Event Week

You now have completed 3 sessions a week for 7 weeks, including an interval/change-of-pace workout every week with more volume AND quality than ever before.  Your confidence will have grown considerably since Week #1! You KNOW your rhythm now at a comfortable “talking pace"... huffin’ and puffin’ is in the distant past… and you are relaxed when you run. You have learned what it means to progress with your efforts in those brisk intervals, and you have learned to find a personal pace you are in control of.  

You are able to adjust this pace according to what you are feeling, and according to how long the interval is. You feel more efficient when you run, and that efficiency now is such that you can hardly remember what it was like NOT to be comfortable on your easy runs. PLUS you look forward to the challenge in the change-of-pace workouts on Day 1 of each week – right??

What’s Next?

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Caution: There can be a tendency to be over-confident! Be careful and honest – it’s so easy to add more time or to run a little too fast for yourself. And if this program has been difficult for you, remember you can always return to Run Easy and include more walking as you feel. If you are feeling great and would like to continue to progress with your efficiency and confidence, then you can always repeat and complete the RunStrong program over-and-over again.

Remember, your starting point is never the same, therefore your experience will never be exactly-the-same. Running programs are cyclical and ideally follow a pattern of workouts so that all elements of the goal-distance are covered. When you repeat the program and complete workouts you’ve done before, the familiarity helps you to complete them with greater efficiency and/or faster than you ever have before.  

If you’d like a personal program designed specifically for your own running and fitness goals, please know I’m always willing. It has been my privilege to coach every ability level from those just off the couch for fun and fitness to those that are at the highest level and headed to the Olympic Games. I’m available at lynnkanuka@gmail.com and  happy to discuss personal planning options for any distance from 5K to the marathon or triathlon (YES I am an avid triathlete myself!).

Training this week 

Volume is less this week and your interval session should feel easy and fun so that you will be ready for your Event Day. Just nice 1-minute brisk intervals to remind you how you’ve learned to use your arms to increase your turnover, and run faster for yourself “without strain.” Careful not to go too fast – a one-minute interval is not a sprint.  And there is only 1 minute of easy running recovery – just enjoy it and stay comfortable! These 1 min. intervals will help your legs with a nice brisk turnover and leave them fresh for completing a 5K or 10K (virtual) event if you'd like to test yourself this week.

Careful not to start too fast, okay? Just find the rhythm you have been able to find in your workouts, and you’ll complete your distance more comfortably than you ever have before.  If your result is faster than ever before then at this stage, that is a huge bonus! Have confidence in your preparation. The hard work is done and it’s time for a little tester – a benchmark event time to build on for the next time around.

Congratulations! It has been my pleasure to guide you these last 8 weeks… please let me know how it goes!