Dashing Whippets Training Plan, February 16 – 22, 2015

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

Although the weather is less than ideal for running, we have kept most of our runs on the calendar. When a cancellation is necessary, the run organizers always reach out to the people who have RSVPed at our Meetup calendar — so please be sure to sign up if you plan to attend, or double-check the calendar before heading out:
http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/

Dashing Whippets Training Plan for the Week

This is week 10 of a training plan for Boston marathoners, week 8 of a training plan for NYC Half and New Jersey Marathon competitors, and week 7 of a training plan for 5K/10K racers.

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 2/16: Easy day

• Spring marathoners and NYC Half competitors should run 45-65 minutes easy, optionally followed by 4-6 strides of 150m each
• Everyone else should rest or run 30 minutes easy
• There is no group workout on Monday of this week

Tuesday 2/17: Long speedwork day: Warm up 1 easy mile, then…

• Spring marathoners (especially Boston and NJ competitors): 50-55 minutes at marathon pace. Finish with 1-1.5 miles of easy running to cool down.
• NYC Half competitors: 6-8 repeats of 800m on a hilly course at 10K pace with just 1:30 of jogging recovery between each. Finish with a 1-1.5-mile cooldown.
• Short distance (5K-15K) specialists (with a solid base of speedwork): 4-5 repeats of 800m uphill at 10K-15K pace. Jog back downhill to recover, and finish with a 1-1.5-mile cooldown.
• Runners who are building a base (not much recent speedwork): 3 repeats of 800m uphill at 15K pace. Jog back downhill to recover, and finish with a 1-1.5-mile cooldown.
• Manhattan group workout in Central Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/220335931/
• Brooklyn group workout in Prospect Park at 7pm: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/220455085/

Wednesday 2/18: Recovery day

• Spring marathoners and NYC half competitors should do 40-55 minutes of easy running followed by 4 x 100m strides, or rest
• Other runners 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/220466902/

Thursday, 2/19: Short speedwork day: 15-minute warmup, including jogging/drills/strides, then…

• Short distance (5K-15K) specialists (with a solid base of speedwork): 3-4 supersets composed of 400(5K)1200(10K), which is 400m at 5K pace immediately followed by 1200m at 10K pace, without rest when changing pace. Jog 400m to recover after each superset, and finish with 4 repeats of 200m at mile pace, then do a 15-minute cooldown jog.
• Spring marathoners and NYC Half competitors: 10-14K’s worth of Canova Ks, which is a continuous run alternating every 1000m between half marathon pace and marathon pace, with no break between pace changes. Finish with 15 minutes of easy jogging and stretching.
• Runners who are building a base (not much recent speedwork):
• For Thursday group workouts, please check the calendar for options: http://www.meetup.com/dashing-whippets/events/

Friday 2/20: Very easy day

• Optionally, advanced marathoners and half marathoners may do 30-55 minutes of easy running, followed by 6 x 150m strides
• Everyone else should rest, or do the Monday or Wednesday workout today if you missed it

Saturday and Sunday, 2/21-22: On one day, do 40-65 minutes of easy running plus 4 x 100m strides. On the other day, do a long run…

• Boston and NJ marathoners: 18 miles at a steady speed that is 5% slower than marathon pace
• NYC Half competitors: 16 miles at progression pace
• Short distance specialists (with a solid base): 1:40-1:55 of running at long run pace
• Runners who are building a base: 1:15 of running at long run pace
• Paces: Long run pace is 45-60 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace — a little faster than easy pace, but still not challenging. Progression run pace starts at long run pace for the first half — but the second half gradually accelerates to half marathon pace (or marathon pace for marathoners) — and do the last 10 minutes at an easy pace.
• 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

• Training plan for the Boston Marathon (18 weeks): http://files.meetup.com/1454408/DWRT%202015%20Boston%20Marathon%20Plan.pdf
• Training plan for New Jersey Marathon (17 weeks): http://files.meetup.com/1454408/DWRT%202015%20NJ%20Marathon%20Plan.pdf
• Training plan for NYC Half (11 weeks): http://files.meetup.com/1454408/NYC%20Half%20Training%20Plan.pdf
• Training plan for March Washington Heights 5K race (8 weeks): http://files.meetup.com/1454408/DWRT_TrainingPlan_Winter2015_5K10K.pdf