Phillips Running

Now that I’ve set up what I want to accomplish in January and February, here is actually what we would do.  It is a two-month outline of what I would do during these months (Jan. and Feb.), before the real track training and racing begins in March and continues into April and (hopefully) May!!!

We want 4 x two-week cycles through January and February. Those cycles are as follows:

Cycle #1:
Monday — Progressive run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Hill Repeats — 1 min or 300-400 meters — run strong up, jog down easy.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Progressive long run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Sunday — Rest day

Monday — Hilly run — easy run over hilly course.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Tempo run — 20-30 min continuous at 60-75 sec slower/mile than mile PR.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Hilly long run — easy long run over hilly course.
Sunday — Rest day

Cycle #2:
Monday — Progressive run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Hill Repeats — 1 min or 300-400 meters — run strong up, jog down easy.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Progressive long run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Sunday — Rest day

Monday — Hilly run — easy run over hilly course.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Tempo reps — 20-30 min in 3-6 min segments w/ 1 min rest at tempo pace.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Hilly long run — easy long run over hilly course.
Sunday — Rest day

Cycle #3:
Monday — Progressive run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Hill Repeats — 1 min or 300-400 meters — run strong up, jog down easy.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Progressive long run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Sunday — Rest day

Monday — Hilly run — easy run over hilly course.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Tempo run — 20-30 min continuous at 60-75 sec slower/mile than mile PR.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Hilly long run — easy long run over hilly course.
Sunday — Rest day

Cycle #4:
Monday — Progressive run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Hill Repeats — 1 min or 300-400 meters — run strong up, jog down easy.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Progressive long run — last 10-20 minutes moderate.
Sunday — Rest day

Monday — Hilly run — easy run over hilly course.
Tuesday — Easy run — 35-60 minutes depending on the athlete.
Wednesday — Short Tempo Reps — 20-30 min in 1-2 min segments w/ 1 min rest at tempo.
Thursday — Medium long run — 15-20 min shorter than long run; keep it easy.
Friday — Speed maintenance — 2-3 miles WU + 2 x (5 x 200 meters) + 2-3 miles CD
Saturday — Hilly long run — easy long run over hilly course.
Sunday — Rest day

Now, you might say…my athletes can’t handle this…it’s too much!!!

Well, not if you run it at the appropriately intensities and manage their volume for their age and running maturity.

A simple rule for me is this:

Freshmen (or 1st year runners) — 20-30 miles per week.

Sophomores (or 2nd year runners) — 30-40 miles per week.

Juniors (or 3rd year runners) — 40-50 miles per week.

Seniors (or 4th year runners) — 50-60 miles per week.

Also, you can use Thursday as a REST or X-TRAINING day if needed and on the Speed maintenance session you don’t want the 200 meter reps to be any faster than mile effort…mile effort is probably faster than mile pace…but not by much. Take a 200 meter jog rest between each rep and a 1000 meter jog rest between each set.

If you are able get in these four cycles of training in January and February I really believe that you’ll set your athletes up for a very strong track season!!!