12 week 5K Training Program



2008 12 WEEK 5K TRAINING PROGRAM The Pine Belt Pacers will conduct a 12-week training program beginning Tuesday, June 10 at 6:00 pm at Thames Elementary School track. The program is designed to prepare participants to complete the club's Labor Your Legs 5K which will be held Monday, September 1 at Cloverleaf Center. The training plan will consist of three levels: beginner for those who have no running experience or run less than 12 miles per week, intermediate for those who run between 13-24 miles a week and advanced for those who run 25 or more miles per week. In addition to the weekly sessions, participants will be provided with a day to day training program. The program is free and is open to anyone who has an interest in beginning a running program, as well as runners who wish to improve speed and endurance. Becky Ryder, local coach and accomplished distance runner, will conduct the program, with the assistance of Vicki Copeland and Audrey Jackson. For additional information, contact Becky Ryder at 601-434-2619
Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
Report on Week #1 June 10, 2008 See Pictures. Tuesday, June 10 was the first week for the Pacer's 5K training program. We got lucky with the weather. At 6:00 pm when we were scheduled to begin, it was raining. We were able to take cover under the awning at Thames Elementary School and after introductions and instructions, the sun came out and we were able to complete the workouts. The group of about 30 was divided into three level, beginners which were led by Becky Ryder, intermediate led by Vicki Copeland and advanced led by Audrey Jackson. About half of those in attendance were beginners. Everyone seemed to have good workouts and hopefully we'll have even more people next week. I think that the rain did discourage some from attending.
Report on Week #2 June 17, 2008 Once again the weather cooperated! At about 5:50 pm, the storm passed by without interfering with our workout. Tonight, we had 29 participants which makes for a total of 40 people who have attended at least one of the track sessions. Since beginning the program, this is the largest number that we've had and it is especially encouraging that over half of the participants are in the beginner category. Some of the "hard core" runners such as Jim Coll, Ginny Dufrene, Kily Garcia, and Terry Lawhead did their own form of torture. I think they managed something like 8 x 800. So, if you want to get a great speed session, come on out and do either the beginner, intermediate, advanced plan or do like the above mentioned group and make up your own plan. The point is that you will find someone to feel the pain with you. If you are interested in the details of the training program, email Becky Ryder at hryder29@comcast.net or phone at 601-434-2619. Complete training schedules with day to day workouts are available on this website.
Report on Week #3 June 24, 2008 We all must be living right! Once again, we made it through the speed session without the thunderstorm moving in on us. Our numbers are holding steady. Tonight we had 29 people show up, although some just came out to observe the pain of the real runners. The beginners are hanging in there. They will soon experience a bit of an increase in their time spent running and will have a decrease in time spent walking. My best advice for this group as well as the other two is that you must remain consistent. Do the workouts as close to the plan as possible. This is an incremental program and if you fudge by not doing 1 or 2 of the workouts a week, it will soon become very difficult to do any of the workouts. If you are having real difficulty with any of the speed segments, you need to slow down and try to complete the plan. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. If you stick with the program, you will get faster! Becky Ryder hryder29@comcast.net
Report on Week #5 July 8, 2008 Last night the weather was really good to us. With the afternoon rain, the temperature was cooler than usual. The group consisted of 22 and many of the beginners are making tremendous progress. I can't report on the intermediate and advanced since I've been paying more attention to the beginners, some of whom are dropping weight/body fat and really looking good. If you have been following your program, you should be reaching a point where, even though the intensity and duration of the workouts are increasing, you should be adapting very well. Don't get me wrong, there are going to be days when you will have a difficult time and it is not always easy to predict when those times will occur. That's one of the things that is so crazy about running. There are days when you think there is no way you will be able to workout and once you start you will feel much better. Then, there are those days when you think you're going to be faster than ever before and when you start you have dead legs, can't breathe or whatever. The best advice I can give you is no matter how you are feeling, make yourself go out the door and walk/run for at least 10-20 minutes. Usually, you'll be able to complete the day's workout. If not, just take that day as a rest day and do the "failed" workout on the planned rest day. I hope that some of you will be able to attend the Pacer social/meeting on Sunday at my home. If you will be able to make it, please let me know so that Charles will know how many turkeys to fry.
Report on Week #6 July 15, 2008 This was 6th week of the 5K training program. We have had a total of 50 different people attend at least one of the weekly sessions. Tonight there were 26 people and each group completed a very difficult workout. After a half mile walk, the beginners did 6 x 400 with 200-400 jog/walk recovery, ending with a half mile walk cooldown. The intermediate and advanced group was treated to one of "Boss Ryder's" favorite workouts. After a one mile jog warmup, they did the famous whistle drill where they alternated running and jogging for time. They began with 15 seconds and increased 15 seconds with each segment until they reached 2 minutes running and 2 minutes jogging. At that point they worked their way back down in 15 second increments. At one point, Boss Ryder was pleasantly surprised when Charles Jackson yelled at her, "Blow the Damn whistle!" Little did he know what pleasure she derives from this power position. Frank Barrett and Chad Dufrene completed the workout without walking a step. Ginny Dufrene and Kily Garcia ran all but a few steps. Ginny was waiting for Chad to bring her water and Kily was so out of it that he thought he was finished way before the torture was complete. Boss Ryder had to yell at him to get him back on task. Overall, this was probably the best workout of the program. Most everyone is reaching that point where they are mentally and physically adapting to the training. We have two more weeks at Thames and then we will hold the final 4 weeks at the Trace.
Report on Week # 8 July 29th of 5K Training Lucky us---the huge thunderstorm came in early and cleared out so that we were able to complete the workout. Once again, we had good attendance with about 25 people. I missed last week, but upon questioning everyone, I determined that there was about the same number last week. Tonight the beginners did 4 x 200, 2 x 300 and 1 x 400. The intermediate and advanced did 2 sets of 6 x 200. The significant improvement that I am seeing is that more and more of these very dedicated athletes are running more (some are running all) of the recovery segments. This is an indication that they are adapting to the training and becoming more fit. Next week will be the predicted time 2-mile event at the Gateway to the Longleaf Trace. Kily Garcia is in charge and I'm sure it will be a fun event. Be sure and bring food to share after the run. The club will provide drinks, plates, napkins, etc. Sign-up between 6-6:15 pm and start of event is 6:30 pm. Contact Kily or Audrey for details.
A Beginners Ramblings by Jennifer Torres (a journal of one persons outlook on the 12 week training program)
Report on last year's 2007 Training Program