For Runners and Triathletes

The workouts in a binder series For Runners and Triathletes BOBBY MCGEE with Marathon Plans by Mark Plaatjes Boulder, Colorado

Run Workouts for Runners and Triathletes The Workouts in a Binder Series Copyright 2009 by Bobby McGee Marathon Plans copyright 2009 by Mark Plaatjes 10km Level 2 All rights reserved. Printed in China by Asia Pacific Offset. Workouts in a Binder is a registered trademark of Gale Bernhardt. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or photocopy or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations within critical articles and reviews. 1830 55th Street Boulder, Colorado 80301-2700 USA 303/440-0601 Fax 303/444-6788 E-mail velopress@competitorgroup.com Distributed in the United States and Canada by Publishers Group West A cataloging-in-publication record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-1-934030-33-2 For information on purchasing VeloPress books, please call 800/234-8356 or visit www.velopress.com. Illustrations by Tom Ward Front and interior cover photos by Don Karle Cover design by Erin Johnson Series design by Susie Alvarez Perry 09 10 11 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents Foreword by Tim Noakes Foreword by Samantha McGlone Acknowledgments v ix xi I N T R O D U C T I O N 1 Training Plans 1 What About Triathlons? 4 Workouts 5 Testing 7 Workout Descriptions 8 T r a i n i n g Z o n e G u i d e l i n e s 12 G l o s s a r y 14 T r a i n i n g P l a n s 16 5km 16 10km 22 Half-Marathon 30 Marathon 40 Olympic-Distance Triathlon 52 Half-Ironman 58 Ironman 66 T e s t s 76 Efficiency Test (ET) 76 Steady-State Tests (SSM T and SSH T) 77 30-Minute Effort/Pace Test (30min EP T) 78 30-Minute Effort/Pace Time Trial (30min EP TT) 79 5-Kilometer Test (5km T) 80 6-Minute Effort/Pace Test (6min EP T) 81

w a r m - u p s a n d W O R K O U T S 82 Strides (St) 82 Dynamic Warm-up Exercises (DWU) 83 Aerobic Threshold (AeT) 87 Steady-State Marathon (SSM) 93 Steady-State Half-Marathon (SSH) 94 30-Minute Effort/Pace (30min EP) 95 5 Kilometer (5km) 107 6-Minute Effort/Pace (6min EP) 119 Lactate Tolerance (Ltol) 125 Fast Finish (FF) 130 Zone Runs 132 Fartlek 135 Hills 144 Yassos 153 Bricks 157 Pre-race Track (PRT) 173 Pre-race Facilitation (PRF) 177 t h e b o r g s c a l e ( r p e ) 186 Resources 187 About the Authors 188

Glossary Glossary AeT: Aerobic threshold runs AeT calculation: (max HR resting HR) 0.7 + resting HR = AeT HR Base: Initial training phase; mostly subaerobic training to prepare you for the more specific work to come Brick: Combination of two or three triathlon events (swim, bike, run) in a single workout; typically bike + run DWU: Dynamic warm-up procedure; see pages 83 86 ET: Efficiency test 5km T: 5-kilometer test Fartlek: Run that alternates harder running efforts with easier recovery paces FF: Fast finish General: General training phase; emphasis on building endurance Hills: Hill workouts HIM: Half-Ironman HM: Half-marathon HR: Heart rate IM: Ironman JR: Jog recovery km: Kilometer Ltol: Lactate tolerance; these workouts increase your ability to metabolize lactic acid M: Marathon mi.: mile MP: Workouts designed by Mark Plaatjes (e.g., 30min EP MP1) OTB: Off-the-bike runs as part of triathlon training 14

PRF: Pre-race facilitation; specific workouts done the day before a race PRT: Pre-race track workouts done in the week before a race Rolling: Run a particularly hilly route RPE: Rate of perceived exertion; see page 186 Specific: Specific training phase; emphasis on your event 6min EP: 6-minute effort/pace 6min EP T: 6-minute effort/pace test Spin: Recovery effort cycling; low resistance and high turnover SSH: Steady-state half-marathon effort/pace SSH T: Steady-state half-marathon test SSM: Steady-state marathon effort/pace SSM T: Steady-state marathon test St: Strides, pickups, or acceleration runs Strength: Strength training phase; emphasis on building muscular strength and endurance T1: First triathlon transition from swim to bike T2: Second triathlon transition from bike to run Taper: Final pre-race phase; emphasis on recovery and sharpening fitness 30min EP: 30-minute effort/pace 30min EP T: 30-minute effort/pace test 30min EP TT: 30-minute effort/pace time trial TT: Time trial, or an all-out effort over a specific distance W: Walk or hike W/JR: Walk/jog recovery WR: Walk recovery Yassos: 800m-repeat workout 15 Glossary

AeT 1 43 For all AeT run/walk intervals, run at an easy conversation pace, meaning you can talk comfortably in full sentences without panting. The intention is to stress the leg muscles more than the heart and lungs. If training with a heart rate monitor, run with your heart rate below your aerobic threshold. W/U: 5:00 walk AeT 1 AeT 2 AeT 3 AeT 4 AeT 5 AeT 6 AeT 7 3 10:00 (:30 WR) (WR = walk recovery) 2 15:00 (:30 WR) 3 12:00 (:30 WR) 4 10:00 (:30 WR) 3 15:00 (:45 WR) 4 12:00 (:45 WR) 5 10:00 (:45 WR) AeT 8 AeT 9 AeT 10 AeT 11 6 10:00 (:45 WR) 5 12:00 (1:00 WR) 4 15:00 (1:00 WR) 7 10:00 (1:00 WR) Aerobic Threshold C/D: 5:00 walk continues 87

Zone Run 2 W/U: 5:00 walk 33:00 Run at heart rate below AeT (RPE 9 10) 7:00 Run at 30min EP (RPE 16 18) 5:00 Run at heart rate below AeT (RPE 9 10) Zone Runs C/D: 5:00 walk TIP: The purpose of these runs is race preparation. Avoid overdoing the effort; stay controlled. 133

Fartlek 2 W/U: 5:00 walk, 12 15:00 easy run, DWU, St 3, 3:00 easy run Fartlek 2 5 1:00/ 2:00/3:00/ 2:00/1:00 Run moderately hard (1:00 JR) 3:00 JR 1 :15/:30/ :45/:30/:15 Run hard (1:00 JR) Run all main set intervals at as fast a pace as you can maintain with good form. Attempt to run final effort as quickly as the first. C/D: 3:00 walk, 5 10:00 easy run, 3:00 walk TIP: Try to run your last set of minutes at the same pace as your first set. The final set of seconds is much faster. 136

30min Hills 6 EP 4 W/U: 5:00 walk, 15 30:00 easy run, DWU, St 4 1:00 run out and back on the flat at same effort (but at a greater speed) as on hill 1:00/2:00/ 3:00/2:00/ 4 10:00 1:00 Run run at uphill maximum (downhill 30min W/JR) EP. 1:00 (3:00 run out WR and between back repeats) on the flat at same effort Spend (but at the a last greater minute speed) of each as recovery on hill reactivating your 3:00 muscles. W/JR If you are running based on heart rate, :30 use run the out last and minute back to get on your the flat heart at rate same up close effort to the (but repeat a requirement. greater speed) as on hill 10 :30 Run uphill (downhill W/JR) :30 run out and back on the flat at same effort (but at a greater speed) as on hill Maintain best pace throughout the workout. Hills C/D: 3:00 walk, 10 20:00 easy run, 3:00 walk TIP: On downhill run/walk recoveries, use small, quick, and light steps. 149

5 Kilometer 30min 5km 10EP 4 W/U: 5:00 walk, 12 15:00, DWU, St 6, easy run 3:00 run W/U: 5:00 walk, 10 20:00 easy run (optional: final 5:00 For the easy run, pick up pace each minute in last 5:00 until final gradual pick-up), DWU, St 3 minute is at 30min EP. Recover sufficiently after each one. If you are using heart rate to guide your effort, attempt to get heart rate close to repeat requirement before starting. 300m Moderately hard 3:30 W/JR 6 600m run with 200m gear changes on 5km goal 4 10:00 Run pace at (2 4:00 maximum W/JR) 30min EP. rep 1 (3:00 200m WR :01 :03 between faster, repeats) 200m :01 :02 faster, Spend 200m the at last goal minute paceof each recovery reactivating reps 2 3 your 600m muscles. at 5km If you goal are pace; running even based effort on heart rate, reps 4 5 use 200m the last at goal minute pace, to get 200m your heart :01 :03 rate up faster, close to the 200m repeat requirement. goal pace rep 6 200m at goal race pace, 200m :01 :03 faster, 200m max speed 1:00 W/JR C/D: 3:00 150m walk, Max 5 10:00 speed easy run, 3:00 walk TIP: Never power the run; let it flow. Stay relaxed. C/D: 5:00 walk, 5 15:00 easy run, 5:00 walk TIP: If the recovery does not feel sufficient, you have chosen a pace that is too ambitious for the day and should back off slightly. Feel free to rest a little more. 116

SSM 1 7; A F All SSM runs are at marathon goal pace/effort. Workouts require some taper and recovery time. Limit these to no more than five in any given build-up to a marathon W/U: 5:00 walk, 10 15:00 easy run, DWU, St (your choice) SSM 1 3 6 15:00 (1:00 3:00 WR) SSM 2 3 4 20:00 (1:00 3:00 WR) SSM 3 1 3 30:00 (1:00 3:00 WR) SSM 4 45:00 SSM 5 60:00 SSM 6 75:00 SSM 7 90:00 SSM A SSM B SSM C SSM D SSM E SSM F 3 7 3km (or 2 mi.) (1:00 3:00 WR) 3 5 5km (or 3 mi.) (1:00 3:00 WR) 2 3 8km (or 5 mi.) (1:00 3:00 WR) 2 10km (or 6 mi.) (1:00 3:00 WR) 15km (or 10 mi.) 20km (or 12 mi.) C/D: 7:00 walk. Steady-State Marathon 93