Her Trails 50km

WEEK 6

OBJECTIVE

This week you begin your work on hills, which can be a challenging and sometimes uncomfortable undertaking as your mind and body adapts. Our mind is both our biggest asset and our biggest challenge when tackling hills. There is no getting around the fact that no matter what speed you are moving at, when you climb a hill, you will be at least to some degree uncomfortable, especially when you first start out. There are technique tips and tricks that you can learn more about in our video on hills to help you, but ultimately, hills are hard and it can be tempting to give in to thoughts of short-cuts or quitting, but you can overcome this! What we know works is not pretending it is easy, but rather acknowledging and accepting that this is hard and for this short period of time, you will be uncomfortable, and that’s ok. The good news is, that what sits on the other side of that discomfort is growth, grit, confidence and the strength to achieve your goals.

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

30 minutes @ Level 1-3

Intention: Relax
Staying relaxed while running can help you maintain your form and run faster. It is easy to build tension in the body whilst working hard, but this tension can make you less efficient and causes you to slow down. It can feel tempting to push through the tension to go faster, but relaxing your body and resetting can actually be what makes the difference. Here are some things you can consider to help you stay relaxed:

  1. Unclench your hands, have a gentle curl in your fingers
  2. Relax your jaw
  3. Take a deep breath, and exhale forcefully
  4. Do a mindful exhale and shake your arms out, then reset
  5. Drop your shoulders down and slightly back, staying relaxed
  6. Think about keeping a smooth even stride

If this feels like too many things, just pick one or two and focus on those. You can come back to these and work on them throughout your training.

 

DAY TWO

STRONG SPEED & STRENGTH

AM Strong speed:

10 minutes @ level 2-3

20 min hilly fartlek

@ Level 4 on flats

@ level 7 on up hills

10 min @ level 2-3

Note: The strong speed session should be completed before Strength. We suggest to have a 4-6 hour break between sessions.

PM Strength: Building Strength (session B1)

DAY THREE

BASE MILES

20 minutes @ Level 1-3

Intention: Controlled breath
Learning to control your breath while running can help you run faster, longer and much more comfortably. During this session, focus on finding a breathing pattern that works for you, that matches the intensity of your run. It can be helpful to synchronize your breathing to your running pace. Think of each step as a “beat” and then decide how many beats each inhale and exhale should be. This varies between people, so just draw attention to it today and see of you can become aware of what works (or doesn’t work) for you.

Some other considerations that will help you understand your breath and control it:

  1. Breathing through your mouth will allow you to get air in faster
  2. Breathe down into your belly instead of expanding your chest (diaphragmatic breathing)
  3. Don’t hold your breathe

NOTE: Today you have an option to complete a active recovery session (easy walk, swim or bike ride) instead of running.

DAY FOUR

SPEED & FLOW

Progressive Run

10 minute @ level 2

10 minutes @ level 4

5 minutes @ level 5

5 minutes @ level 6

5 minutes @ level 7

10 minutes @ level 3

Note: A progression run starts slow, gradually increases speed/pace, and then ends easy. The purpose of this session is to build speed, increase endurance and understand how to play with your levels (pace, PE, HR).

Mobility

These exercises help retain mobility and flexibility in the hamstrings and quadriceps.

DAY FIVE

ACTIVE RECOVERY

30 minutes

This is not a run! During this 30 minute session you can walk, cycle, swim, row or use a elliptical machine. We want your body moving at a low intensity for an active recovery session. 

 

DAY SIX

LONG RUN

1hr 45min (115 minutes)

20 minutes @ level 2

30 minutes @ level 3

40 minutes @ level 4

25 minutes @ level 2

Note: Find a new trail for this play day! 🙂

 

 

DAY SEVEN

REST DAY