Workout Wednesday—Strides on Blue

Are you looking to amp up your running? Add hill repeats and speed work on Wednesdays at 5:30 a.m. This week, meet at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Kimberly Bridge Lot, at 5:30 a.m., for 90 minutes of stride workout. We’ll warm up with a loop of DH to Reservation Road then head over to Blue for the workout.

Strides are 15- to 30-second accelerations to the fastest pace you can go without straining, with 2 minutes easy running recovery between. The cap at 30 seconds is to prevent too much stress, which could undermine the aerobic system. Repeat 6 times heading out, easy run to the end of blue, then turn around and repeat another 6 before finishing at Kimberly Bridge. Cool down with an out-and-back on brown.

• Ease into the effort, with the first 5 seconds gradually building pace, emphasizing longer strides before rapid turnover;
• Run tall through the hips, with a slight forward lean;
• Use long-distance form, with normal arm carriage and a relaxed upper body;
• Instead of increasing cadence as high as you can go, emphasize knee drive and output-per-stride at a smooth effort.

Put it all together, and it usually equates to between the speed an athlete could race 800 meters to a mile (for beginner to intermediate athletes) or a mile to 3K or even 5K (for intermediate to very advanced athletes). Keep in mind, while Blue is relatively flat an non-technical, there are portions of the trail that are less so. Try to avoid your maximum pace in those areas.