the game plan

"Leaving the game plan is a sign of panic, and panic is not in our game plan." - Chuck Noll

monday (on your own)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j, mcmillan wu

anaerobic intervals @ 90% on park cinder loop

+ w= 6 x 1000, r= 2' / m= 6 x 1200, r= 2'

+ general strength circuit

wednesday

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & balance exercises

thursday

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 10 x 100m cut-downs in spikes w/ walk back recovery

(cut each one down by 0.5", ending at faster than ~1500m pace)

+ hip work and/or mcmillan core

friday (6:00 AM)

800j + mcmillan wu

anaerobic threshold running on park cinder loop

1 loop @ above AT pace + 1 loop @ marathon pace
w= 5 miles; start with loop above AT, end w/ loop above AT

m= 6 miles, start w/ loop @ mar pace, end w/ loop @ mar pace

+ general strength

saturday (on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at Kennesaw

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room

aretas in the blue grass state

As we haven't competed over the last two weekends, let's re-visit the concept of ARETAS:

"Today, you may see English translations of aretas as “excellence." However, that is just a fraction of its true significance. In the Homeric Age,  competition was the outlet for all other virtues – courage, loyalty, trustworthiness. The Ancient Greeks did not fear that competition bred immoral behavior. They believed that competition taught moral behavior. In the heat of battle, someone with aretas had proven himself to be a fearless opponent and brilliant strategist. Sports contests became a way to hone aretas in daily life. Thus aretas – attaining excellence through competition – became the supreme Grecian virtue."

It DOES MATTER how we compete!  As a team we have to continue to build within us a competitive fire.  To become a better competitor you MUST control your psychological state.  Don't worry about your physiology, you are prepared!

monday (on your own)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j, mcmillan wu

+ 80% steady aerobic running on park lake loop

w= 7-8 miles / m= 8-10 miles

+ general strength circuit at track

wednesday

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & balance exercises

thursday

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 8 x 100m cut-downs in spikes w/ walk back recovery

(cut each one down by 0.5", ending at ~1500m pace)

+ hip work and/or mcmillan core

friday

depart for Louisville at 8:45 AM

+ light aerobic running on xc course
+ 3-4 x 100 starts from starting line

(those not racing - 6:00 AM)

+ anaerobic threshold (AT) running on track

+ general strength circuit

saturday

COMPETITION, m8k @ 9:30 AM / w5k @ 10:15 AM

+ general strength

(those not racing, on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at Kennesaw

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room

aerobics test time

For most of those not racing xc this week we'll have our annual aerobics test (i.e. controlled 3k trial effort) on Tuesday evening.  The 3k will start at 7:00PM CHT, which means at 7:00PM sharp!  Those running DO NOT attend Tuesday's 6:00AM practice, instead plan your day around 3k and show up at the track at 6:00PM to begin your warm-up.  We'll set a pace to hit through 1600m, then it's hard to the finish from there.

monday (on your own)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j, mcmillan wu

+ 3 x (2 miles @ 80% on park lake loop + 2 x grass hill loops hard)

+ general strength circuit at track

wednesday

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & balance exercises

thursday

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 8 x 100m cut-downs in spikes w/ walk back recovery

(cut each one down by 0.5", ending at ~1500m pace)

+ hip work and/or mcmillan core

friday (6:00 AM)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ 80% steady aerobic running on park lake loop

w= 7-8 miles / m= 8-10 miles

(OR AT running on cinder loop)

+ general strength circuit

saturday (on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at Kennesaw

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room

the truth

The truth is I don't know the actual course lengths from this past weekend.  What I do know is that I trust our system, I trust the numbers we produce in training, and I trust what the pace chart and the mcmillan calculator tell us the numbers mean.

I do not doubt at all that we are capable of running the times we ran on Saturday.  Every summer I counsel individuals on our team who are struggling with their workout times in the heat and humidity. I always say..."all you need is the first cool and crisp Tuesday morning in September and you'll see what great shape you're in."  Well, this year that first cool and crisp morning just happened to fall on a Saturday...race day.

Trust me, and more importantly, trust our system.  If you need confirmation, look at the data for yourself.  Go ahead...you can't help yourself...you're a bunch of nerds anyway :)

Look at the pace chart and locate where you're 80% run from Tuesday was, extrapolate if needed.  Maybe even take a few seconds (4-5") off your average due to the temperature and humidity. Then go to the mcmillan calculator and plug in your projected 5k or 10k time from the pace chart.  Once the calculator produces your equivalent times for other distances, choose either 6k or 8k.  See what comes up.  Whether Saturday's course length was accurate or not, we are very capable of the times we ran!

monday (on your own)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j, mcmillan wu

(on park grass adjacent to 10th Street)

women: 16-20 x 300 @ 6k xc pace, r= 90"

men: 20-24 x 300 @ 10k xc pace, r= 60"

+ general strength circuit at track

wednesday

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & balance exercises

thursday

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x 40m fast striding on ramp w/ walk recovery

+ hip work and/or  mcmillan core

friday (6:00/6:45 AM)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ AT running on track (w= 3-3.5 mi / m= 3.75-4 mi)

+ general strength circuit

saturday (on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd / optional if you attended Sep 1)

long aerobic running at Chattahoochee River

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room

aretas

From the book, Top Dog - the science of winning and losing:

"Today, you may see English translations of aretas as “excellence." However, that is just a fraction of its true significance. In the Homeric Age,  competition was the outlet for all other virtues – courage, loyalty, trustworthiness. The Ancient Greeks did not fear that competition bred immoral behavior. They believed that competition taught moral behavior. In the heat of battle, someone with aretas had proven himself to be a fearless opponent and brilliant strategist. Sports contests became a way to hone aretas in daily life. Thus aretas – attaining excellence through competition – became the supreme Grecian virtue."

 As we head into this weekend, it is important that we build within us a competitive fire.  It does matter how we compete!  Recognize that the stress of competition does not go away with experience - it is not whether you have a psychoendocrine stress response (we all have it), it's how you interpret it.  Recognize that biology and psychology are in a battle for control.  Becoming a better competitor is about controlling your psychological state, which in turn alters your underlying physiology.  If you can control your fear, then you can control your biology too!

Top Dog describes aretas as something the gods had that mere mortals sought to achieve.  Aspire to achieve it, and start this weekend!

monday (on your own)
dynamic wu
+ light aerobic running
+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j, mcmillan wu

+ 80% steady aerobic running on park lake loop

w= 6-8 miles / m= 7-10 miles

+ general strength circuit at track

wednesday

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand

thursday

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x 40m fast striding on ramp w/ walk recovery

+ hip work and/or mcmillan core

friday (in AM, time - tbd)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ light aerobic running

+ starts on grass in spikes

+ depart for Greenville no earlier than 12:30 PM

(race course is not available for preview)

(those not racing)

+ anaerobic threshold (AT) running on track

+ general strength circuit

saturday

COMPETITION, w6k @ 8:30 AM / m8k @ 9:00 AM

+ general strength

(those not racing, on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at Kennesaw or River

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room

back to work

monday (on your own)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j, mcmillan wu

(on park grass adjacent to 10th Street)

women: 16-20 x 300 @ 6k xc pace, r= 90"

men: 20-24 x 300 @ 10k xc pace, r= 60"

+ general strength circuit at track

wednesday

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & balance exercises

thursday

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 6 x 120 ins & outs (40 fast striding + 40 float + 40 fast striding)

+ hip work and/or  mcmillan core

friday (6:00 AM)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ workouts tbd

+ general strength circuit

saturday (on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at Kennesaw

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room

on the red line

As we head into the first competition of the year...

"Cassidy sought no euphoric interludes. They came, when they did, quite naturally and he was content to enjoy them privately. He ran not for crypto-religious reasons, but to win races, to cover ground fast. Not only to be better than his fellows, but better than himself. To be faster by a tenth of a second, by an inch, by two feet or two yards than he had been the week or year before. He sought to conquer the physical limitations placed upon him by a three-dimensional world (and if Time is the fourth dimension, that too was his province). If he could conquer the weakness, the cowardice in himself, he would not worry about the rest; it would come. Training was a rite of purification; from it came speed, strength. Racing was a rite of death; from it came knowledge. Such rites demand, if they are to be meaningful at all, a certain amount of time spent precisely on the Red Line, where you can lean over the manicured putting green at the edge of the precipice and see exactly nothing."

This excerpt comes from Chapter 17 of Once a Runner.  To read the whole chapter, which will take you five minutes, use the link below.  Go ahead...read it...it's poetry in describing running as we know it :)   http://www.chesnes.com/personal/docs/OaR17.pdf

monday (on your own)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j, mcmillan wu

(on park grass adjacent to 10th Street)

women: 14-16 x 300 @ 6k xc pace, r= 90"

men: 16-20 x 300 @ 10k xc pace, r= 60"

+ general strength circuit at track
(+ W-TRACK team meeting at 3:30 PM, M-TRACK @ 4:00 PM)

wednesday

400j + dynamic foot drill wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle walkovers

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & balance exercises

thursday

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder

+ light aerobic running

+ 4 x 150 ins & outs (50 fast striding + 50 float + 50 fast striding)

+ hip work and/or  mcmillan core

friday (in AM, time - tbd)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ light aerobic running

+ starts on grass in spikes

(those not racing)
+ AT running on track

+ general strength circuit
(+ PICTURES IN AFTERNOON?)

saturday

COMPETITION, very early AM departure
+ general strength
(those not racing, on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at Kennesaw

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery at training room