5K training for winter
I haven’t talked too much about my training, well, since pretty much the marathon! Not a lot has happened since the Chicago Marathon, but I am back in training mode again. But, this time, NOT for a marathon!
I learned a lot from training for + running Chicago. First of all, and probably most importantly, I fell back in love with the sport of running. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from speedwork and monotonous workouts and just run far. It helped me clear my head and love every second of running long distances again.
But, one big thing [for me at least] that I learned is that I LOVE to run FAST! Don’t get me wrong, 20 mile runs are great, but I would definitely rather run 3 miles as fast as possible, and come out with a little hardware. Selfish? Maybe a little, but I just love the satisfaction I get out of being FAST.
Really, the turn around point was after running the Girls on the Run 5K and telling the Hubs that the overall female winner ran it in 18:06. [Yes, super duper fast…] He thought about it a second, then said, “Wouldn’t you want to run that fast? Wouldn’t you rather run a fast 5K time than a marathon?”
It got me thinking. Sure, I want to qualify for Boston sometime in my life, but I think I would rather focus on getting faster at shorter distances first. Currently, my PR is a 19:58 – a PR I am over the moon about! But, I would love to get down below a 19:30. [OK, so this will probably keep getting lower if I can break it… just like I keep wanting to drop my marathon time.] I don’t know… I guess that just makes me feel like a super-athlete, a dream I never thought I’d be able to achieve. And too bad I figured out I actually had some speed after college, otherwise I’d have run in college!
Anyway, that brings me to my current training. Luckily for me, there is a great race series during the winter to help motivate me. The St. Louis Track Club puts on their annual Frostbite series – there are 2 races about every 2 or 3 weeks on Saturday morning, with distances ranging from [I think] 1 mile to a half marathon. With my current training plan, this will allow me to run at least 2 races, 1 in December + 1 in January, before I start training for the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon.
My plan right now is the run the 3K race on December 11 and the 5K race on January 8, then take a week off completely before half marathon training begins.
Here is the current training plan. I am already 2 weeks in, but better late than never, right?
|
|
MONDAY |
TUESDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
THURSDAY |
FRIDAY |
SATURDAY |
SUNDAY |
|
|
Nov. 15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
|
3M easy |
5x400 |
3M easy |
30 min tempo |
rest |
60 min easy |
4M fast |
|
|
Week |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
|
3M easy |
8x200 |
3M easy |
30 min tempo |
rest |
65 min easy |
4M fast |
|
|
Week |
29 |
30 |
Dec. 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
3M easy |
6x400 |
3M easy |
35 min tempo |
rest |
70 min easy |
5M fast |
|
|
Week |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
3M easy |
9x200 |
3M easy |
35 min tempo |
rest |
3K race |
2M easy |
|
|
Week |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
|
3M easy |
7x400 |
3M easy |
40 min tempo |
rest |
75 min easy |
5M fast |
|
|
Week |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
|
3M easy |
10x200 |
3M easy |
40 min tempo |
rest |
85 min easy |
6M fast |
|
|
Week |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
Jan. 1 |
2 |
|
3M easy |
8x400 |
3M easy |
45 min tempo |
rest |
90 min easy |
6M fast |
|
|
Week |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
3M easy |
6x200 |
30 min tempo |
3M easy |
rest |
5K race |
2M easy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Adapted from Hal Higdon’s Advanced 5K. I swear by his training plans – good mileage buildup + keeps me injury-free. This is what works for me; it may not work for other folks!]
So, there you have it. How I will be spending my afternoons + early Saturday mornings for the next 8 6 weeks!
Are you training for anything during the winter to keep motivated? I would love to hear some race recaps if you have them!