This is week 2 of our 12 week cycle with the focus on the 1/2 marathon distance. If you missed the first week, you can jump right into this week. Look back at the program from last week and do the 5k from last week for your Aerobic Threshold workout.
If you have no aspirations of doing a 1/2 marathon, you can still follow this program/cycle. We suggest ommitting the longer run, or shorten it based on your needs as an athlete. If you have questions on how to do so, please contact me directly at nuno@crossfitinvictus.com
New drills introduced in the warm-up this week. The first drill still focuses on the ideal position and the carioca drill focuses more on falling, which is our 2nd essential running concept.
Please post your results to the comments.
Post your videos to social media using #InvictusEndurance
Warm-Up
Run 800 Meters @ 50%
Followed by…
Two sets of:
Samson Stretch x 10 reps (each leg)
Reverse Lunges x 10 meters
High Knees x 20 meters
One Leg Jumps x 10 reps (each leg)
Running Mechanics Drills
Two sets of:
Change of Support (Posture) Drill: Back Against the Wall
Carioca x 20 meters
Followed by…
Three sets of:
100 Meter Striders
A strider is where you increase your speed approximately every 20 meters until you reach approximately 85-90%
Session One
VO2 Max
Beginner
Complete as many sprints as possible in 20 minutes of:
300 Meter Sprints
Walk 100 Meters
Keep these within 3 seconds of each other, if your pace drops walk slower in between sprints
Intermediate
Complete as many sprints as possible in 25 minutes of:
300 Meter Sprints
Walk 100 Meters
Keep these within 3 seconds of each other, if your pace drops walk slower in between sprints
Advanced
Complete as many sprints as possible in 30 minutes of:
300 Meter Sprints
Walk 100 Meters
Keep these within 3 seconds of each other, if your pace drops walk slower in between
Session Two
Aerobic Threshold Workout
Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
30 Minute Run @ 80% of your pace from your 5k last week
For pacing information make sure you refer back to the blog post I wrote here.
Session Three
Lactate Threshold
Beginner/Intermediate
For times:
1200 Meter Run
800 Meter Run
1200 Meter Run
Rest 90 seconds after each interval
Advanced
For times:
1200 Meter Run
800 Meter Run
1200 Meter Run
800 Meter Run
Rest 90 seconds after each interval
Please review this blog post that covers efficient running
Session 3
Warm up(15-20 mins)
Session 3
Beginner:
1200m – 6 mins 11 secs
800m – 4 mins 18 secs
1200m – 6 mins 41 secs
Honestly I did not have any plans about pacing. All I had in mind was to stand tall, run with proper form and keep my breathing in control. The 90 sec break was great!
I run at an indoor track (200m) that probably hurts my running time due to too many turns. However the place has AC that might be helping me. Either way my running time is improving.
Since I was traveling last week I am catching up this week.
Warm up (15 – 20 mins)
session 1
Beginner: 8 sprints(300m) and 8 walks(100m) in 20 minutes
Each sprint took me about 75 – 80 seconds. The track is only 200 meters long, so with too many turns I was a little bit slower. When I run on a 400 m track I can run faster. But the goal today was to finish it.
Session Three
Lactate Threshold
Beginner/Intermediate
For times:
1200 Meter Run – 5:51.3 – avg pace 4:52/km
800 Meter Run – 4:20 – avg pace 5:25/km
1200 Meter Run – 6:34.8 – avg pace 5:29/km
Rest 90 seconds after each interval
Goal was to run under avg pace 5:00/km. Kind of blew up on me after the first 1200 meter. Hung in there and finished them.
How do I estimate better in these type of intervals in order to keep the same pace?
My McMillan 1200 meter is 4:55/km and 800 meter is 4:45/km. These are for doing singles right?
@disqus_KVAPdHwYnN:disqus – That is correct, McMillan Run calculator will give you estimates for single efforts. They have some additional information if you go to Training Paces which gives you a little more detailed info for different distances. What was your 5k time?
That is a good benchmark to work off for pacing purposes.
Also, check out the Invictus Pace Zones I have created. I’ve adjusted this based off the results from our running group here in SD and they are pretty accurate I would say.
My 5km was around 5:30/km which is 8:48/mile.
Nuno, thanks for the chart and based on it my 800m should be a 4:10 and 1200m to be a 6:10. That looks pretty accurate that I came out too hot!
@disqus_KVAPdHwYnN:disqus – save the chart, we will see about it posting it somewhere so it’s easily accessible!
V02 max Beginner
8 rounds done – 3.2k
All 300m times between 1:10-1:14
6th round was one off @1:20
@Patrick Donsbach:disqus – what happened on the 6th round? When there is a high number of intervals its usually tough to stay mentally dialed in. The better you become at this, the more you will be able to push yourself.
Session Two
5:20/km was the pace based for the 80% effort calc – goal pace should have been around 6:20 (if I calc correctly).
Finished after 30min, with a distance of 5.1k and an avg. pace of 5:53 so very bad from a pacing point of view of achieving the 6:20 but happy with the run – with exception of the first Km I was consistent across the rest of the run.
@Patrick Donsbach:disqus – sounds like you went a little faster than the recommended pace, not a big deal. As the distance increases, you want to be able to know what your pace feels like. Do you run with a watch that tells you your pace?
Using a polar m200, current setting is that it tells me the avg. pace for 1km.
@Patrick Donsbach:disqus – gotcha, I am not as familiar with pacing for km rather than miles…but if you keep tracking your 400m paces I will know more or less your ability and be able to help you with pacing strategies.
Session 1 on Monday
Vo2
Did every 4 min. 5 sets
1. 1:00.01
2. 56:74
3. 55:19
4. 54:86
5. 54;86
Session 3 done on Friday
Lactate beginner
5:31.01
3:37.77
5:37.32
Allt of headwind
I know I am slow as fuck haha
@sigururhafsteinnjnsson:disqus – you’ll get better if you keep running consistently. You may even see some improvements in your workouts in the gym too.
Warm up, machenical drills, striders, then,
9 laps of
Session One
VO2 Max
Intermediate
Complete as many sprints as possible in 25 minutes of:
300 Meter Sprints
Walk 100 Meters
Goal was 10 laps. Fell a bit short. Sprinted faster than expected. Walk slower than expected.
Thanks Scott for sharing.. good indication for my session on Saturday, up until now, no idea on how long the walks would/could be.
Sure thing, Patrick. Honestly I thought my walks would take less time than my sprints, and it actually ended the other way around.
@disqus_KVAPdHwYnN:disqus – the walks are meant to give you enough rest so that you sprint fast and stay consistent on the 300s. Ideally no more than 3s deviation.
@disqus_KVAPdHwYnN:disqus – these are great – you started out a little hot, but then you were pretty consistent around 1:15 give or take a few seconds.
Thanks, Nuno. Based on my 5km time, 1:15 is also pretty dead on with Invictus pacing chart.
Session three done incl warmup done
Total time: 18:12
1. Avg pace 400m/1:57
2. 400m/1:51
3. 400m/1:54
Hope thats okay from an intensity point of view, wanted this to be quicker then a 5min/km (5:20/km was my time on the 5k)
@Patrick Donsbach:disqus – those are consistent paces. Did you get the times for the 1200 and 800s? And ideally yes, these are meant to be faster than your 5k pace since there is built in rest.
Thanks Nuno.
The pace mentioned above is the average 400m pace for each of the three distances 1200/800/1200.
@Patrick Donsbach:disqus – gotcha, thank you for clarifying, thats pretty consistent!
Session 1 advanced:
Averaged 1:06.9 per 300m…ranged from 1:05.8 to 1:08.7 (started off too fast!)
@beccakimball:disqus – that’s pretty normal I would say, to start off fast. Especially with an unfamiliar distance like 300M. Looks like you kept it consistent though.
Hey Nuno, a question about the Invictus Endurance program. I am not aspiring to do a 1/2 marathon. I am only doing this program to improve my running mechanics and a better engine for crossfit. So if I choose to do two running sessions per week, which one should I skip till I get comfortable with running? Session 2(aerobic threshold workout)
@pradeepambati:disqus – great question.I would suggest doing the VO2Max and Lactate workouts, and yes skipping the Aerobic Threshold workout. Keep posting your results.
Nuno