prepping your legs for the big race...

[goofeygirl]

What do you do? No matter what race you are doing, I happen to be doing the Dopey.

For me my up and coming preparation...which I began in spring but didn't do in the summer because of the heat...is to do hills. I happen to live near a park with a footpath that has very steep up and down hills. I used this last year to prep for the Goofy and I swear by it. While timewise I didn't finish that full marathon in any record by anyones standards...I did finish it...upright...sore but was not sore that I couldn't do the MK later that same day.

However I want to add more...and the thing we all face is time...you work full time and have other things going on and you have to have time to prep for this. Going outside is best...instead of a treadmill but the days are getting shorter...so even getting up earlier doesn't matter because its dark out. Weekends are when I can get outside to that park. At night I live not too far from a place (though its flat) that is like a party atmosphere at night year round. So I can go there at darktime and walk...

I can do some insanity workouts on a dvd...I just have to manage my time in a way where I can do all of this, and still work and live my life.

 

[cewait]

Hills, hills and oh hills.

Many folks shy away from hills but its a cheap and sound method of balancing the leg. Running for most is a set of controlled falls where we are landing hard on the leg in almost a breaking motion. This creates a well developed set of hip flexors and outer quads. Ever wonder why the IT band (outer length of the thigh) is inflamed in so many people.

Hills work the ham glute complex; balancing the legs. In addition to these muscles, it can also strengthen the VMO (inner quad) a major issue for runner's knee. by strengthening these muscles, the stride also starts to become more of a pull through stride that eliminates the breaking action and lowers injury rate.

I also throw in speed work to create a higher average turnover rate for the stride. I use these a little more limited for runners as it also can create a little higher chance for injury.

Finally, I ask my runners strength train legs. Squats, lunges, deadlifts are a staple. The work should be hard and fatiguing, but one does not necessarily need a heavy weight for success. We work from an unstable stance (ie a bosu ball) and on one leg as we advance.



Folks think this following workout is crazy but the club I was once associated with used it for many different upsale classes. IT's a treadmill workout...

Warm up at 2% incline for 5 minutes.
at 5 min raise to 6% for 2 minutes
at 7 minutes at 7% for 2 min
at 9 minutes at 8% for 2 min
at 11 minutes at 9% for 2 min and
at 13 min at 10% for 2 min.

This (6-10%) is repeated four more times for a total of 5.

The last three elevations should an effort of 8 out of 10 and where you could only say 1-3 syllables per breath. This is done once a week.

 

[DoctorK]

I'm not sure I'd want you as my coach. Which probably means you're an awesome coach.

 

[goofeygirl]

Hills, hills and oh hills.

Many folks shy away from hills but its a cheap and sound method of balancing the leg. Running for most is a set of controlled falls where we are landing hard on the leg in almost a breaking motion. This creates a well developed set of hip flexors and outer quads. Ever wonder why the IT band (outer length of the thigh) is inflamed in so many people.

Hills work the ham glute complex; balancing the legs. In addition to these muscles, it can also strengthen the VMO (inner quad) a major issue for runner's knee. by strengthening these muscles, the stride also starts to become more of a pull through stride that eliminates the breaking action and lowers injury rate.

I also throw in speed work to create a higher average turnover rate for the stride. I use these a little more limited for runners as it also can create a little higher chance for injury.

Finally, I ask my runners strength train legs. Squats, lunges, deadlifts are a staple. The work should be hard and fatiguing, but one does not necessarily need a heavy weight for success. We work from an unstable stance (ie a bosu ball) and on one leg as we advance.



Folks think this following workout is crazy but the club I was once associated with used it for many different upsale classes. IT's a treadmill workout...

Warm up at 2% incline for 5 minutes.
at 5 min raise to 6% for 2 minutes
at 7 minutes at 7% for 2 min
at 9 minutes at 8% for 2 min
at 11 minutes at 9% for 2 min and
at 13 min at 10% for 2 min.

This (6-10%) is repeated four more times for a total of 5.

The last three elevations should an effort of 8 out of 10 and where you could only say 1-3 syllables per breath. This is done once a week.

Is the minuets at the end for jogging/running? Do 13 min at the max and run for 2 minuets?

I need to do treadmill work too because there will be days/nights when I cannot or wont go outside.

 

[cewait]

Is the minuets at the end for jogging/running? Do 13 min at the max and run for 2 minuets?

I need to do treadmill work too because there will be days/nights when I cannot or wont go outside.

Let me do it this way

From Start through 5:00 - run at 2%
5:00 - 7:00 at 6%
7:00 - 9:00 at 7%
9:00 - 11:00 at 8%
11:00 - 13:00 at 9%
13:00 - 15:00 at 10%

One thing I did not mention above is that we warm up at a pace to get you into a 6-7 out of 10 on the effort scale and only able to say 2-4 words per breath. Once at 5:00, we slow up to a pace that we attempt to keep constant through the workout. That is tough. Even the better runners tend to pull back on speed for a minute once they lower back to 6% then resume speed; or possibly a tenth or two slower through the next interval.

I I was able to get it after 4-5 iterations. From there we have tougher ones.

PM me and I can flip a spreadsheet with a little more detail

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I agree with everything that coach said. Hills have helped me more than anything else with my endurance, but are not a replacement for speed work. I alternate weeks, doing hills one week, then speed work the following week. I alternate my hill workouts between short hill repeats and long hill repeats - both on as steep a grade as I can find.

Short hills, for me, are about 200M, which I run up as fast as I can handle without puking, then jog back down and repeat. The number of repeats depends on where I am in my training program.

Long hills, for me, are about 600M-800M. Obvioulsy for longer hills you have to run a bit more slowly, but I still strive to run at my 5k pace throughout the repeats. I jog back down and repeat. Again, the number of repeats depends on where I am in my training program.

But keep in mind that in order to get faster, you have to run faster - so you need to find some speed workouts that work for you. I use them all, but love 800M and 1600M repeats. If you are not pushing yourself until you are near puking when doing speed work, you are not trying.

 

[cewait]

...
But keep in mind that in order to get faster, you have to run faster - so you need to find some speed workouts that work for you. I use them all, but love 800M and 1600M repeats. If you are not pushing yourself until you are near puking when doing speed work, you are not trying.

Most definitely.

We had an ongoing pool when I was associated with a club... the trainer/coach would win if a member was witness spewing after a set.

Hills are speed work in disguise, but if you have a really slow turnover, you will not be fast. I see many runners try to go faster by stretching out the stride. Strength and flexibility (and genetics) will allow a longer stride but it takes a lot of work to stretch it out safely. The fastest way to being faster is bringing the number of foot strikes per minute up. That comes from speed work.

If a newer runner trying this is having a difficult issue increasing turn over, try to shorten the stride up a bit then speed up the turnover. It is NOT something that you can change today; rather, it takes weeks of work.

 

[Figment1990]

I just wanted to say I love this thread. I love to see different run workouts!

So speaking of hills, I have a question. I have a route that I consider my "hilly" route. Each hill is about .15-.20 long (so.... 250-300m-ish) and they flatten out at the top for about 400-800 meters. There are four of them on my route and they get progressively steeper. (I'm running in western PA if that means anything to you you know we have some wicked hills but I would classify these as "medium to easy" if you plug it into map my run). The total route is about 3 miles and I sometimes repeat parts of it just to lengthen out the run. Would you say this is a decent hill workout for a runner just starting to incorporate more hills or do I need to go out and run up and down these hills only? I plan to do a little of both (some just run one of the hills over and over and sometime run the whole route). My goal right now was getting up the hill and continuing to keep running without having to walk, simulating some of the situations I would encounter in local races. I can definitely feel improvement from when I started this several months ago. But I also do speed intervals on a track and long runs for distance race training as well.

 

[cewait]

I just wanted to say I love this thread. I love to see different run workouts!

So speaking of hills, I have a question. I have a route that I consider my "hilly" route. Each hill is about .15-.20 long (so.... 250-300m-ish) and they flatten out at the top for about 400-800 meters. There are four of them on my route and they get progressively steeper. (I'm running in western PA if that means anything to you you know we have some wicked hills but I would classify these as "medium to easy" if you plug it into map my run). The total route is about 3 miles and I sometimes repeat parts of it just to lengthen out the run. Would you say this is a decent hill workout for a runner just starting to incorporate more hills or do I need to go out and run up and down these hills only? I plan to do a little of both (some just run one of the hills over and over and sometime run the whole route). My goal right now was getting up the hill and continuing to keep running without having to walk, simulating some of the situations I would encounter in local races. I can definitely feel improvement from when I started this several months ago. But I also do speed intervals on a track and long runs for distance race training as well.

Sounds like a nice workout. Assuming you run up to the top now... when that starts to get easy, try running the first incline, return to the bottom, then run up two inclines. Run down the second and then run up the second and third.....
Repeating the individual slopes seems to increase the intensity longer as opposed to running all the way up and then heading down to repeat.

 

[goofeygirl]

Let me do it this way

From Start through 5:00 - run at 2%
5:00 - 7:00 at 6%
7:00 - 9:00 at 7%
9:00 - 11:00 at 8%
11:00 - 13:00 at 9%
13:00 - 15:00 at 10%

One thing I did not mention above is that we warm up at a pace to get you into a 6-7 out of 10 on the effort scale and only able to say 2-4 words per breath. Once at 5:00, we slow up to a pace that we attempt to keep constant through the workout. That is tough. Even the better runners tend to pull back on speed for a minute once they lower back to 6% then resume speed; or possibly a tenth or two slower through the next interval.

I I was able to get it after 4-5 iterations. From there we have tougher ones.

PM me and I can flip a spreadsheet with a little more detail

I am going to do that...I think my treadmill goes up to 15% incline which is actually pretty steep. That plan is something I will do...when I cannot go out. Truth is I haven't done much of anything in a week, sinus infection and headaches have gotten me down...I have no clue whats out in the air that is effecting me like this but today I went for a 14mile bike ride on flat paved road and felt like taking a nap! So hopefully I will be up and running soon.

 

[Figment1990]

Sounds like a nice workout. Assuming you run up to the top now... when that starts to get easy, try running the first incline, return to the bottom, then run up two inclines. Run down the second and then run up the second and third.....
Repeating the individual slopes seems to increase the intensity longer as opposed to running all the way up and then heading down to repeat.

Thanks coach! I'm definitely going to try this.

Goofys- I'm not sure what's outside this month either but I've had an awful time with my allergies too. And I have them under control! (Meds, shots, etc). Must be something though because I can't stop sneezing! Thank goodness for my treadmill on those days when people are out mowing their lawns by the dozens....