Workout #2
Warm up at zero to one percent incline for 20 minutes at a pace that is completely aerobic. After the warm-up, run five repeats that are four minutes in length. Jog an easy one minute between each running interval. Put the treadmill speed at your best 10K pace from last season.
Run the first four minutes at zero incline, the second repeat at 1 percent, the third at 2 percent, the fourth at 3 percent and the final repeat back to zero incline. Cool down with easy jogging for the remaining time to total 45 minutes.
5 x 4 minutes (1 minute RI) at 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and finish with 0% incline.
Workout #3
Warm up at 0 to 1 percent incline for 20 minutes at a pace that is completely aerobic. After the warm-up, run four repeats that are five minutes in length. Jog an easy two minutes between each running interval. Put the treadmill speed at your best 10K pace from last season. Run the first four minutes at zero incline, the second repeat at 1 percent, the third at 2 percent and the fourth at 3 percent. Cool down with easy jogging for the remaining time to total 45 minutes.
4 x 5 minutes (2 minute RI) at 0%, 1%, 2% and finish with 3% incline.
Repetition Leads to Improvement (in you and the weather)
After you complete the third workout and have a recovery week, you can repeat the workout series once per week for your next training block—if you have the time and need to do so. If you decide to repeat the series, one option is to see if you can increase the treadmill speed and still stay within the heart rate guidelines.
After completing one or two rounds of the workout series, you should see one or more of the improvements listed earlier in the column. Take note of the speeds you ran and the associated heart rates if you use a heart rate monitor. You can use this data for subsequent running workouts this season and as a starting point for workouts next season.
I'm hoping that by the time you complete the workout series, we all see an improvement in the cold weather. Warm weather and spring racing is not that far away.