This weekly message keeps active members informed of the Dashing Whippets training activities for the next seven days.

Dashing Whippets Training Plan for the Week

This week 4 of a training plan for Boston and New Jersey marathoners, and week 3 of training plans for competitors in the NYC Half or Washington Heights 5K.

Please click on the links below to RSVP if you are planning to come out to one of these training events!

Note: Almost all training paces, such as 5K, 10K, half marathon, should be your estimated pace if you ran the race today — not your goal or PR pace. (Exception: Marathon pace is your goal pace or best guess of your well-trained marathon speed.) You can use the Daniels VDOT calculator to estimate your pace from a recent result.

Monday 1/18: Easy day

• Spring marathoners and half marathoners should run 40-60 minutes easy, followed by 5 x 100m strides
• Everyone else should run 30-40 minutes easy, or optionally rest
• Monday Morning Mileage (Central Park) option: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/227691848/
• Monday Evening Easy (East Village) option: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/227627943/

Tuesday 1/19: Long speedwork day: Warm up 1.5-2 miles. Then…

• Spring marathoners and NYC Half competitors (with a solid base of speedwork): 3 repeats of 2 miles at half marathon pace, with a 3:00 jogging recovery after each. Finish with 1-2 miles of easy jogging to cool down.
• Short distance (5K-15K) specialists (with a solid base of speedwork), and Runners who are building a base (not much recent speedwork): 2-3 repeats of 2 miles at half marathon pace. Jog 3:00 after each repeat, and finish with a 1+ mile cooldown jog.
• Manhattan group workout in Central Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/227887942/
• Brooklyn group workout in Prospect Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/227962580/

Wednesday 1/20: Recovery day

• Spring marathoners and half marathoners should run 40-60 minutes easy with 4 x 100m strides, or optionally rest
• Everyone else should do 20-30 minutes of easy running or aerobic system cross training
• Morning group run, Central Park: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/227885738/

Thursday, 1/21: Short speedwork day: 20-minute warmup, including jogging/drills/strides, then…

• Short distance (5K-15K) specialists, Spring marathoners, and NYC Half competitors (with a solid base of speedwork): 5-8 repeats of 800m at 5K pace, with a 400m recovery jog after each. Short distance specialists may optionally add 2 additional 200m repeats at one-mile race pace after finishing the 800s. End with a cooldown jog of at least 15 minutes.
• (If you plan to race a half marathon this weekend, reduce the recommended count of repetitions by 25%.)
• Alternative for indoor track specialists (who have done speedwork regularly): 6-8 repeats of 300m at one-mile race pace, with a 100m walk after each. Finish with a generous cooldown jog.
• Runners who are building a base (not much recent speedwork): 4 repeats of 800m at 10K pace. Jog 400m after each, and finish with a 15-minute cooldown jog.
• Manhattan group workout in Central Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/227769805/
• Brooklyn group workout in Prospect Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/228118849/

Friday 1/22: Very easy day

• Most runners should rest, or do the Monday or Wednesday workout today if you missed it
• Optionally, advanced marathoners may run 40 minutes easy, followed by 4 x 100m strides

Saturday and Sunday, 1/23-24: On one day, do 35-55 minutes of easy running followed by 4 repeats of 100m strides. On the other day, do a long run…

• Best of luck, Fred Lebow Half competitors! Recognize that this race is just a building block on your longer-term goals, so approach it with the appropriate level of pacing discipline.
• Boston and New Jersey marathoners: Warm up 2-3 miles, then either race the Fred Lebow Half, or do 13 miles at just slower than goal marathon pace. Finish with a 1 mile cooldown.
• NYC Half competitors: Race the Fred Lebow half (do a short warmup beforehand), or do a 2 mile warmup, then 10 miles at just slower than goal marathon pace, then a 1 mile cooldown.
• Short distance specialists (5K-15K) with a solid base: 1:30 of running at long run pace
• Indoor track specialists with a solid base: Long (20-30 minute) warmup, then 8-10 repeats of 200m at between 800m and mile race pace, with a 200m recovery after each. Do a long (20+ minute) cooldown jog.
• Runners who are building a base: 1:00–1:15 at easy or long run pace
• Long run pace is 45-60 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace — a little faster than easy pace, but still not challenging.
• There are weekly team long runs around the city. To see all options for weekend training runs with the Whippets, please view the calendar: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/

Training Calendars

• Boston Marathon training plan: http://files.meetup.com/1454408/2016%20Boston%20marathon%20training%20plan.pdf
• New Jersey Marathon training plan: http://files.meetup.com/1454408/2016_NJ_Marathon_Plan.pdf
• NYC Half training plan (11 weeks): http://files.meetup.com/1454408/DWRT_TrainingPlan_Winter2016_NYCHalf.pdf
• Washington Heights 5K (9 weeks): http://files.meetup.com/1454408/DWRT_TrainingPlan_Winter2016_5K10K.pdf