This is an 8 week training program designed for someone looking to run 20:00 in the 5k at the end of the program. This can be used for a track race, turkey trot, etc... The athlete using this program should have some background of distance running and should be able to at least run 4x a week before starting this program. The program will get the athlete accustomed to running and then start to progress into some race specific workouts. This training plan is best utilized when it can be followed as precisely as possible. Athletes should avoid straying from the original plan as much as possible. HOWEVER, if sickness, injury, etc.. pop up during the 8 weeks, you can adjust to the best of your ability. This program will assign lots of "effort based" intervals. This means that on that specific training day, you focus on the effort of the interval over the pace. So, if it is a hilly running course, or it's colder, or very hot; you can slow down and dial in on the effort of whatever assigned. This may take some practice and getting used to, so don't over analyze early on in the program.
A few things you should know:
Easy Run Pace- (9:28 - 9:09)
Threshold Pace- (7:04 - 6:54)
Race Pace- (6:26)
Best of luck!!
Hammer & Axe Training was born out of a vision shared by a handful of elite distance runners. We found in our training that we ran our best when we committed to training our speed and strength equally. A focus on strength made us durable, strong, and prepared for the adversity that racing brings. A focus on speed made us confident, efficient, and ready to move when the right moment arrived. We wanted to bring this feeling of speed and strength to as many runners as possible.