Our winter training program has two major goals. They are:
- To maximize your body’s ability to utilize oxygen
- To continue the multi-pace training we started at the beginning of school
Here is the 12 week plan of how we are going to meet those two goals.
1. Take a Balke Test. This consists of running 15’ during which time you cover as much ground as you possibly can. We will call this distance D.
2. Each week you run the following sessions:
- 2D in 33:00, trying to run it about 1:00 faster each month until you can do it in 30:00
- 4 x D/2 in 7:00 with 60" rest.
- 4D in 69:00 trying to work your way down to 63:00
- 200s. Take the per-400m pace of your 15’ run and halve it. Then subtract 8". This is the pace for your 200’s to start with. Do the 200’s with 90"- 75"- 60"- 45"- 30"- 15" recoveries. Then start the series over again at 90".Continue in this fashion until you can no longer hit the times or until you have completed 24x200.
- At the end of 12 weeks you will take the Balke Test again. If you have trained well, you should be able to run significantly farther in the 15’ period. Hopefully you will be able to run at least 400m farther when you re-take the Balke Test.
- The twelve-week period will take us into mid-February, at which time we will start to transition into more traditional track work. We will start the outdoor season with a 5000 and/or a 3000. If you have increased your Max VO