runners...on your marks

Let's get ready to RUMBLE!  We're so ready to get this journey to excellence and fearlessness started with week one for 2017-18!I  We'll start it off early Tuesday morning with a structured cut-down effort to get an idea of where everyone is at.  Unlike last year we won't go in one big group, but will instead have two, maybe three groups for each gender.  We'll start around 75% effort and end at about 85%.  For Wed and Thu, because of the weather, try to get the majority of your mileage in on your own in the morning and leave 2-4 miles for the afternoon.  If you're not able to do this for some reason, communicate that with your coaches.  Friday, we'll work the lactate shuttle (look it up yo) with some 400's and then finish up with some hills.  P45417

monday (on your own or OFF)

dynamic wu

+ light aerobic running

+ 6-8 x technique strides on grass
(if OFF, cross-training is encouraged)

tuesday (6:00 AM)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ cut-down run on park 2k lake loop (~75% to 85%); w= 8k / m= 12k

+ strength & conditioning

wednesday (3:30 PM)

400j + lunge matrix wu

+ aerobic running

+ hurdle drills

+ barefoot strides on grass

+ foot drills in sand & arch strengthening exercises
+ general strength circuit

thursday (3:30 PM)

800j + dynamic wu & speed ladder
+ 6 x 60m fast striding on Cherry St hill

+ light aerobic running
+ 5 x fast grass strides in spikes
+ work on A march
+ hip circuit

friday (6:00 AM)

800j + mcmillan wu

+ (on cinder loop) 400 @ CV pace (~90%) + 400 @ Tempo pace (~80%)
w= 4800m / m= 4800-6000m
+ 4 x 200 uphill on tennis center road @ AE Power pace, r= 200j

+ strength & conditioning

saturday (on your own)

aerobic running

+ stretching

sunday (time - tbd)

long aerobic running at kennesaw

+ cool-down exercises

+ recovery strategies in training room

back to school v.2017

A busy week ahead but finally it's time to come back together as a team! Make sure you're on top of everything and managing your obligations well, it's important that you also have a solid week of training.  In preparation for your return, make sure you get the medical paperwork and the compliance forms done before Thursday of this week.  If you are unsure about anything, text or call one of your coaches asap.

Going back to last week, apparently some didn't quite grasp the important training concept of "super-compensation".  Maybe this will help... SUPER-COMPENSATION

For the workouts this week you'll need to consult the pace chart included as a tab with your annual training plan (or use the one provided below). Determine a very conservative and honest estimate of your current 5k fitness.  Then looking at the pace chart, select the 5k level one below (i.e. slower) your estimate.  Use this level to determine your 80% pace for Tuesday and your 85% for Friday:

Tue: Tempo run at 80% (women = 5-6 miles / men = 7-8 miles), then 4 x 20" fast strides with slow walk back recovery (start 80% a little slower than desired pace, then gradually work your way to desired pace)

Fri: 85% threshold 1600's + 1 x rep @ 5k pace (women = 3 @ 85%, r= 1' + 5' jogging + 1 x 1200 @ 5k) / men = 4-5 @ 85%, r= 1' + 5' jogging + 1 x 1600 @ 5k)

Read that as 1600s @ 85% with 1 minute recovery, then 5 minutes jogging, then 1 x effort at 5k pace.  Make sure you understand workout, if you have questions,  contact us.  These workouts should be done in the mornings. For Friday, workout should be done on the track and we will have it open at 6:00 AM.  Since this is not an official mandatory practice, coaches will not be in attendance during the workout.

Tentative schedule for the week:

FRESHMAN                                    

WED - move-in and begin Jump Start Jacket orientation for all incoming.
THU - run on own in morning, JSJ program 9 AM - 7 PM
FRI - run on own in morning, JSJ program 9 AM - 4 PM
(see schedule below for full team)

UPPERCLASSMEN
THU - move-in
FRI - run on own in morning, team lunch at 12 noon, upperclassmen social/leadership at 1 PM
(see schedule below for full team)

FULL TEAM
FRI - team dinner and social at 5:30 PM
SAT - long run on own in AM, team lunch at 1:00 PM, team meeting at 2:00 PM, team BBQ at 5:30 PM
SUN - physicals in early AM, easy run on own, team academic/compliance meeting at 3 PM

MON - fall semester classes begin
TUE - first official practice at 6 AM...P45417!

supercompensation

This is the last week before we move into a new phase so make sure you follow your plan and let your mileage (and cross-training) lower so that we have a good consolidation week.  If you need some scientific rationale to take an easier week, just google "supercompensation" :)

You should have received emails from our compliance office and the Athletic Training room with instructions on how to fill out and submit forms that are needed before you can start practice.  These forms should be completed and submitted by the end of this week.  IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE FORMS, CONTACT US!

Workouts for this week:

Tue: 8-10 x 1' @ either 6k or 8k goal pace with 4' easy recovery*
Fri: 5' + 4' + 3' + 2' + 1' @ ~85% effort w/ equal time recovery @ ~65%

*make sure you are taking the full recovery and running EASY during the recovery; you can follow the structure of the above workouts, OR you can free fartlek them by just running up to one minute efforts at goal race pace followed by sufficient easy recoveries for forty minutes or more, OR you can run a hill fartlek if you have a hilly route, just run strong up the hill and again make sure you have plenty of easy recovery between.

Things to note (repeated from last week):

The rosters on our website will be updated soon, check to make sure your info is correct.  

*FRESHMEN: those attending one of the last two FASET sessions will move into your school year housing assignment early when you arrive for orientation.  Other freshmen should move in on the Wednesday, August 16th, and will incur early move-in charges from housing that will show up on your bursar's account, along with a credit from the Athletic Association to cover those charges.

*UPPERCLASSMEN: should move in on Thursday, August 17th, and those in housing will incur early move-in charges from housing that will show up on your bursar's account, along with a credit from the Athletic Association to cover those charges.

*more info will be send regarding our first team meeting, our compliance meeting, and physicals.

First official practice will be 6:00 AM on Tuesday, August 22nd...P45417!

summer winding down

Workouts for this week:

Tue: 5' + 4' + 3' + 2' + 1' @ ~85% effort w/ equal time recovery @ ~65%
Fri: 8-10 x 1' @ either 6k or 8k goal pace with 4' easy recovery

*make sure you are taking the full recovery and running EASY during the recovery; you can follow the structure of the above workouts, OR you can free fartlek them by just running up to one minute efforts at goal race pace followed by sufficient easy recoveries for forty minutes or more, OR you can run a hill fartlek if you have a hilly route, just run strong up the hill and again make sure you have plenty of easy recovery between.

Things to note:

The rosters on our website will be updated soon, check to make sure your info is correct.  

*FRESHMEN: those attending one of the last two FASET sessions will move into your school year housing assignment early when you arrive for orientation.  Other freshmen should move in on the Wednesday, August 16th, and will incur early move-in charges from housing that will show up on your bursar's account, along with a credit from the Athletic Association to cover those charges.

*UPPERCLASSMEN: should move in on Thursday, August 17th, and those in housing will incur early move-in charges from housing that will show up on your bursar's account, along with a credit from the Athletic Association to cover those charges.

*more info will be send regarding our first team meeting, our compliance meeting, and physicals.

Most important now is that you are checking your email as you should be receiving information from compliance and the training room to fill out forms online.  It is important that everyone fill out and submit all required forms before arriving back on campus.  If you have any questions, make sure you reach out to someone to get whatever info you need!

First official practice will be 6:00 AM on Tuesday, August 22nd...P45417!

about iron

Since it's been awhile, figured it was time to touch base on the importance of iron!  Below is a link to a really good article, for those of you who want to read up on this very important topic...

http://www.runningwritings.com/2017/04/low-ferritin-and-iron-deficiency-anemia.html

For those who don't want to read, because it's summer and all, here are some important bullet points:

*one study showed by the end of a cross country season (i.e. the point in the season where you want to be your best), iron deficiency had increased to 17% of boys and 45% of girls.  And in those who were not classified as iron deficient, the majority had a decrease in their serum ferritin levels.

*the above numbers were found in using the conservative standards for iron deficient serum ferritin levels used in the general population of less than 12 ng/mL.  A case can be made that for endurance athletes, serum ferritin levels less than 40 ng/mL should be consider iron deficient.

*ferrous sulfate, taken with vitamin C, is the weapon of choice to raise serum ferritin levels; while tea, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and antacids should be avoided as they inhibit the absorption of iron.  One study showed that simply putting a slice of cheese on a hamburger reduced the amount of iron absorbed by 50-60%!

*because of the above, the iron in a multivitamin is almost useless.

Suffice to say, your serum ferritin levels are very important to your aerobic performance.  If you are not managing your iron intake and absorption, you are putting your season at serious risk.

Now, on to training, this week's workouts:

Tue: 16-20 x 30" @ faster than 6k or 8k goal pace with 2' easy recovery
Fri:  8-10 x 1' @  6k or 8k goal pace with 4' easy recovery

*make sure you are taking the full recovery and running EASY during the recovery; you can follow the structure of the above workouts, or you can free fartlek them by just running up to one minute efforts at goal race pace followed by sufficient easy recoveries for forty minutes or more.

Lastly, a redux about the importance of sleep...new scientific studies have calculated that 9hr 14min is the optimal sleep time; also that anything under 7hr 30min severely compromises your ability to recovery and you will not get full effect of training.

switching gears

Time to switch gears a little and enter a new phase of training...aerobic short specificity.

Aerobic, because we want to stay aerobic, not anaerobic
Short, because the repetitions will not be long
Specificity, because generally repetitions are at 6k/8k goal pace

We're just trying to get used to running a faster pace again and you will need complete recovery between repetitions, so do not start another rep until fully recovered from the previous one.  The short repetitions combined with the long recoveries will prevent the build-up of any oxygen debt.

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday stay the same as previous weeks.  The only exception would be Thursday where you could substitute 6-8 short (~10") hill sprints with a walk-down recovery for the 6-8 x 80m fast strides, if you want to.  Tuesday and Friday now become, for the most part, fartlek type workouts.

For this week:

Tue: 8-10 x 1' @ either 6k or 8k goal pace with 4' easy recovery

Fri: 5' + 4' + 3' + 2' + 1' @ ~85% effort w/ equal time recovery @ ~65%

For the women to determine their 6k pace, figure out your 5k pace in terms of minutes per mile, then add about 3".  For the men to determine their 8k pace, figure out your 5k pace in terms of minutes per mile, then add about 10".  These are off your XC 5k goal pace, not your current race pace.

For the 85% and 65% efforts, choose a current 5k time from the pace chart that you are confidant you could run right now, then look at the 85% and 65% columns for that 5k time.  You should adjust your times slower if your are running in hot and/or humid conditions.

Lastly, read the Tolstoy quote above...patience and time are always important, but certainly so at the beginning of a new phase.  Do not work too hard too soon!

building dat volume yo

Last week of just easy running and building our volume up before beginning the next phase, which will consist mostly of short fartlek-type efforts at xc distance race pace with sufficient aerobic recoveries.  Keep working to intentionally add cross-training volume, and sending pictures for the facebook summer roll call.

Full coaching staff in Asheville all week getting fired up for the fall...P45417!