Start Summer Speedwork

For many, your weekly mileage has been consistently building for the past month. Now that July is here, your training needs to become more specific to the 5k distance, which will be run at a much faster pace than the conversation-paced runs you've been doing to build your mileage. 

Jeff Arbogast, two-time National Cross Country Coach of the Year, gives the following rationales for starting speed work early:

• "...speed work is much more than a finishing product applied only to build a powerful kick. Athletes in the new superpowers of distance running, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Morocco to name but several, incorporate speed into virtually every phase of distance preparation."

• "...speed in cross country can be used for many things. Speed can lead to a devastating kick . . . a long prolonged drive to the finish . . . the ability to modulate speed according to terrain and racing conditions. 

• "...pure speed is always an advantage, but speed endurance, an ability to hold speed over time, can demoralize the opposition and provide the athlete with tactical advantages of strength and speed that are unbeatable." 

 

 Pick one of the following workouts to do, once a week on your "hard" training days:

Warm-up by running one mile on the track. Stretch.

Do at least two strides to finish warming up your legs. 

3x1200 repeats, resting for 4-5 minutes in between each repeat

Use your 5k time to figure out your pace. If your goal is to be able to maintain a 6 min. mile pace to start out the season, then run each 400m section of the 1200m at 1:30sec. Consistency and quality are crucial to being successful, so stick to your goal pace. 

Or 5x800 repeats, resting for 3-4 minutes in between each repeat

Warm-down by running one mile on the track. Stretch.