Do you have a 5K or 10K coming up? Here are my top 3 favorite types of workouts that will get you ready. They challenge you in slightly different ways, but all three are great at preparing you for the physical and mental rigors of 5K/10K racing. Keep in mind that it is always a good…
This is a classic Frank Horwill (a famed British coach who formulated the Five Pace Training Theory used by many great athletes such as Sebastian Coe and Said Aouita) workout which I’ve found very useful in simulating the deep gut, lactic pain of a 5K. It’s not so much the pace that makes you have…
This is one of my favorite workouts because it has a wide range of paces throughout and it’s great for working towards distances from 3K to half marathon. The tempo run is the easy part of the workout. I added this to the workout to get the legs a little tired first before hitting the…
Steady-state runs were once a staple in the training programs of U.S. distance runners but somehow fell out of favor. Runners now seem to have only two speeds, slow and fast – no in-between. But the steady-state run is one of the most beneficial types of workouts to boost endurance and stave off fatigue. A…
Looking for a fun and effective workout as you prepare for a long race? Try these stamina repeats I heard of from the training of Ronaldo de Costa when he set the marathon world record in 1998. I call them Ronaldo Repeats. Ronaldo’s coach had him perform 3 x 5K starting at marathon pace and…
This is a great workout when getting ready for a 10km or half marathon. The first tempo run should feel relatively steady and the second tempo run should be very tough. The short, steep, hard hills in the middle flood your legs with lactic acid so that you enter the last portion of the workout…
Masters runners must work hard to maintain their speed, stride length, flexibility, and strength if they want to stay competitive. Most runners who’ve been training and racing competitively for a number of years know that at some point mainlining the miles like you did in your 20s doesn’t work anymore. You need more recovery after…
Getting race fit for a marathon includes more than just the weekly long run. Competitive marathoners, whose goal is not just to finish the marathon but to run a fast one, should include at least one weekly workout that builds the stamina (lactate threshold) and speed (VO2 max) necessary for a fast marathon performance. Here…
As the race approaches, marathoners want to know which pace is the right pace – the one that achieves the fastest time possible and avoids the all too common fade in the final few miles. This article discusses the three workouts that I use to gauge the best race pace for the marathoners I coach….
PLUS THE BUILDUP TO THE ULTIMATE WORKOUT After running countless 10Ks and coaching runners who have run countless more, I’ve found one workout to be the absolute best to prepare you for the distance. It’s not an easy workout and you probably can’t do it right away, so you’ll need to build up to it…