
| Date | Session |
|---|---|
| February, 2nd | Short Intervals 30’ Pair Run |
| February, 9th | Mixed Intervals 3x 1,200m (5k) [400m Jog Recovery] 2x 600m (5k) [200m Float] |
| February, 16th | Pace Alternations 8x 700m (10k) [300m Tempo / Half Marathon Pace] |
| February, 23th | Mixed Intervals 3x 1,200m (5k) [400m Jog Recovery] 6x 200m (5k) [200m Float] |
March
| Date | Session |
|---|---|
| March, 2nd | Running Drills Short Intervals 10x 200m (3k) [200m Steady] |
| March, 9th | Tempoflex Session 6x 1,000m (3k) [200m Jog Recovery] |
| March, 16th | 1500m Time Trial Pyramid Session 200-400-800-1000-1000-800-400-200 |
| March, 23th | Long Intervals / Cut-Down 5x 800m (10k to 5k) [200m Float] 300m (3k) [1’ 30’’ Rest] |
| March, 30th | Reverse Pyramid Session 2000m – 1600m – 1200m – 800m – 400m |
April
| Date | Session |
|---|---|
| April, 6th | Long Interval 6x 800m (5k) [400m Jog Recovery] |
Urban Bettag coaches for the Mornington Chasers and leads the development of their track training and mentors their junior coaches. He blogs and shares his wisdom about running on the Hare Brain Blog every Friday.
