Choosing Workouts For Your Five-Pace Training Program

Reading time: 7 min

In the post on Five-Pace Training, you learned how to construct a program based on your goal race distance. In sum, over a two-week or three-week cycle, you complete 5 (or 6) workouts, two at paces slower than race pace, two at faster than race pace and one at race pace. All other runs in the program are Base runs of different distances to achieve your target mileage. But what about choosing workouts to include in the program?

The post did not outline how to determine which workouts to include and at what intensity level the training should be. I’m going to tackle choosing workouts in this post. Workout selection is both an art and a science and deserves your attention.

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5km Pace Workouts

Reading time: 3 min

This post outlines progressions for three different styles of 5km pace workouts: Work-Rest training, Over-Unders and 5km Progression Runs.

The workout list below is NOT a training program. Check out the post on Five-Pace Training to learn how to integrate these 5km pace workouts into a complete program. The Five-Pace Training model includes workouts at paces anchored to standard race distances spread over two- or three-week training cycles. The post on Choosing Workouts will also be helpful when selecting your training sessions.

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Rule #0: Don’t F*ck Yourself Up

Reading time: 3 min

Rule #0 is the rule that goes without saying. Everyone already knows this right? Not so. The rule must be said loud and clear in a way that you’ll remember. So I repeat again: Don’t F*ck Yourself Up

How does this Rule work?

Simple. If Rule #0 ever pop into your mind during training, stop what you are doing. This is not easy to do! Especially in the heat of the moment.

But eventually, your future self will appreciate your caution. Unfortunately, your current self will NOT thank you – it may be upset or flat-out pissed off.

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What I Learned from High Hamstring Tendinopathy

Reading time: 6 min

One of the great things about being a coach and an athlete is that when you get injured as an athlete, you improve as a coach. Experiencing first hand what an athlete is going through is extremely valuable – especially when helping an athlete rehab. Over the years, for whatever reason, I tend to work with a lot of runners and cyclist coming back from injury. So anytime I have injury symptoms, I get excited.

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1500m/Mile Pace Workouts

Reading time: 3 min

This post outlines progressions for two different types of 1500m/Mile pace workouts: Long Recoveries and Short Recoveries. Plus three 1500m/Mile Race Prediction workouts are included at the end.

The workout list below is NOT a training program. Check out the post on Five-Pace Training to learn how to integrate these 1500m/Mile pace workouts into a complete program. The Five-Pace Training model includes workouts at paces anchored to standard race distances spread over two- or three-week training cycles. The post on Choosing Workouts will also be helpful when selecting your training sessions.

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Battle of the Greats

Reading time: 2 min

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a current world-class runner era went head to head with one of the all-time great runners from a by-gone era?

  • Sebastien Coe vs David Rudisha in the 800m
  • Hicham El Guerrouj vs Timothy Cheruiyot in the 1500m
  • Kenenisa Bekele vs Selemon Barega in the 5000m or 10000m
  • Zersenay Tadese vs Abraham Kiptum in the Half-Marathon
  • Haile Gebrselassie vs Eliud Kipchoge in the Marathon

Better yet, imagine that the greatest ever 1500/Miler, 5000/10000m runner, Half-Marathon and Marathoner were all in the same race!

Oh, wait.. that race happened!

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Magill Speed Runner Program

Reading time: 5 min

When I go to the book store with my wife and daughter, I swing by the endurance sports section. I peruse through the titles to see if anything new and exciting I didn’t know about is available. Last summer (July 2018), I noticed a book called Speed Runner by Pete Magill. The subtitle was “4 weeks to your fastest leg speed in any sport.” I cringed. Terms like “4 weeks” and “fastest leg speed” upset me. They wreak of the current “hack” culture out there on the internet. I almost didn’t by this book.

Luckily, I had heard the name of the author before, Pete Magill. I knew he was the real deal. Magill is a national championship coach and accomplished masters runner with multiple American and age-group records. I started flipping through.

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Natural Running Video

Reading time: 7 min

Back in the Summer of 2015, I was fortunate enough to be a presenter at a workshop on Natural Movement. The workshop started with all attendees flat on their back learning about rolling. Then it moved onto various types of crawling, ways to get up, walking and finally running. I did the piece on running.

Here is a video Introduction to Natural Running that I made as part of the workshop. Those that signed in advance received the video before the day of the seminar. I wanted participants to have a feel for the content of the running section. So I used clips that a friend kindly videoed for me.

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Transition Program

Reading time: 8 min

In the Running Base Building Program that I presented, the focus was on Base Runs and Fast but Not Hard drills. This combination develops general endurance, general speed and running skills while allowing time for your tissues to adapt to the demands of running.

From a Base Program, I don’t suggest you jump right into hard training. It is best to use a Transition Program for a few weeks to a few months. The Transition Program nudges your body toward more the demanding training that will come later.

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A Mindful Coach

Reading time: 3 min

If you ask me, a coach must be sincerely thankful for having the opportunity to coach his or her athletes. When a coach believes that an athlete is lucky to have him or her a coach, things are not going to go well. Training and improvement are NOT about the coach or even the program. The coach’s role is to create an environment of excellence in which athletes maximizes their learning experiences: physical, mental, tactical, and psychological.

The foundational Coach Mindset is a deep feeling of gratitude for all the athletes in the program. The “good” ones and the “bad” ones. The “teacher’s pets” and the “difficult athletes.” All of them, equally. And a Mindful Coach approaches all of his duties with this mindset.

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