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

Congratulations to everyone who ran so well for the Dashing Whippets at this past weekend’s Scotland Run 10K!

Boston marathoners are FINALLY in a taper period. New Jersey marathoners aren’t far behind — just two more weeks of solid work before we ease off.

Dashing Whippets Training Plan for the Week

This week 15 of a training plan for Boston and New Jersey marathoners, and week 2 of a training plan for the Brooklyn Half. If you are aiming for a shorter distance this summer, follow the “Short Distance Specialists” workouts to maintain your fitness during this period.

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 4/04: Easy day

• Spring marathoners and half marathoners should run 40-70 minutes easy, followed by 5 x 100m strides
• Everyone else should run 30-40 minutes easy, or optionally rest
• Monday Evening Easy (Downtown/Tribeca) option: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/229737580/

Tuesday 4/05: Long speedwork day: Warm up 1.5-2 miles. Then…

• Boston marathoners: Do 70-75 minutes of total running. Start and end easy, but do the middle 4-5 miles at marathon pace. No cooldown jog is required.
• New Jersey marathoners: Hill sets: do 4 repeats of 15 min at marathon pace on a hilly course, with two minutes of jogging recovery between them. Finish by jogging 2 miles to cool down.
• Brooklyn Half competitors: 3 miles at half marathon pace, then jog three minutes. Then do 4 repeats of 400m at 5K pace with two minutes of jogging recovery time between them. Finish with a 1-2-mile cooldown jog.
• Short distance (5K-15K) specialists (with a solid base of speedwork): Do the Brooklyn Half workout
• Runners who are building a base (not much recent speedwork): 3 miles at half marathon pace, then 1 mile of easy jogging to cool down.
• Manhattan group workout in Central Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/229650711/
• Brooklyn group workout in Prospect Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/229651133/

Wednesday 4/06: Recovery day

• New Jersey marathoners should run 65-90 minutes easy with 4x100m strides, or optionally rest
• Boston marathoners and Brooklyn half marathoners should run 40-55 minutes easy with 4 x 100m strides, or optionally rest
• Everyone else should do 25-40 minutes of easy running or aerobic system cross training

Thursday, 4/07: Short speedwork day: 20-minute warmup, including jogging/drills/strides, then…

• New Jersey marathoners: 12-14Ks of Canova Ks. This is a continuous run alternating every 1000m between half marathon pace and marathon pace, with NO rest between pace changes. Finish with a 15-minute cooldown jog.
• Brooklyn Half competitors and Short Distance (5K-15K) Specialists (with a solid base of speedwork): 6-8Ks of Canova Ks, described above. After, do a 15-minute cooldown.
• Boston marathoners: 60 minutes of easy running, no cooldown required.
• Runners who are building a base (not much recent speedwork): Do the Brooklyn Half / Short Distance Specialist workout
• Lower Manhattan group workout in East River Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/229810554/
• Brooklyn group workout in Prospect Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/229810552/
• Upper Manhattan group workout in Riverbank State Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/pnwznlyvgbkb/

Friday 4/08: Very easy day

• Most runners should rest, or do the Monday or Wednesday workout today if you missed it
• Optionally, advanced marathoners and half marathoners may run 30-50 minutes easy, followed by 4 x 100m strides

Saturday and Sunday, 4/09-10: 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…

• Boston marathoners: 10 miles of total running — mostly easy pace, but accelerate to marathon pace in the final 2 miles
• New Jersey marathoners: 20-23 miles at long run pace
• Brooklyn Half competitors: 13-15 miles at long run pace
• Short distance specialists (5K-15K) with a solid base and Runners who are building a base: 1:15–1:45 of running at 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
• Brooklyn Half training plan:  http://files.meetup.com/1454408/Brooklyn_Half_Plan_2016.pdf