Workout Wednesday: Run Race Prep & Fueling Session

12-20km Run Race Prep & Fueling Session

This workout is designed to get you ready for an upcoming race. This is ideally completed 10-14 days before competition. The intensity for the session is moderate, and the emphasis is on fueling.

Gear Required: Race Nutrition (ie. F2C Glycodurance or preferred fuel)

Before starting this workout, make sure to determine your caloric needs for the race and implement the same strategy in this workout that you intend to use on Race Day.

Warm-Up (3.0km)

1. 1km Easy Effort Zone 1-2

• Holding an easy pace for the first 1km this is to get your blood flowing and heart rate elevated to get ready for the serious work

2. 1km Alternating 100m Easy/100m Tempo Z3

• Use this section to start putting a little bit of speed into your legs. Alternating a strong Tempo effort and an easy jog, this will help get the nerves firing and ready to hit your race pace effort.

3. 500m Drill/Gait Work

• This is where we start focusing on some technical skills before hitting the hard session. Choose 5 of your favorite drills and alternate between 50m of Drill and 50m of light jogging.

4. 500m Light Jog Shake-Out

• Use these last 500m to do some light stretching and shake out the legs to loosen up for the upcoming main set. Take a quick sip of nutrition & hydration here as well.

Main Set (7-15km)

1. 7-15 x 1km at Race Pace Effort / 500m Easy Jog

• Using your target race Effort, complete an appropriate number of intervals based on your target race distance and your training status. Highly trained athletes can go up to 80% of their target Race Distance. Less trained athletes may want to remain closer to 40% or less.

• The focus on these efforts is consuming your nutrition during the intervals. Follow an appropriate fueling strategy that allows your Gastrointestinal system to adequately digest and absorb the nutrition. This may take a few sessions to determine. Record your feelings and success or failure in your training log.

Cool Down (2km)

1. 2km Easy jog & Stretch

• Follow a short 1.5-2km cool down protocol, including adequate stretches to finish the session.

Total: 12km - 20km

Tips

• Breathing: Focus on deep diaphragmatic breathing. If nasal breathing is available to you, this is a great time to practice.

• Technique: Keep good form, especially when deeper in the sets and feeling fatigued. Focus on a strong, efficient stride while taking in adequate nutrition.

• Rest: Use the rest intervals to recover fully so you can maintain speed and intensity during the main sets.

• Hydration: Make sure you stay hydrated by drinking water before and after the workout! Use our Hydration Calculator to help you determine how much water you should be bringing to your workouts!