Race Specific Training

**Here's a nice little two week program that I just made for a 16 year old high school boy who's on the CC team. He wants to be faster and have more power...sure, why not? I added a lot of Plyo work...which I'm a fan of (you should try it!). Look it over for new most excellent ideas.


If you’re training for a 5k there’s no need to run much more than 6-8 miles in a long workout. MAYBE you can throw in an occasional 10 miler just for fun MAYBE every other week MAX. If you want to be powerful and fast, you have to train that way…which means running fast and power drills.

When training for a 5k, strength training should be used more as a means of injury prevention than as a method of building bigger muscles. You’re muscles will of course become stronger as a result of strength training, but heavy lifting is not the goal. Strength training in the form weights and isometric work should take place 6 out of 7 days a week.

Weights
All exercises will be preformed in a two count and without rest. Athlete will perform the entire list of exercises in order from top to bottom in reps of 10-12, and repeat it 3 times total.


Running and Strength Training Workouts for 2 weeks

6 day guide that should be completed in order of Medium, Hard, Easy, Hard, Medium, Easy, Rest.


Medium

Week 1

1. Run: Must be done on the road or track. Put one minute on your watch alarm. Find a starting point and count each time your right foot (or left) strikes the ground going an easy pace until your watch goes off. Mark where you end. Jog back to start. Add 3-5 foot strikes in the marked distance...this means you have to speed up your turn over but NOT increase your distance. I usually start at around 95 strikes. Continue to increase your turn over about 4 times, until you're going pretty much all out...I'm usually at around 105 strikes. Then repeat this 2-3 times. As I said, you're increasing turn over, NOT distance. By the time you're going all out, you're pretty much running high knees and not moving much distance wise...just trying to get that turn over in. THIS WORKOUT ROCKS and has taken minutes off my time!!!!!
Strength: weights- Bench press, One-arm/one-leg dumbbell row (stand on one leg, other leg raised behind, hips squared to ground, grasp stable surface in front of you with one hand, row with the other), Dumbbell front squat-to-press (squat with dumbbells at shoulders, press overhead when standing up), One legged lunge (put back foot on box or bench), Leg curl, Dumbbell pullover extension (lie supine on bench, dumbbells held with straight arms over chest, bend at elbows and bring dumbbells to eyes and then extend behind head/elbows at ears), Romanian deadlift, Pullups.


2. Run: Start with 2 mile warm-up. 10 minute tempo run 30 seconds slower per mile than 5k goal pace. 1 mile easy and another 10 minute tempo run. Cool down.
Strength: Plyos- Base side-to-side (start in triple threat, feet outside hips, keep feet apart and jump 4 inches to the right, then 4 inches to the left, do as rapidly as possible…as soon as you hit the ground, you should be springing back to the other side…not about height, it’s about quickness), One leg over the line (jump over the “line” and back on one foot as quickly as possible), Split jump (step into lunge position and sit back until your back knee nearly touches the ground, hold for 2 seconds, then explode up, using your hips and legs and throwing your arms up at the same time-extend front leg and land back in lunge position or try alternating feet in the air), Squat jump (squat down and jump up, extend to a straight line and land in triple threat), Get up (assume and hold a pushup position, with feet together, explode forward into a sprint for 10 yards), Side-to-side-jump-to-sprint (jump side to side over 6” high object 10 times then explode into a sprint for 10 yards), Plyo pushup (regular pushup stance, push up hard enough to lift hands off ground, clap while in the air if you can).


Week 2

1. Run: 2 miles normal pace. 4x1:00 faster running (not a sprint) with recovery time until you’re ready to do another. 2 miles normal pace to finish.
Strength: weights- same as week 1 workout 1


2. Run: Hills (if you can find any). Jog 2 miles to warms up. Sprint up 20-30 second hill x 8. Jog 2 miles cool down
Strength: Plyos-same as week 1 workout 2



Hard

Week 1

1. Run: 8 x 200 meters. Run each 200 at a fast clip and rest 2 minutes between each...I recommend slowly jogging to keep your muscles from becoming sore during this time. You’ll probably be around 32 seconds starting out. Just feel out your first one and find the pace that will allow you to work hard, but still be able to finish the workout. To progress the workout, every two weeks take a couple of seconds off your time and run one less 200 until you're running just 3 x 200 AFAP (as fast as possible).
Strength: weights- Pec fly, Lat pull down, Leg extension, adduct/abduct with bungee walk, plank (straight body resting on forearms and toes, raise one arm in front, opposite, raise one leg, then the opposite, raise diagonal arm and leg, then the opposite).

2. Run: Do between 3-5 miles one mile at a time running at your goal pace with an 800 jog in between. If your goal is to run a 5 minute mile, run one mile at 5 minutes and rest for the 800 jog, then run another at 5 minutes and rest...and so on for 3-5 miles.
Strength: Cable work- Cable one-arm rotational row (start in triple threat, reach across body with right hand to grab the handle, turning hips and shoulders to machine, rotate right shoulder back and pull handle to right hip…do all reps, then complete on opposite side), Ax-chop (Standing, pull cable from one side overhead to opposite side knee in squat), Cable lift (start in squat and lift cable to opposite side as you stand, arms extending in air), Cable pull (pull cable across body with arms straight in front-engage core muscles).


Week 2

1. Run: 800 meters (that's .50 on a treadmill)x 6 or 8. Use your goal race time as a guide. If you want to run a 5k in 30 minutes divide that number by 3 which gives you your minutes per mile, in this case 10 minutes. Divide that number in half, 5 minutes. Run each 800 at this 5 minutes pace. This isn't extremely hard, but will push you a bit and help with recognizing your pace. Rest for a 400 meter jog in between and repeat 6-8 times.
Strength: same as week 1 workout 1

2. Run: All work will be done as pace intervals or your 5k goal pace. Jog half the distance run between each as recovery.
Start with a warm up. 1x400 meters. Jog. 1x800m. Jog. 1x1200m. Jog. 1x800m. Jog. 1x400m. Jog.
Strength: same as week 1 workout 2


Easy

Week 1

1. Run: Mileage
Strength: 30 minute minimum yoga

2. Run: Cross-train (bike, swim, jump rope, tennis, have fun!)
Strength: 30 minute minimum yoga

Week 2

SAME