Each participant will be interviewed via questionnaire and I will conduct an individual running form and fitness assessment to help determine experience, ability and the specific training level you are ready for. No one will be asked to “run over his or her heads.”
Your actual training plan, running frequency and specific workouts, mileage levels and pace ranges will be designated according to your ability and goals. All runners will learn proper warm-up, stretching, rest and recovery techniques.
Workouts Include:
Surges: A special type of interval workout, incorporating smooth and gradual accelerations of 40-80 seconds. This is a great workout to lay a sound basis of good running form and technique with the intent of improving speed. Another variation is “Classic Fartlek,” a loosely structured “speed-play” workout with variable intensities run over variable distances of your own liking.
Long Tempo Run: A high-mileage workout (designated for your level) involving progressive pacing and targeting improved speed, leg strength, muscle resiliency and endurance for races 10K & up. Learn how to start easy while remaining relaxed & eventually touching and holding your ideal training pace for as many miles as you can sustain with good form. You build your mileage steadily week by week.
Hilly Trails: A mid-mileage trail workout for leg strength, proprioception and responsiveness to terrain changes. We take this run up to high altitude gradually and select more technical climbs and descents as the season progresses. Another Hill Session we use is “Hill Zig-Zags,” a continuous workout containing short (300m) and long (1000m) hill repeats.
Short Invigorators: A 3-5 miler intended to be a short fun and refreshing run to tone the body and mind. (Sebastian Coe, the great British middle distance runner referred to these runs as “a therapeutic”).
Track and/or Road Intervals: Speed work, supervised, with an emphasis on relaxed form at prescribed paces. These workouts promote greater ease with higher intensity running and provide the opportunity to practice reaching top speeds while remaining within your self. If you want to have fun and get faster, this is for you!
Special Speed: 2-6 miles run at your “threshold” to promote a faster sustainable pace. A great way to stretch out before your long run, it’ll help you with pace judgment, conditioning and give you the confidence necessary to do your best racing 5K & 10K’s as well as many of the longer distances.
The Long Run: “The Big One”, run on both roads & trails combined, is a central part of any sound training program, providing a solid foundation for all of your other workouts. It helps improve your structural strength, aerobic conditioning and mental focus over the long haul, to practice honing down your best running form. See the Blog on “Downhill Leg Tougheners” for a special workout for trail and road runners alike.
Remember "Patience is the Mother of Will." Aim High, then take a Step-by-Step Approach
Context:
These are the basics. I have found that the body thrives on rhythm and routine. The great Rob De Castella of Australia, who, at one time held the world record in the marathon, was said to have run the same workouts, week in and week out, for his entire career.
To coin a phrase used by the extraordinarily wise basketball coach, John Wooden, “Don’t mistake activity for productivity.” The knowledge transfers nicely. In this instance I might say, “Don’t mistake complexity for productivity.” The lesson here is “keep it simple”. Master every step before you jump to the next one.
Further discussion of the benefits and challenges of any given workout will be contained in my blog on a periodic basis, including refinements that build on the workouts above at the more advanced stages of a runner’s development.
At age 55, Art Ives is an accomplished master’s runner in his own right who has successfully coached or competed at every running distance from 100 meters to 100 miles. The way he works with clients is comprehensive and creates lasting positive changes in their biomechanics, physical capability and mental attitude. His approach to running combined with his love for under taking great physical challenges helps you take a giant step toward achieving the results you really want and connects you with other people who share a love for both nature and sport.
