Time on the track is always a bit of a challenge. I recall my track days with fondness, sometimes a bit of trepidation. In college, my training partner, Paul Gyorey and I would do long sessions on Tuesday nights, in the cold and fog in Los Gatos, CA. We could hear the voice of our coach, Dan Durante, noting our splits and having us check out pulse. Workouts like 20 x 400 meters, 6 times a mile, were the regular sessions. They prepared us to race 5000 meters and 10,000 meters on the track.
Final moments before a race, photo by Justin Britton
My favorite workout was run on the baseball diamond. I would run about 200 meters on the outside of the ball field, on the tall grass, in sets of 20. It was my favorite workout during buildup (two sets of 20), and then, later in the season, I would do it as one set of 20. I liked moving fast and the feel of running on the grass.
Enjoy the workout today, take it one repeat at a time. And enjoy the rest in between.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018: warm up, two sets of 4x 400 meters, 4 x 300 meters, 4 x 200 meters, jog half distance, paced at 800m pace, cooldown
Week 12, time to race
Monday: warm up, 40 minute run, 8 x 200 meters, at 800m pace, cooldown
Tuesday: warm up, two sets of 4x 400 meters, 4 x 300 meters, 4 x 200 meters, jog half distance, paced at 800m pace, cooldown
Wednesday: warm up, Easy 55-60 minutes, cooldown, on soft ground, 4 x 150 meter stride outs
Thursday: warm up, two mile run, sprint straights, jog turns, 4 x 800 meters, jog 400 meters in between, at mile pace, cooldown
Friday: warm up, 4 -5 miles easy, 4 times 150 meters stride outs, cooldown
Saturday: warm up, race your primary distance, and run a 4×400 meter, cooldown
Sunday: Relaxed Long run, 70 minutes with friends, at pace you can talk. Long runs are all about the socializing and building endurance.
