Week 8: Compilations

This week I'll focus on a broader variety of workouts. My ankles still fractured, so obviously I can't really do these. So, once again, I'll just make some suggestions! For this week I'm going to include three rather difficult workouts. The important thing about these workouts is that they all complement each other really well. If you space them out correctly with low level workouts or long distance runs in the days in between each workout, you get some really nice effects out of them. Given, it will tire you out significantly by the end of the week, but the trainings leading up to this week should really have you prepared for this. By this point, you’re used to exerting yourself to a certain point, so pushing yourself just a little more is challenging, but it’s not the end of the world. If you put in the time and energy to the weeks’ previous workouts, this shouldn’t be too bad. Still, try your hardest!

         Workout 1: This workout calls for eight hill repetitions all between 20-25 seconds long. This doesn’t mean run at any pace you want for 20-25 seconds; instead, find a challenging hill and challenge yourself to make it to the summit within that time range. However, don’t go all out. Run these at an 85% race pace. Sprinting up a hill times eight times does nothing except tire you out too soon and you won’t get anything out of the workout. I personally think eight hill repeitions aren’t enough. So, if you’re feeling ambitious or not too tired out after eight, aim for ten to twelve total.

         Workout 2: The next workout of the week is a series of three to four 600s. Here’s how to do these: run 50 seconds at an all out sprint. This 50 is supposed to be hard, so run it hard. The second 50 seconds should be more of a cruise pace. This shouldn’t be at race pace, but it shouldn’t be comfortable either. And finally, the last 50 seconds should be done at a jog. This isn’t a free pass to run wicked slow; it’s a recovery pace! Don’t ruin your workout by practically walking for 50 seconds!

         Workout 3: The last challenging workout of the week is made up of eight 200s. These should generally be run at around 36 seconds if you’re in the right condition. This means that your 200 should take around 36 seconds to complete, but a little over is fine and a little under is also perfectly fine. The important thing is to aim for 36 seconds because it will pace you correctly for the rest of the workout. So, eight repetitions of 200s at 36 seconds each, with 40 seconds of rest between each one. These can be walked or jogged, preferably a little bit of both is best.