The week of New Years is not necessarily a week that we need to be crushing our workouts, however I do think that it’s nice to start the year with some training momentum towards the new season–while also having some fun! So here is a suggested outline for the distance runners for the week from December 30 to January 5:
- Assuming that you have been running relatively consistently since XC season ended, let’s try to get your weekly mileage back to your base level from last season +10% (first year girls ~33 miles, first year boys ~38 miles, up to fourth year girls ~48 miles and fourth year boys ~ 43 miles. Don’t jump all the way to the higher miles if you have not been running close to that in December, finals and all).
- Schedule one long run this week that is 20-25% of your target weekly mileage (first year runners, if you really want to run REI, that’s fine you can go for it even if that is more than 25% of your week!). Long runs are important in developing your general endurance. The rest of your runs should vary in length and challenge level–mix in Stelling, Phar Lap, Will’s Run, Up and Over, Matador’s Point, Horse, etc. Include some hills for sure.
- Let’s start reminding our legs that we want them to run faster! Towards the end of three runs this week, finish with six to eight x 80-100m strides. Make these strides fairly hard, and give yourself a full recovery in between each one. I like to run these on the track, striding the straights and taking a real shag on the curves; but you can also do this on the road as you wrap up your run, striding between telephone poles and jogging to the next one.
- Set aside time for at least four nice core sessions (maybe at home when it is warm and with some music on! Invite friends over, do your core sessions together, then play a little Mario Kart. Hey, it’s vacation time, right?!?!?!?).
- Bonus One: Cross train! Water run, bicycle, go for a hike. If you are a member of the Y, drop in on a stationary bike class or two with the old people (you can make those sessions really hard!) and bring a teammate with you. Do something different!
- Bonus Two: Team build! Maybe organize a group to go to the movies (Star Wars because we should all see that, or Little Women because this is a great adaptation of a classic book). Invite friends over for a game night or just to chit-chat and eat and watch Netflix. Do something nice with your friends and teammates. Combine sprinters and distance runners and throwers and jumpers. Why not?
- Bonus Three: Plan a group run to someplace we don’t usually run. Even Rancho can be a nice change if you can. There are nice runs in Los Gatos, Almaden, up the Peninsula at Sawyers Camp, over the coast towards Santa Cruz. If you want an idea, write to Coach and ask–I’ll send a suggestion and a map if you have an area you’d like to try. Maybe plan a breakfast run???
- Bonus Four: So you are traveling somewhere with your family? You can still run! I love running in someplace new, it’s a great way to explore a new place. Send Coach Flatow a photo of you running someplace different and I’ll post it!
Coach John will have ideas for the sprinters/hurdlers/jumpers, and Vibha and Emma Seyer have workouts for the throwers. Let’s start the New Year with some momentum–a little work now will make the first month of the season feel so much better!
Don’t hesitate to email if you want specific suggestions…
Have a wonderful New Years’ holiday, everyone! I miss you all–and the first day of track will be coming before we know it!
Best wishes for the New Year–Coach
