Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Less than 3 weeks to the US Outdoor Champs: Last week's training

The US Outdoor Track and Field Championships are approaching quickly with less than 3 weeks to go, and the higher intensity track workouts are coming around just in time. Last week started off light with a 4-mile tempo on the track with some 200 meter repeats, and this was followed up by 11k of work on Saturday. The weather has been unusually warm the last few days in Portland, so Saturday was a grinder. The goal heading into the workout was 64-65 seconds per quarter on the 1k repeats, followed by 67 seconds on the 2km repeats, and I was able to hit the low end of this range for all of them in spite of the heat. This was the confidence booster I needed before sharpening up and tapering the volume over the next two weeks.

Before heading to Eugene for the US Champs, I'll be knocking off the rest of the rust at the Portland Track Festival over 1500 meters on Sunday evening. This distance is below my range, but I have consistently run around 3:42 here in years past. I'm hoping for a small PR this year, but in the end the goal is to simply get a hard, anaerobic effort 11-12 days out of the 10km that I'll be competing in at the Championships. I will be following the 1500 by pacing part of the 5,000 meters the same night in order to turn the day into a high quality workout. The Portland Track Festival has been getting deeper every year, and this year is no exception. Fans, including myself, will be treated to some of the nation's best athletes from 800 meters up to the 10,000. For those in the area, be sure to head out to Lewis and Clark on Saturday and Sunday for all the action.

I can't put out a blog this week and completely ignore the obvious news making headlines. Last week the BBC and  ProPublica released articles and a documentary with doping allegations directed at the Nike Oregon Project. Several athletes and associates with a great deal to lose, especially Steve Magness and the Gouchers, courageously spoke out against actions that they believe crossed the line in terms of legality and the spirit of the sport. While it may be too soon to jump to firm conclusions, the testimony is more than troubling. It has been a sad week for track and field. As an athlete who has been competing against Galen Rupp since high school in 2000, I, like many others, am awaiting further investigation by USADA and any other authorities that may be involved. Regardless of the outcome, I hope the credibility of the sport has not been tarnished beyond repair.

Thanks again for reading. Feel free to check out last week's training below, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 27 AM PM Strength/Drills Mileage
Monday 11 + drills and strides 40 minutes 11.5
Tuesday 5 4 mi tempo @ 18:45, 6 x 200 @ 28-29 17
Wednesday 11 5 1 hour 16
Thursday 11 5 16
Friday 11 + drills and strides 5 16
Saturday Off (1k, 1k, 2k)(1k, 1k, 2k)(1k, 2k) - (2:42, 2:41, 5:34)(2:40, 2:40, 5:34)(2:39, 5:33), rest = 2 min after 1k, 3 min after 2k 14
Sunday 16.5 off 1 hour 16.5
TOTAL 107

2 comments:

  1. Hey! What pace are your easy runs regularly at? And how do you determine that?

    ReplyDelete
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    JIIMMY

    ReplyDelete