Got the Plan!

Taken by Andy Chen of Indigo Photography

In this picture above, I'm contemplating what my new training plan looks like!  With just under five months until the Trials, my coach Mark Hadley already has put a lot of thought into my plan leading up to January, 14 2011.  I received it today and I felt like a little kid on Christmas.  The focus for this training cycle will be to boost both my lactate and aerobic thresholds so that I can enter the race feeling strong and fit.

What does that mean exactly?

Well, one example is that I want to be able to run more repeats but with shorter rest than I had last year.  For instance, let's say that in 2010 before Twin Cities I ran 6x1000m at 3:25 with 2:30 rest.  This year I want to be able to run 8x1000m at 3:25 with 2:00 rest.

There were two new additions to my training plan this time around that added a lot of value.  Given my work schedule and travel to visit family and friends, Mark has prioritized my three workouts in order of importance.  That way if a workout needs to be tweaked or dropped because of a travel mishap or tired legs, I'll know which workout I should really focus on that week.

The other enhancement Mark made to my plan was to include a new type of work out.  It seems like the 3x3 mile workout is out and that the "wave" work out is in.  I'll be doing two types of wave work outs - a 5 mile and a 9-10 mile.  In the 5 mile wave, I'll alternate paces every 800 meters with a faster pace and a slower pace.  During the 9 mile wave, I'll alternate paces every mile between 615 and then 545.  These two workouts sound like they will really help me increase my focus throughout the entire workout instead of just a boring 9 mile tempo.

When it gets within 10 weeks of the Trials, I'll be doing lots of mile repeats, tempos, and long runs.  I'm excited to put in lots of miles with my friends over the next coming months as the training plan unfolds and the journey continues.