Warm-Ups: Warm up with an easy two to three miles followed by stretching and then 6 x 100-meter or 4 x 200-meter strides at your 3K goal pace for the workout (with equal recovery jogs of 100 to 200 meters, respectively). For example, if your current 3K race time is 9:00—or about 1:12 per 400 meters—this would convert to 36 seconds per 200 meters, or 18 seconds per 100 meters for your get-ready strides.

Cool-Downs: You may walk to fully recover after your last repeat is completed, and/or then jog for about 10 to 15 minutes, followed by thorough stretching.

Special Cutdowns: Certain training schedules include what we call “stamina cutdowns,” which might, for example, include 5 x 1-mile reps with the first 2 x 1-mile reps at your lactate-threshold pace, the next 1-mile rep at 10K pace, a mile at 5K race pace, and 2 x 800 meters at 3K pace—all with slow 400-meter recovery jogs. As we’ve said before, this also trains the body and mind to be able to hold an increasingly challenging pace or to actually increase the pace in the later stages of a race. In addition, this adds variety and has the benefit of working several training paces and having multiple training effects.

Caveats: Not going faster than the prescribed pace and effort guidelines is the key for all workouts not only for reaping the optimal benefit from these particular workouts but also for keeping the entire stress of the overall training schedule in optimal balance.

SUMMARY

It will be worth your time to familiarize yourself with the training types that apply to your training level. Find a target half-marathon race and set a realistic goal.

In part 2, in the next issue, I will present complete 13-week schedules for all five training levels.

all additional materials. I will also answer the most commonly asked questions about this program. i

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You Can Track Progress and Adjust Future Workouts by Going Statistical.

ow many miles did you run last year? How many days did you miss? How

many long runs did you tack on over the course of the year? If you’re not quite sure, you should definitely read on. As most sports enthusiasts will tell you, keeping track of the related statistics is an integral part of the game. The wonder of professional baseball is that the batting averages, home runs, and RBIs of today’s players can be compared with the Triple Crown feats of yesteryear. Basketball pundits like to record “triple-double” performances of players who obtain 10 or more rebounds, points, and assists in a single game. And when it comes to football, computing a quarterback’s passing rating is a pure statistical delight. The tracking of such averages, numbers, and ratings adds flavor, nuance, and depth to sports, which provides an entirely different dimension and perspective. In a similar vein, there is plenty of pertinent statistical data to enliven the experience of runners as well. Indeed, some runners keep such careful track of their daily runs that their statistical compilations are more impressive than their race results.

Recording daily runs and charting weekly and yearly progress are not only worthwhile activities but also fun. More important, doing so can reduce and even prevent injuries. Take a look at the Lifetime Running Profile (see figure | on page 126) of a fellow runner we’ll call John Doe. As you can see, John has been diligently tracking his daily runs since 1985. His profile, a single page in length, speaks volumes. Doe has run 42 marathons, the first in 1979. His best marathons were in 1995, when he ran for over two hours on 72 occasions, and in 1997, when he ran for at least 10 minutes every day of the year, averaging 10 miles per day. Doe’s profile also shows that, except for 1989, he has surpassed 40 miles per week every year for the last 19 years.

AN AID TO INJURY-FREE RUNNING

John Doe’s consistent training, enabled by his meticulous tracking of running mileage, has allowed him to remain—for the most part—injury free, one of the

Figure 1 John Doe: Lifetime Running Profile 1985 to 2003

Total Miles Run in 19 years = 51,986 Miles Yearly Mileage

2,402 3,014 2,321 2,237 1,789 2,025 2,369 2,145 2,205 2,795 3,426 2,233 3,624 3,022 2,982 3,201 3,259 3,500 3,387

60 —|

Avg. Wkily Miles 50 H y

30 Days Missed

1 ONL 7 aeN

S © J © DB HD A M & ok © © SG D2 OA WM PPE FI FP EP FP PI FPP EP ES PP HP GS Hh 8

19 Years of Running Statistics

Percentage of days run: 96.7% Average daily mileage: 7 miles Avg. days missed per year: 12 days Average weekly mileage: 52 miles Avg. minutes run per day: 53 minutes Average yearly mileage: 2,733 miles

primary goals of all runners. For this reason alone, a running profile is worth its weight in gold. Most seasoned runners agree that methodical training, with only gradual increases in speed and distance, is the number one way to prevent and/or reduce injuries. Runners who know how many miles they average per week are much less likely to incur a serious injury than those who have no idea.

Runners who unknowingly double their mileage, say from 20 to 40 miles per week, are likely to get hurt. By recording each and every run and then compating the results at the end of the week with the previous week’s daily training, runners become keenly aware of their level of fitness and are much less likely to inadvertently overtrain. Moreover, since no one likes to see a bunch of zeroes where miles should be recorded, average runners who track performance are more likely to train in conformance with their general plan.

A running profile can depict a life’s worth of running data, yet it’s easy to capture its information via two related documents: a Weekly Running Diary and a Yearly Running Mileage chart. If you were to start one yourself, the only equipment you would require are a runner’s watch (any watch with a stopwatch feature will do) and a runner’s diary (or a weekly calendar).

You would use the watch to capture the amount of time spent running per day. Hint: it is much easier to use a measurement of time to estimate distance than it is to measure the exact distance, especially if your training venues vary. To convert time to distance, a good rule of thumb is to assume that your training pace is about two minutes slower per mile than your 10K racing pace. For example, if you race five miles in 30 minutes, this would equate to a six-minute-mile pace; therefore, your estimated training pace would be eight minutes per mile. At the end of the week, add up the total number of minutes run and divide by your training pace per mile. This will give you a quick way to estimate your weekly miles (see figure 2). Use the runner’s diary to also record your race results and distances, interesting running locations, long runs, interval workouts, and any other special circumstances. Make sure you put down a big fat zero for those days when you

Figure 2 John Doe: Weekly Running Diary

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30 ming 120 ming 60 ming Interval Workout, 8 ea. 400 metery 75/76/74/76/75/75/76 secondy 56 Total Miley

60+60+60+60+60+30+120 = 450 minutes 450/8 minutes per mile = 56.25 miles

did not run. As a steady runner, you’ll be motivated to avoid having too many of those goose eggs in your running log.

FEED THE YEARLY MILEAGE CHART ON A REGULAR BASIS

Every five weeks or so, transfer your weekly data onto the Yearly Mileage Chart, incorporating an Excel spreadsheet and an Excel graph—or use plain graph paper (see figure 3). Set the Y-axis to range from zero miles to the highest weekly mileage you anticipate for the year. The X-axis would indicate the 52 weeks in a year. Then, simply plot your weekly mileage onto the Y-axis. As figure 3 shows, Mr. Doe never exceeded 90 miles in any week during 2003, but he also never dipped below 40 miles except for the last week of the year, which had only three days. Use footnotes to capture yearly mileage, days missed, long runs, miles per day, marathon performances, or whatever related information you find interesting. After a few years, you’ ll have enough information and Yearly Mileage Charts to design your own Lifetime Running Profile, which you could tailor to track information you feel is important. Examples might include 5K, 10K, and halfFigure 3 John Doe: Yearly Mileage Chart 2003

13° 5 7 9 11 1315 1719 2123 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 Weeks Yearly mileage 3,387 miles Shamrock Marathon 2:59:24 No. of days missed 0 Charlottsville 3:10:14 Runs over 2 hours 58 Chesapeake Bay Bdg. 3:09:04 Miles per day 9.28 Richmond Marathon 2:56:12

marathon race performances; personal records; different cities visited and trained in; number of interval workouts; and number of runs exceeding an hour.

You’ll enjoy reviewing the results of your effort; Mr. Doe sure does. His profile is framed and hangs prominently in his home. He is just as pleased that he records his daily mileage as he is that he runs his daily mileage; as such, he readily tolerates the remarks of those uninitiated nonrunners who think that runners are crazy to begin with and that runners like him, who keep careful statistics of their runs, are even loonier. Over the years, Mr. Doe has come to particularly enjoy explaining every intricacy of his profile to those he has trapped while glancing at it. When they imply that John has a psychological need that mandates that he run every single, swinging day, John will study his chart and respond by saying that he doesn’t run every day. Although he has run every day so far this year and every day in 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001, he did miss seven days four years ago, the last day occurring on November 17, 2000, the day before the Richmond Marathon.

THE LUNAR CONNECTION

And if the nonrunner responds by posing the question, “What are you trying to do, run around the world or something?” then John will casually reply by saying that he already accomplished this on March 15, 1996, when he surpassed 24,902 miles (the circumference of the earth at the equator) or a month earlier from a longitudinal perspective when he surpassed 24,819 miles (the circumference of the earth around the polar regions). He will explain in a matter-of-fact manner, only half jokingly, that now he is trying to run the comparable distance to the moon. After all, he will say, he already has 51,986 miles logged in, and since the moon at its perigee distance (when it’s closest to the earth) is about 221,615 miles away, he needs only 169,629 miles more to reach it, in a figurative sense. Therefore, if he maintains his current average, yearly distance of 2,733 miles, he will reach the moon (from the perspective of distance) in 62 more years.

Although Mr. Doe’s running data go back as far as 1985, he really wishes he had started recording his daily mileage in 1976, when he first started long-distance running. Still, it is better to be late than never to start. Why not start maintaining your own Weekly Running Diary, Yearly Mileage Chart, and Lifetime Running Profile today? In conjunction with your running, it will help you stay both healthy and focused while serving as a conversation piece as it decorates your wall. Without a doubt, if you keep running, it will look great in five, then 10, and then 20 years. And if you happen to be one who is blessed with magic moon dust, it will look spectacular 62 years from now. a