5K: RACE THE BASICS: This 10-week program has you honing speed in a variety of ways, from speedy strides to sustained tempo runs to six Thursday track workouts. The long runs top out at about eight, ensuring you ll have more than enough in your tank to keep the accelerator pushed down for the entire 3.1-mile race. THE PREREQS: Your idea of a comfortable long run is five, and you have an established base of 15 (or more) per week. A prior 5K and at least a familiarity with the burn of speedwork is a bonus, but not a prerequisite. BIGGEST WEEK OF TRAINING: 23-27.5 LONGEST LONG RUN DISTANCES: One 7 miler, one 7-8 miler. STRENGTH TRAINING: When you re on a training plan, we realize your time is super precious. But we also know that getting injured sucks royally and that a few minutes of strength training will make a huge difference in helping your body go the distance. In this plan, we re introducing two ways to sneak in more strength training: a fun circuit run once a week and SSSC s: Super Short Strength Circuits, which we ll demonstrate on video. By Super Short, we mean < 5 minutes for the whole circuit; we ll ask you to do SSSC s three times weekly. QUICK NOTE ON TOTAL WEEKLY MILEAGE: They re estimates. Each circuit run is calculated at 3.5, and. No big deal if you don t cover or go farther than 3.5 during the circuit runs. Translation: if the week reads 18-23, and at the end of your long run, your week s total is at 17.4, please do not go an extra.6 to get to 18. [Training plan is designed by Christine Hinton, a Maryland-based running coach; SSSCs are designed by Mary-Katherine Fleming, a Denver-based running coach, and Alex Lanton, a Denver-based physical therapist.]
TRAIN LIKE A MOTHER KEY = Bail if necessary. LR = Long Run TWM = Total Weekly Mileage = Gotta get it done. RP = Race Pace WU = Warm-up CD = Cooldown SSSC = Super Short Strength Circuit = Crosstrain E = Easy Effort T = Tempo 200:.5 lap of track or.12 mile 400: 1 lap of track or.25 mile 1000: 2.5 laps of track or.62 mile WEEK MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY TWM 1 E: 4 1 4 6 7 E: 3 LR: 5 9 Rest 10 16.5- Circuit Run 1 5 19.5 4 strides 2 4 x 400 at Super Short Strength 8 Circuit 1 () 3 2 E: 4 3 Fun Workout 13 T: 2 x 1 mile, w/.5 mile 11 Circuit Run 3 14 Circuit Run 2 12 E: 3 E: 6 x 400 at E: 3 LR: 5 Rest 17.5-20.5 LR: 6 Rest 17.5 4 E: 4 T: 2 ; Circuit Run 1 E: 3 LR: 6 Rest 17.5-20.5
5 E: 5 6 strides Circuit Run 2 E: 3 x 1000 at E: 3-4 LR: 7 Rest 20.25-24.75 WEEK MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY TWM 6 E: 5 Circuit Run 3 LR: 7 Rest 21.5 Fun Workout T: 3 x 1 mile, w/.25 mile 7 E: 5 8 E: 4 9 E: 3 SSSC 5 10 E: 3 T: 3 ; T: 2 x 2 w/.5-mile Circuit Run 3 2 x 400 at goal 5K RP SSSC 5 : Light intensity, no more than 30 minutes 4 x 400 at 4 x 400 at goal RP, all 2 x 1000 at 2 x 1000 at goal RP, all 8-10 x 400 at goal 5K RP E: 3 4 strides Circuit Run 1 Circuit Run 2 E: 3 SSSC 5 E: 2-3 ; or rest LR: 7-8 Rest 23-27.5 LR: 6 Rest 22-26 LR: 5 Rest 17-21.5 11.1-15.1 5K! 15 BAMR! 16
5K: RACE the part where we explain the footnotes 1 What it says: E: 4 What you do: Run four at an easy-peasy pace. 2 What it says: 4 strides What you do: Find a flat stretch of road and run for roughly 100 meters or 30 seconds. Don t sprinting all out; instead, accelerate through the stride, so you start slower and end at a quick pace. Think about quick feet and good posture. Recover as needed, then repeat three more times. 3 What it says: Super Short Strength Circuit 1 () What you do: A four-ish minute video that can be found under Strength Training Videos in the Train Like a Mother Club. We will also have captions for you if you want to print them out. There are four moves; you do each one for one minute, concentrating on form, not the number of reps you do. Transition quickly from one to the next, so you re done with your circuit in less than five minutes. You can do SSSC s after a run, when you get out of bed in the morning, while you re watching Modern Family it doesn t matter. All that matters is that you do them three times a week. (If you need to catch up on them on a rest day, that s totally fine.) You ll do the same SSSC s for two weeks, then move onto the next round; the videos and captions are all in the Train Like a Mother Club. 4 What it says: What you do: Listen to your heart. Do you want to do the workout? Then have at it. Are you craving a break? Take it no questions asked. 5 What it says: Circuit Run 1 What you do: Warm-up for 5-10 minutes at an easy pace with a run or run/walk. Then stop and do one exercise for one minute. Run or run/walk again for five minutes, do another exercise for one minute. Repeat pattern until you ve done all four exercises. Cool down with a 5-10 minute run or run/walk. More details: Exercises for Circuit Run 1: Pushup (use a bench or wall or rest on your knees to modify); squat; arm circles (arms extended straight from shoulder; make small circles forward for 30 seconds, backwards for 30); plank (again, use bench, wall, or knees to modify).
6 What it says: What you do: Do something you enjoy anything from swimming to yoga-ing to ellipticaling works for 30-60 minutes. The only requirement: that it doesn t put impact on your joints. Look at the options in the Train Like a Mother Club under Running Resources. 7 What it says: What you do: Even if it takes until nightfall to get the workout done, you must do this workout. Bailing is not an option (unless you re injured or have other extraordinary circumstances going on). In other words, take this mandatory workout and shine like the superstar you are! 8 What it says: 4 x 400 at w/ 400 What you do: Run easy for a mile to warm up, then run 400 meters, which is once around a track, at the pace you currently can sustain during a 5K race. (Check out the pace calculators in the Train Like a Mother Club to help you figure out your current 5K pace.) Immediately following this 400-meter effort, run slowly or walk for a lap. Repeat this 400-fast, 400-slow sequence for a total of four times. Trot a mile to cool down. More details: One lap around a regulation track (read: not the dinky indoor one at your health club) = 400 meters=.25 mile. If you don t have nearby track, use a measured quarter mile or gauge it on your GPS. 9 What it says: LR: 5 What you do: Hit the road or treadmill for five at an easy pace. Cover the distance at a pace you could comfortably gab the whole way. (And hopefully you will, with a BRF by your side.) 10 What it says: Rest. What you do: Nothing. More details: Do we really have to tell you twice? To get stronger and more fit, your body needs time to recover; your mind also needs a day to just chill and not worry about an obnoxiously early alarm or lunchtime workout. Give them both a break at least one day a week. 11 What it says: T: 2 x 1 mile,.5 mile What you do: Warm up at an easy pace for a mile. Then shift into a higher gear to run tempo pace for one mile. Tempo pace: a solid pace you could sustain for an hour, if need be. Faster than your easy run, easier than your track workouts. (See Zones 411 in the Train Like a Mother Club for more info.)take it easy for a half-mile, then crank out another faster mile, followed by a one-mile cooldown. 12 What it says: Circuit Run 2 What you do: Warm-up for 5-10 minutes at an easy pace. Then stop and do one exercise for one minute. Run again for five minutes, do another exercise for one minute. Repeat pattern until you ve done all four exercises. Cool down with a 5-10 minute run. More details: Exercises for Circuit Run 2: Push-ups; walking lunges (keep your spine straight and gaze forward); jump rope (just pretend you have one); plank.
13 What it says: Fun workout What you do: Put a smile on your face, head to Train Like a Mother club, pick a workout, and don t stop smiling until the workout is done. (And, yes, we re watching ) 14 What it says: Circuit Run 3 What you do: Warm-up for 5-10 minutes at an easy pace. Then stop and do one exercise for one minute. Run again for five minutes, do another exercise for one minute. Repeat pattern until you ve done all four exercises. Cool down with a 5-10 minute run. More details: Exercises for Circuit Run 2: Push-ups; squat with side leg lift (as you stand out of your squat, lift one leg to the side; set it back down as you lower. Lift right leg for 30 seconds, left leg for 30 seconds); arm circles; jump rope. Chase your cool down with. 15 What it says: 5K! What you do: Have at it! Make yourself and us proud, mother runner! (We ll cover race strategy in depth in Train Like a Mother Club and on the TLAM podcasts.) That said, know that unlike longer race distances, you don t have the luxury to ease into a 5K. Once the gun goes off, so must you! Be ready by running a few, plus a few strides before the start. 16 What it says: BAMR! What you do: Celebrate your Badass Mother Runner self! We want pictures, race reports, and, most importantly, for you to take some recovery time.