With 2014 well underway, I have had the chance to work out some pretty good training blocks. I plan to race a last-chance 24-hour event in Florence, SC, in hopes of qualifying for Team USA's 24 Hour Team, which will be competing in the Czech Republic in late June. I believe, currently, the qualifying mark is 153 miles. I have yet to decide on a specific race strategy, but have been contemplating an even pace vs. going out fast (relatively speaking) so as to not feel like I am going artificially slow in the early stages. In running, I think the even split is usually a good plan, but in some of these longer races; it seems like the mindset is more responsible for slowing you down than the pace.
Regardless, the preparation for this event has had me doing a combination of speedwork and ultra-specific long haul sessions. Here are my workouts from a few recent days to illustrate the type of training I've been doing:
| Saturday | 21 mile hybrid workout
- 5 mile warm up
- 40 x 20/40s (20-second sprint intervals)
- 2 miles easy
- 2 x 1 mile (5:39/mi, 5:35/mi) with 1 mi recovery between
- 2 miles easy
- 4 x (4 minutes easy, 2 minutes stair repeats, 1 minute burpees) |
|
| Sunday | 10 mile recovery run |
|
| Monday | 7 mile recovery run |
|
| Tuesday | AM: 15 miles
PM: 13 miles |
|
| Wednesday | AM: 16 miles
PM: 12 miles |
|
| Thursday | AM: 14 miles
PM: 11.5 miles |
Great Post Zach! Gotta love those 20/40's!
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you have any questions. Will get up with you soon.
For all those runs Tues, Wed, Thurs -- what was the pace? Or HR (compared to the hard efforts on Saturday)?
ReplyDeleteWeather played a huge part for my pace. It was below zero, windy, and slick in areas on Tues, Wed, and Thur. My pace fluctuated between 7:15-7:45 for the most part.
DeleteWell I wish I could run 7:15-7:45 in those conditions. :-) In another post, you said you don't use HR. But can you comment -- where those days your "easy" days?
DeleteEasy in the sense of pace, yes. It got a bit fatiguing doing the volume of miles during the work week. My typical "cruising" pace is usually between 6:45-7:15/mi. when weather is good.
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