Junior girls 16 year old 4:28 14 year old 4:37 What works

Sorry for 1500m

Can also provide training insight to 3:43 1500m and 1:49 800m for interested coaches .

Please do!

"Sunday 11-12k easy walking hills"

This jumps out as unusual. What led to using this instead of the usual longer run?

BuckleUp wrote:

"Sunday 11-12k easy walking hills"

This jumps out as unusual. What led to using this instead of the usual longer run?

Anything works when you are dealing with super talented kids with high natural aerobic capacity. Normally like 20mpw isn't enough for most people to run national class times. Program in general is fine but 4 days/week of running isnt enough for most people.

A 12k hike a decent effort might be like 90mins of zone 1 work. Not exactly horrible but not as specific as actually running.

How are you setting Threshold at 96s/400? I feel like I'm a little conservative with Threshold at the HS level, and I would have pegged 92/94 for your two athletes (off the one data point, admittedly). Not a big difference; just curious to hear your thought process.

Outside of Thursday's threshold work, no workout seems to put particular emphasis or focus on a specific pace. Do you prefer more blended workouts throughout the calendar year? Is there more consistent threshold work in base phase? Is there more concentrated work at singular race paces closer to peak sessions? If you do keep blended work together, is that choice due primarily to athlete training age?

Thanks, coahc for the running programs. I am wondering how you set workout paces for the much more typical 6-7:30 girls milers we get around here, where they comprise the vast proportion of the milers. As beginners on very low mileage, and probably nothing outside of track and/or xc, their speed is way, way ahead of their endurance. Take a kid running 10-15 mpw some weeks whose easy run pace is 10 minutes a mile for a 5 miler but can do 200 repeats in 35-37, 400 repeats more like 1:30-1:35, but 3-3:30 in the 800, 6:30-7:30 in the 1600, and 3M moderate in 27. If threshold is 1hr pace, you could call that 10 minute mile pace but it would do nothing for such a runner to do 1k at "threshold." 2M pace, probably around 16, might be about right. These kinds of kids just fall off the cliff when they go beyond 600 or so.

Personally, I would have them do more bridge or transition training, such as 10x400 (800-1k pace) on 1 minute rest, 6-8x600 (mile pace) on 1:30, 5x1k (3k pace)on 1-1:30, and 3x10 minute tempos (mile + 1 minute pace). Better conditioned athletes I would never have running such paces except maybe the 600s with fewer reps and the 1k's.

Here is a little more information on these 2 females who are part of my training group. The 16 year old is very much more fast twitch dominated as she is a 58 second 400m runner and at times can finish off track sessions w/2oo efforts in 26-27. The 14 year old has more endurance with 10:06 pb for 3k.

Clarification on Sunday run with easy running but hilly terrain so 16 year old runs 11-12k in roughly an hour but we walk a few steep hills to keep heart low. 14 year doesn't run with us on Sundays. Her volume according to strava is low but she does other sports that have a fitness component.

We only do one track sessions per week all other sessions on grass. (This is the same for my 3:43 1500m male and 1:49 800m male)

Threshold pace is roughly 4min k pace on grass and 5-8 seconds per k faster when on the track. Both girls have pb's of roughly 18:30 for 5k.

For our slower runners we also do threshold efforts over shorter distances but with more efforts.

Our early season work includes short hills and winter season includes runs over hilly circuit around 8-9kilometres.

For the coach with the slower runners I would recommend shortening efforts and slowing things down. To much work at 800-1500m pace for beginners doesn't do a whole lot to improve their aerobic system. When we do run hard it is either at 3k effort (V02) or at 400-800m effort. When doing 400's at 3k pace equal rest when at 1500m pace generally 40 seconds more rest. There are times when doing lactate tolerance work we will have very short rest but longer rest between sets.

Good luck!