Hi, I'm Debbie Boyles, coach at Mojo for Running, and this is podcast number six.

Last time we talked about macro and micro training cycles.

When I say macro cycle, I mean the period of time from one goal race to the next,

and micro cycles are the smallest elements of a macro cycle. Microcycles are grouped together

into three phases that together comprise the macro cycle. Last time we mainly talked about the

first phase, base building. When you build up your base mileage to prepare for speed work to come

in the next phase.

We discussed how much to increase your mileage, how frequently, and on what days of the week to add it.

The next phase is sometimes called the sharpening phase and sometimes the competitive phase.

Whatever we call it, this is when the runner concentrates more on speed

work while maintaining mileage or slightly dropping it back to accommodate the added stress

of more intense speed work. I said that it was a good idea to incorporate a little speed

work toward the end of the base phase and I suggested

fart-like training or hill work as a good place to start. When you transition into this

second phase, the main difference is that your speed work gets more serious and you stop

increasing your mileage. However, most runners should still only do speed work once a week.

I think only experienced runners should incorporate two speed workouts a week.

And by that, I mean those who've already been through a couple of complete macro cycles.

There are many ways to do speed work and variety is a good idea, not only physically but

also mentally. The type of speed work you do will be to some extent dependent on the race

you're training for. And we'll get into that a lot more in a future episode when we talk the

whole episode about the different types of speedwork.

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