Per the 4-phase plan we are following this season, we have just three more Phase 3 weeks ahead of us.
Phase 4 is designed to unleash your fitness for the fall racing season.
If you have races in the current phase, feel free to adjust your training VDOT value as races predict, but don’t increase your VDOT any more often than every 3rd week, even if a race result suggests you should.
If you aren’t racing, now is an excellent time to supplant the Tuesday track workout with a time-trial to see check your VDOT score. Especially with the temps not hovering in the low 90s like it did in July — a data point that would make it hard to get a clear reading on your VDOT.
Here are the recommended key workouts for the week. Feel free to build them into your personal schedule.
Q1: Long Run
Easy pace run, not longer than 25% of your weekly mileage level. If you are working toward a fall marathon, you should be incrementally increasing your long run every other week, alternating your long runs with 5k-10k races or shorter long runs. As runs build toward the 2-hour-plus level, recovery is the priority.
Q2: Tuesday Track Workout: Intervals
Warmup: 1-2 easy plus striders
4 × 1,200 I with 1-lap jogs
1-2 mile warm down jog
Q3: Threshold Pace Workout
T-pace (threshold pace) focus.
Warmup jog 1-2 miles…throw in some striders in the latter half of the warmup to prep for T-pace.
Steady 3 miles at T-pace
Jog 3 minutes
4 × 30 seconds at R pace with 30-second jogs
1 to 2 easy jog warm down
For the balance of your training week, sprinkle in easy 30 to 60-minute recovery runs, and/or cross training workouts, and rest days.
Fee free to contact Tom or I with any questions or post them here.