September Virtual Wednesday Night Workouts

Written By Mike Smith

September 2nd Quarters Mad
(change of speed work, mental focus)

6x
Each training group flips a total of three coins to determine the length of the repeat for the evening.  Three heads means three laps for that repeat.  Two heads would mean two laps and one head would mean one lap.  Each training group would follow this scenario until they’ve flipped the coins six times.  Once your six sets are done, the workout is over.  As some of you might have figured out, all tails means no repeats for that set and the workout just got shorter.  Call it luck.

The benefit to a workout like this is that the question of the distance remains for every throw, so the workout can not be predetermined mentally before you get started.  This makes an athlete more open to unpredictable situations that we encounter along the way.  In addition to that, the speed at which the workout is conducted is going to differ depending on which of the three distances your training group ends up with for the various repeats.  This workout tends to be tougher than you think!

September 9th 600 cutdowns

5K/10K workout
600 meters @ pace/400 meters recovery
500 meters @ pace/ 300 meters recovery
400 meters @ pace/ 200 meters recovery
300 meters @ pace/ 100 meters recovery
2 x 200 meters @ pace/ 100 meters recovery
4 x 100 meters @ pace/ 100 meters recovery

September 16th CONT 200s

CONT 200’s,  my “bread and butter” workout 10 x 200 meters continuously with 200 meter recovery   
10 continuously run 200 meter repeats, at goal 5K race pace, with a recovery jog of 200 meters, starting with a recovery 200 as well.
Want more? 10 x 200 CONT w/200m R10 minutes easy recovery running10 x 200 CONT w/ 200 m R

September 23rd 10 lap Time Trial

10 Lap Time Trial, 3 min on, 3 R
10 laps run uptempo (by effort), 3 minutes quick, 3 minutes recovery, until ten laps have been covered

September 30th Negative split 40/50

40 minute negative split run, tempo work  
40 minute negative split run
Want more?
Same as above or 50 minutes

Mike Smith

Co president Mike Smith has been involved with running since he took up cross country in middle school.  While never one of the top runners across the state, he did come away with a 16:35 xc PR before he stepped away from competing in his youth.  Shortly into adulthood Smith came back to the sport for good, both as a means for fitness and simply to keep active and resolve some unfinished business.  Looking to see if there was something left for him in high school sports, he became the head coach for his alma mater, Mascenic, and coached there for twenty five years before hanging up the head coaching position this past year.  His teams racked up ten Division 3 team titles (8 boys, 2 girls) and qualified and competed at the New England championships twice.  Not bad for a school of 270 kids.  When not coaching, Smith is often found running, talking about running, or wandering around the woods and trails of New England.

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Virtual Ann Bunce 5k race in November
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August/September Virtual Wednesday Night Workouts