Her Trails 50km

WEEK 12

OBJECTIVE

Going DOWN stairs. There are some key points to consider when descending stairs that will help you move swifter and safer, check these out. 1) Good posture - As with your uphill climbing, good form will ensure that you reduce your chances of injury and inefficient expenditure of energy. When running down stairs you want to ensure that you maintain stable hips. Focus on keeping the knees over the second toe and keeping the hips in line. 2) Arms - When running down stairs try to relax and recover your upper body (when the steps are not technical). 3) Vision and stride - Depending on the type of stairs you are descending, you will need to adjust where your focus is. If the stairs are very steep and the landing narrow, you will need to bring your line of sight closer to your feet in order to stay focused and pick your landing carefully. You will also notice your cadence becoming quicker and lighter as you lift your feet quickly off the narrow landing and drop it on the next step. If the stairs are more gradual in decline and the landing wider, adjust your gaze out to 1-2m in front of you (head at 45 degrees). For further details check out the weekly email.

TRAINING LEVEL CHART

Reference this training level chart to help you understand your efforts for each training session.

LEVEL 1- 3

EASY RUNS/RECOVERY

LEVEL 4-5

MODERATE

LEVEL 6

GOAL RACE EFFORT
[aka HALF MARATHON PACE]

LEVEL 7-8

THRESHOLD
[aka 5KM/10KM PACE]

LEVEL 9-10

STRONG SPEED
[AKA 1 MILE – 400M PACE]

DAY ONE | DAY TWO | DAY THREE | DAY FOUR | DAY FIVE | DAY SIX | DAY SEVEN

DAY ONE

BASE MILES

12km @ level 2-3

Intention: A mindful run – noticing breath

 A mindful run simply begins by focusing on the breath to bring the mind into the present moment and is followed by paying attention to sensations that arise in the body. When you’re running, try to pay attention to your inhales and exhales for a few minutes until you establish a rhythm. Once you get going, noticing sensations in your body and muscles and paying attention to your gait as your stride can bring you one step closer to being really present.

You’ll know you’re in the flow once your mind is cleared of its usual chatter and you’re not focusing on how far you’ve gone and how far you still have left to go. Any time you catch your mind in thoughts, you can simply bring your attention back to your breath and body.

DAY TWO

SPEED PLAY & STRENGTH

Stair Speed Play

15 minutes @ level 2-3

2 minute stair effort @ level 7-8

x 6

THEN

10 minutes @ level 3

Note: Focus on posture and even effort. Try to hit the same point on the hill/stairs every effort.

Strength 

DAY THREE

BASE MILES

15km @ Level 1-3

with 6 X 1 minute strides

Intention: Relax and listen

For this run, take time to notice the sights and sounds around you. While listening to music can be beneficial for some runs, working your the practice of mindful running can help you combat negative thoughts and worries in both training and races. So for this run, just tune in to what you are hearing or seeing. If it’s a sound you can follow it for a while, if it’s something you see, you can name and describe it. This run is about building on the work earlier in the week that helps you become a relaxed, happy and mindful runner.

DAY FOUR

THRESHOLD & MOBILITY

Threshold session (AM session) – 43 min session

15 minutes @ level 2-3

THEN

Small Pyramid –  1min/2min/3min/3min/2min/1min (with 1 min easy between efforts).

1 minute @ level 8 / 1 minute @ level 2

2 minutes @ level 8 / 1 minute @ level 2

3 minute @ level 8 / 1 minute @ level 2

3 minute @ level 8 / 1 minute @ level 2

2 minutes @ level 8 / 1 minute @ level 2

1 minute @ level 8 / 1 minute @ level 2

THEN

10 minutes @ level 2-3

Note: Stay relaxed and maintain good running technique 🙂

Torso Mobility (AM session) – 16 minutes

This mobility session focuses on lengthening your torso and opening up your trunk. When doing this session, try implementing breathe into this practice.

DAY FIVE

ACTIVE RECOVERY OR REST DAY

20 min Level 1-2

This is not a run! For this active recovery session, please hike, cycling, or swimming – We just want your body moving at a low intensity for 20 minutes.

NOTES: Active recovery sessions are great after strenuous workouts. In fact they are often considered more beneficial than inactivity, resting completely, or sitting. The purposes is to keep blood flowing throughout the body that allows the muscles to recover and therefore rebuild from intense physical activity. We preference complete rest over an active recovery session if you are injured or are in a lot of pain.

DAY SIX

LONG RUN

She-cheetah 3 hours @ level 2-4 on hilly trails with stairs. Please practice race nutrition.

Lionesses 4 hours @ level 1-3 on hilly trails – Power hiking all the climbs. Please practice race nutrition.

Note: we have separated the long runs into two groups, She-cheetah  and Lionesses. You will selected your training group based on how you aim to race UTA 50km or 100km. Below is a detailed description of both groups.

She-cheetah

50km: Your goal is to run most of the course except the stairs/steep inclines.

100km: Aiming to mostly run (running 65-80%)

Lionesses

Here you will be aiming to walk 50% (or more) of the course.

DAY SEVEN

REST DAY 🙂