Friday, August 1, 2014

Lola Castro's Training Schedule

My goal for Lola Castro is to take occasional rest breaks from training. We are starting the new year with a "Eleven Day Resting Period".  I'm preventing Lola from getting run down, and the most common interruption to training is the cold or flu.  Planning rest breaks in her training helps prevent the risk of her getting tired.  It is very important knowing how to read your athlete's body. Every time I bring up the rest break with Lola, she feels she doesn't need the rest break. My argument is that you can't keep up the training at a high level all year around, the occasional breaks from training helps you as a runner.

Taking a rest break for eleven days from hard training and competition.

Eleven Day Resting Period:
Saturday:  Rest
Sunday:  Rest
Monday:  Run for 32 minutes easy run
Tuesday:  Rest
Wednesday:  Run for 40 minutes easy run
Thursday:  Run for 40 minutes easy run
Friday:  Rest
Saturday: Run for 48 minutes easy run
Sunday:  Run for 48 minutes easy run
Monday:  Rest
Tuesday:  Rest

After the rest period train for 4-6 weeks (Aerobic Conditioning).  Start by running in the hills for two days weekly, after a few weeks progress to running in the hills 4-5 days. Schedule one day a long run, one and half hours, if you are running Half-Marathons and Marathons races, you'll need to progress to running longer and running up to 20-23 miles. The other days one hour plus runs (8-15 miles).

After 4-6 weeks of volume runs insert rest:

"Five Day Rest Period".

Day 1  Rest.
Day 2  Rest.
Day 3  Active Rest - easy 30 minute run.
Day 4  Rest.
Day 5  Rest.

After the five day rest period, start tempo cross country runs, hill training and repetition running.

Hill Training Period for 4-6 weeks ( Strength Phase) running in the hills.  One day, continuous long run, one and a half hours or more. Two days, practice hill repeats, two days weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays. The other days recovery runs. Hill repeats: week 1 and 2: 16 x 200's; week 3 and 4: 20 x 200's; week 5 and 6: 24 x 200's.

After 4-6 weeks insert rest:

Day 1  Rest
Day 2  Rest
Day 3  Easy 32 minute run
Day 4  Rest
Day 5  Rest

4-6 weeks resume training, volume runs, specific pace and race pace running