WEEK 6: half Marathon 2020

SAINTS DAYS 5K &10K TRAINING STARTS  The upcoming weekend February 22-23 is probably the very last on which an organized or custom race might be scheduled with a St. Valentine’s Day theme. So, everyone is likely to be looking ahead to training for the ‘SAINTS DAYS’ 10K competition at the end of this upcoming week .
 
Although the official holiday date is March 17, St. Patrick’s Day-themed races can be found scheduled on the March 14-15 weekend and the following March 21-22 weeknd.  For example, Chicago’s Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K will be held March 21 this year.
 
For those not running/walking a St Valentine’s 5K this Saturday, the long run is 6 miles and the walk is 4 miles. Going forward, you will be building endurance to allow finishing the 10K, 6.1- mile race distance next month with confidence.
 
How exciting; soon there will be one Saint's Day in the books and only one  more to go!
 
Occasional posts in past years have suggested cross training options. The RUN plan does not formally schedule a cross training day.  The WALK Earned Runs plan suggests Mondays, and this could work for runners too, depending on your usual level of activity and need for recovery. Each individual must determine whether to cross train, and how to do so without adversely affecting running/walking days.
 
You may find that a moderately paced swimming session provides a pleasant level of tiredness, or that a short high-intensity interval cycling or rowing session invigorates your next run.  An article in runnersworld.com features the "unconventional" training program of an elite runner, Ann Mazur who qualified for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Team Trials by running less and swimming more (much, much more), plus continuing with another leg-saving specialty activity, yoga.
 
Experiment to learn what helps you to perform best physically and mentally. Although the RUN plan has 4 running days and the WALK plan has 4 walking days, one day could be substituted with cross-training to spare your legs.  However, runners should keep the long run sessions and the hills’ sessions if you are comfortably able to perform them. Walkers should try to maintain the long walk and one HIIT walk session.
 
RUN & MOVE HAPPY!
 
https://www.shamrockshuffle.com/register-for-2020/8krun/

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a30459353/ann-mazur-2020-olympic-trials-qualifier/