When the racing season comes to the very end, A-races are done and post-race beers (or Colas) are all consumed, every athlete usually asks himself a question — what to do with that all free time that is now left from training? A lucky few may have their next season plans already, but even the most determined athletes need some rest and recovery.
Generally, it’s recommended to take a week or two of complete rest (hey, even Eliud Kipchoge takes three weeks off) but then you usually start making plans for the upcoming year. If your A-race is quite far ahead (say, 30 weeks or even more) or you just want to maintain your so-hard-earned running form until thoughts of next challenge pop up, you may want to fill this gap with some running activities. And you need a plan for that.
Below you can find a workout plan, which you can follow for the whole 8 weeks. It can be started immediately after your A-race, or you can have a week or two of complete recovery and then get back on track, and start running. The plan starts with two runs a week, continues with three runs a week and ends with the LTHR/LTP test, which will help you to adjust HR/pace zones for starting a race preparation training plan.
| Week 1 | Wednesday Recovery Run 45min | Saturday Recovery Run 1:00h | |
| 45 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | 1 h @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | ||
| Week 2 | Tuesday Endurance Run 0:40h | Friday Stride Intervals 5×0:25min | Sunday Endurance Run 0:55h |
| Endurance: 0:40:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | Endurance: 30 min @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) Repeat 5 times Stride: 25 sec @ 118 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 10) Recover: 1:05 @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Endurance: 0:55:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | |
| Week 3 | Tuesday Recovery Run 40min | Thursday Running Intervals, 10x1min | Sunday Endurance Run 1:10h |
| 40 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Warm up: 15 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) Repeat 10 times Hard: 1 min @ 110-118 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 9-10) Recover: 1 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Endurance: 1:10:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Try to keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | |
| Week 4 | Tuesday Tempo Run, 3x7min | Friday Recovery Run 45min | Sunday Endurance Run 1:00h |
| Warm up: 10 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) Repeat 3 times Tempo Run: 7 min @ 100 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 8) Recovery: 3:30 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | 45 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Endurance: 1:00:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Try to keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | |
| Week 5 | Tuesday Tempo Run, 4x8min | Friday Endurance Run 0:45h | Sunday Endurance Run 1:00h |
| Warm up: 10 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) Repeat 4 times Tempo Run: 8 min @ 100 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 8) Recovery: 4 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Endurance: 0:45:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | Endurance: 1:00:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Try to keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | |
| Week 6 | Tuesday Recovery Run 45min | Friday Steady State Run, 2x20min | Sunday Endurance Run 1:15h |
| 45 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Warm up: 10 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) Repeat 2 times Steady State Run: 20 min @ 89 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 7) Easy: 4 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Endurance: 1:15:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Try to keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | |
| Week 7 | Tuesday Recovery Run 45min | Friday Steady State Run, 2x15min | Sunday Endurance Run 1:20h |
| 45 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Warm up: 10 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) Repeat 2 times Steady State Run: 15 min @ 89 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 7) Easy: 3 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Endurance: 1:20:00 @ 77-84 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 5-6) Try to keep 170-180 spm cadence during this workout. | |
| Week 8 | Tuesday Stride Intervals 6×0:45min Short | Thursday Recovery Run 1:00h | Saturday LTHR/LTP test |
| Warm up: 15 min @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) Repeat 6 times Stride: 45 sec @ 118 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 10) Recover: 1:30 @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | 1 h @ 71-77 % of Threshold Pace (RPE 4-5) | Read more about this test using this link. |
If you would like to have this plan conveniently integrated to your TrainingPeaks calendar (and then seamlessly appear in your Garmin or any other compatible device), you can find this set of workouts in the TrainingPeaks plan store using the link below. It will come at a cost of $8 to you, meaning it trades for a pint of craft IPA in any bar of Chicago or Boston (excluding local tax and tip). So it is a tough call 🙂
