This 10-week training plan is built for someone who wants to break 7 minutes in the mile but is still pretty new to distance running. It’s made for beginners who have a little to no experience - maybe they've run before, done a season, or jogged a few times a week. It starts out quite slow and conservative, but then gets into higher mileage and some faster, quality workouts.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
-Easy Run: This should be a pace where you are able to easily hold a conversation with someone one a run without feeling worn down.
-Strides are a pace that is MUCH quicker than easy run pace, but is NOT a sprint. Think of comfortably fast. If you were to put a pace to it, it would be close to your mile race pace. Make sure to do a slow 100 meter or 45-60sec jog in between reps.
-Long Runs: The purpose of these is time on feet! Should mainly be going easy pace on these or a touch faster but ONLY if you're feeling great that day.
-Recovery run: Slower than easy run pace! This can be a pretty big range because recovery is so different for everyone. However, I always tell my athletes, the slower the better. It's okay to jog, it's okay to run slow. This is where you grow and absorb the hard training sessions.
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.