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parkrun and training plans
Like many others I go to parkrun most Saturday mornings and run hard. I would like to use a training plan that takes account of this and, ideally any other races I enter. Again, like almost everyone else, my aim is to improve my 5K, 10K or half marathon times. Does anyone know of training plans with this flexibility?
PS. I do volunteer for parkrun, usually when I am in a race the next day!
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If you are doing a longer run at the weekend, why not incorporate a parkrun into that? Run to the course easy, then a nice blast round your parkrun course, and then a nice easy run home. Probably pretty good speed endurance training, I would have thought.
I would write my own training plan if I was you. Maybe look at 6 week blocks and target different things as a primary focus in each block, increasing the intensity of the quality sessions over the 6 weeks.
For instance, at the moment I'm targeting my VO2 max level, and so am using one session a week to target this in training. My other quality session is the parkrun, which I run at between LT and 10k pace for a tempo run.
After this I think I'm going to aim to target LT, so start with the 3.1 miles of parkrun at this pace, and build until I'm doing something like 5k at LT, 10 mins rest, 5k at LT. The other quality session during this block will be something faster, probably alternating between 200s and 400s.
If you write your own programs then you can target whatever race you want, and build in other races as either races or quality sessions.
You can count a hard run 5k/Parkrun as a VO2 max session according to Daniels, so it can replace your intervals session on occasion. Make your other quality session that week a tempo run.
Or, you can do it like chubby bloke and run the Parkrun at tempo pace and do a seperate interval session. If you race it though it won't count as a tempo run as your muscles will flood with lactate and it won't be accomplishing your aim of training your body to deal with lactic by running at just the right pace. Depends how disciplined you are really!
Personally I wouldn't want to race a Parkrun every week - I only do it once a month to check progression.
I tend to run a mile to warm up pre-Parkrun, hard Parkrun, then run the three miles home for a decent session. Followed by a long run on the Sunday (distance depending on what length race you are targetting - between 10 and 15 miles). Then one tempo on a Tues, easy run on a weds and intervals on a Thurs if not Parkrun that week.