Hi, Whippets members!

This message is to let you know that the Whippets have organized a six-week 10K training plan to prepare for the NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10K to be held on Sunday, December 5. If you're not already committed to a fall or early winter marathon, we want YOU to take part -- more participants will help everyone keep on track.

Each week of the plan will focus on development of aerobic conditioning (stamina), neuromuscular fitness (strength), and specific endurance (the right combination of stamina and strength to do well at the 10K). The plan includes recommendations for distances and paces, as well as important supplemental activities -- for example, drills to strengthen muscles and improve running form. Complete details for the six-week plan are located in this link and will also be published weekly on the Dashing Whippets web site.

The training plan has versions for beginner, developing, and intermediate runners. In order to get the most out of this training plan, you should keep in mind that you are the best possible coach for yourself, so you'll have to self-assess to figure out which plan is best for you. Make sure you track your progress, both in terms of distance you’ve run and time you’ve expended -- always bring a timing device! You should take each workout one day at a time, making changes as you feel are necessary. You shouldn't hesitate to shorten runs, postpone or skip workouts, or rearrange the schedule of activities if you feel it is warranted.

Of course you can follow the plan on your own, but there will be three group Whippet runs per week: Tuesdays at 7:00 pm at 86th & Fifth in Central Park, Thursdays at 7:00 pm at E. 6th and FDR Drive in East River Park, and Sundays at 10:00 am at locations to be announced. There are recommended workouts on Wednesdays (rest/recovery day) and Saturdays (easy day) to do on your own or with friends.

The Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday group events will be listed on the Whippets calendar. If you have to miss a group run and want to do it on your own, each day's workout will be described in the calendar entry, and a weekly plan will be posted each Monday.

You can "sign up" for this plan by emailing me (Scott at dashingwhippets.org), or just by RSVPing to the first group workout on Tuesday, October 26. I'll be leading this experiment, but I am also getting help from other Whippets captains. (Thanks to Matt, Rich, Megan and Patricia for helping out already.) If you can't make it to the group runs, I'll describe the objectives in the weekly outline of the training plan -- including the value of the workout and the importance of not overdoing it.

More information will come in an email of the first week's workout plan next Monday!

Reminders:
* A full training plan is posted in this shared doc:
http://files.meetup.c...
* When looking at the training plan, remember to read the description of the runner profile at the top of each plan so that you find the one that is right for you, and scroll down to the bottom for a more complete explanation of the workouts.
* Weekly workout details will be posted at the Dashing Whippets web site, www.dashingwhippets.org
* Join us for group runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays to find training partners and motivation
* Whippets captains will help with suggestions and motivation, but YOU are your own coach -- bring a stopwatch/Garmin, track your progress in terms of distance/pace/recovery time, and listen to your body to make adjustments
* This plan is NOT intended for anyone doing a fall marathon like NYC, DC or Philadelphia -- marathoners should stick with their game plan and make sure to take an appropriate break after their race to recover

Thanks,

Scott

Scott, this looks great.. I totally agree where you say, "YOU are your own coach -- bring a stopwatch/Garmin, track your progress in terms of distance/pace/recovery time, and listen to your body to make adjustments".. I enjoy running much more and run better that way. I hope people will provide lots of feedback on these workouts so we can make the next training plan even better and all come back next year even faster! I look forward to joining in after the marathon!

Thanks Scott! This is going to be great. I can't wait to take part once I'm not marathon training.

This looks great! Thank you for doing the work to set this up. Do you have to be a member of NYRR to check your bags?

Do you have to be a member of NYRR to check your bags?

Hi, Kim -- Officially, you're supposed to be a member to use NYRR's lockers. Unofficially, NYRR staff members don't check.

But if you do use the lockers, be careful because people have had stuff stolen from them. And you MUST be back by 8:00 sharp to pick up your bags. It could be easier to link up with a Whippet who is an New York Sports Club member and ask them to put your stuff in their locker.

Scott

Scott, for those of us training for marathons, is there a way to post a note like, "Hey, long-distance guys, this workout can be modified thusly to benefit yourselves." I think for some of us, even something just as simple as pace modification could make the extra runs beneficial. Just a thought.

Patricia: good thought. When I send out the weekly detailed training plan, I'll include notes for those training for longer races. I would certainly be very grateful if any marathoners join the 10K workouts, because more runners will help with pacing.

One of the trickiest things is the fact that the Whippets 10K plan builds up to a peak point after six weeks -- i.e., the Dec. 5 race. If your race doesn't happen to be around that timeframe, then you should be extra careful to understand the goal of each workout and make sure it's right for your longer-term plans.

That said, I'd really love to be joined by other runners!

Scott

Good point Patricia. We are going to keep the 10k program and the marathon programs similar enough that we can do the workouts together. Speed work and tempo runs can really help a marathoner as well as a 10k runner. I'll have the Tokyo program up shortly and the Boston/spring marathon one up shortly after that and have been modeling some of the program off of the 10k program.

Also, just so no one forgets. The race at the end of the 6 week program is the Kleinerman 10k. It's in Central Park and is the last team points race of the year. If you plan to do the race, please RSVP here:

http://www.dashingwhi...

You can register at NYRR here:

http://www.nyrr.org/r...

It's better to register earlier because the price increases as the race approaches. Since this is a team points race, it will likely fill to capacity a week or so before the race, so sign up soon!