YouTube playlist with Strength and Mobility (SAM), Leg Swings (LS), Lunge Matrix (LM), and Core X is here.

YouTube Speed for Distance Runners playlist – click here.

YouTube Running Circuits videos – click here.

And to purchase my book Consistency Is Key: 15 Ways to Unlock Your Potential as a High School Runner, click here. Make sure to use the code “WI10” to get 10% off your order. Free excerpts of the book are here.

You can watch over seven hours of free Boulder Running Clinics videos here. I share discounts on clinic videos via my newsletter, or simply email me and I can share a discount for being part of the Wisconsin clinic.

Finally, the Boulder Running Camps is a great way for serious kids and coaches to learn more about the sport. Email me if you want access to free recordings from the 2020 summer virtual camp and the 2020-21 winter virtual camps. While the virtual camps aren’t for every athlete, serious athletes who are eager to improve are having a blast. Over 87 percent of campers said the camp was worth the $297 registration free, and over 30 percent said it was worth more than $297. If you have a team interested in attending please email me – we offer deep discounts for teams and I’d love to get you and your team involved.

If I can ever be helpful please email me at jay@coachjayjohnson.com.

The post Wisconsin Clinic – Winter 2021 appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

The workout is exactly as it sounds. You’ll be doing a fartlek that gets progressively faster, and the fartlek segments get progressively longer. Just like the fartlek workout I’ve described previously (click here) you will run two paces: “on” and “steady.” The difference in the progression fartlek is the the on portions will increase in length as the workout progresses. And you should be running faster as the workout progresses as well. Similar to the progression run, this is a great workout to get you mentally ready to run faster at the end of races (that is, running a negative split race).

The first progression fartlek is simply:

3/1, 3/1, 4/1, 4/1, 5/1, 5/1, 6/1, 8. So 3 minutes on, 1 minute steady, 3 minutes on, 1 minute steady, 4 minutes one, 1 minute steady, etc. The fastest running should come in the final 8 minutes of the workout. Most athletes run about the same pace for the first two 3-minute segments, speed up for the 4-minute segments, running this new pace for both 4-minute segments, etc.

Key point: Do not use your GPS and run pre-determined paces. This workout is designed to sharpen your skill of running by feel. You need to run this workout in such a way that the last segment has you running faster than all of the previous segments. And that will be a challenge as the 1-minute steady recovery will go quickly. Bottom line is that this is a killer workout and you’re going to be challenged.

You should finish this workout saying you had another 5-minute on segment in you, but only if you had 2-3 minutes of steady recovery. So that means you’ll be running hard at the end of the workout. This is the fourth aerobic workout I’ve shared and it’s the most challenging. And that’s why fit athletes love it – there is a such a sense of accomplishment when you’ve done this workout. You know you’re fit when you execute a progression fartlek workout and nail the last repetition.

4/1, 4/1, 5/1, 5/1, 6/1, 6/1, 7/1, 10 is 54 minutes of running and a reasonable workout for a fit athlete.

4/1, 4/1, 5/1, 6/1, 7/1, 8/1, 9/1, 10 is 60 minutes of running and a great workout to test yourself with once you’ve done the first two versions of this workout. That said, you may not advance to this version of the workout in a given block of training as it might not make sense in your progression of fitness. Be patient and know that if you stay injury free that there is more training to come in the future and you will eventually have the chance to tackle this workout.

Make sure you’ve done Fartlek workouts, Aerobic Repeats and Progression Runs before you do this workout. That’s the sequence of workouts and you need to be patient and follow the sequence for this physically demanding and mentally challenging workout.

..but once you get to the time in your training where this workout makes sense, you’re going to love it!

The post Aerobic Workouts: Progression Fartleks appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

4 x 8 minutes with 3 minutes steady is the first aerobic repeat workout I use with athletes. Totaling 41 minutes of high level aerobic running, this is a challenging workout, so long as you run steady rather than easy for the 3-minute segment. Yes, it’s slower than the 8-minute segment, but don’t think of it as a full recovery. By the end of the 3 minutes you should be thinking, “I wish I had another minute at this pace.” Do a 10-minute warm-up and a 10-minute cool-down to get 61 minutes of total running.

What paces should you run? I have no idea. I have no idea what your fitness is, so I can’t tell you what paces you should be able to run for this workout. What I can tell you is if you run by feel you’ll be able to execute this workout on the second or third try. The keys to this workout are as follows.

First, you need to make the first 8-minute segment very conservative. Do that and you give yourself a great chance of running faster on the next three 8-minute repetitions.

Second, you need to make your last 8-minute repetition your fastest repetition. If you do that then you’ll have done a workout that has a slight progression to it, aka a negative split workout, where the second half of the workout is faster than the first half of the workout.

Third, you must be able to say, “I could have done one more 8-minute repetition. I wouldn’t have wanted 5 minutes of steady running rather than 3 minutes, but I could have done it.” If you can say that at the end of the workout then you’ve done a great job executing this workout.

Just like the fartlek workout there is no shame in bombing this workout the first or second time you do the workout. All that means is that you’re learning the skill of running by feel, which is a challenge if you’ve been running all of your workouts based on pace.

Final thought. This is basically an extended version of the fartlek workout, and for that reason, this is the next workout you should do after you have a couple of fartlek workouts under your belt. The difference is that you have to focus for 8 minutes, which is much more difficult than focusing for 4 minutes.

Feel free to do 5 x 8 minutes with 3 minutes steady for 52 minutes of challenging aerobic running (so 72 minutes with a 10-minute warm-up and 10-minute cool-down). That’s the longest most of my athletes will do in their training, moving to progression runs and progression fartleks as the next step in their training.

The post Aerobic Workouts: Aerobic Repeats appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

Fartlek is a Swedish term that means “speed-play.” You simply oscillate between two or more paces in your run. The simplest fartleks should be done in 5-minute blocks. So you can do 2 minutes “on” – a pace that is challenging, but one you could do for 15-20 minutes. Then do 3 minutes “steady” – a pace that is slower than the “on” pace, but faster than your easy run pace. That is a solid 5 minutes of running. Do 4 sets and you have 20 minutes of running; do 8 sets and you have 40 minutes of running. So you can complete a 10-minute warm-up and a 10-minute cool-down, then do 4-8 sets in the middle, giving you 40-60 minutes of running. Simple.

The common mistake with fartlek workouts is to go too fast during the on and too slow on the steady. So, run VERY easy during the first on segment, but keep the steady at an honest pace. Again, the on portions should be at a pace you can do for 15-20 minutes, so running just 2 minutes at this pace is not that challenging.

This workout is the antithesis of 10 x 400m with 60 seconds of walk/jog. In that workout you go super hard, then walk/jog; in this workout you run a challenging, but not hard pace during the on portion, then make the steady portion fast enough that the 5-minute block is challenging, but highly doable.

You can progress from 2 minutes on, 3 minutes steady, to 3 minutes on, 2 minutes steady, then on to a killer fartlek of 4 minutes on, 1 minute steady. These are assigned as 2/3, 3/2 and 4/1 on a training document. All three variations have you running 5-minutes per set, and you can do up to 10 or 12 sets (though just 6 sets will be challenging for a high school athlete coming off their first cross country season or an adult athlete just getting back into training).

Here’s the good news when it comes to your first couple of fartlek workouts. If you go too hard early on and end up running slower paces by the end of the workout, no worries – you’re learning how to run by feel. So bombing this workout the first time – and even the second time – you run it is fine, so long as you learn how to run by feel and make the last couple of sets your fastest. Eventually, you should get to the point where the difference between the on portions and the steady portions is 60 seconds or less. But again, run by feel and don’t look at paces when you’re doing this work,  Looking at the splits when the workout is done is a good idea and will tell if you need to slow down the on portions and speed up the steady portions, which is what ninety percent of athletes need to do when they first perform this workout.

This is a simple workout, but as jazz pianist Thelonious Monk said, “Simple ain’t easy.” #simpleainteasy

The post Aerobic Workouts: Fartlek appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

*There is a debate as to the exact percentage for the 1,600m, ranging from 80% to 85%.

The second key with the aerobic metabolism is that you can improve it year after year. This is why the best marathoners in the world tend to be older than the best sprinters in the world…and it’s why many masters runners, who come to running later in life, continue to run faster year after year.

The way I like to think about the aerobic metabolism is that you’re building your engine when you train aerobically. Now, you need a strong chassis to handle this engine (so LMLS and SAM work daily – videos here), but the key to your long term success as a runner, and the way you’ll run PRs at a variety of distances, is to continue to improve your aerobic system.

What follows are four fundamental aerobic workouts. They are presented in roughly the same progression that you would do the workouts, one per week for the busy adult and perhaps two per week for serious high school and collegiate athletes. The long run is the key aerobic workout of the week and I’m assuming that you’ll be doing a long run virtually every week that you’re training.

The key with all of these aerobic workouts is to run by feel, rather than running at specific paces. There is a time and a pace for race pace work, yet most of the time you simple need to run by feel. Running by feel allows you to train at the right level for that day. If you have higher than normal life stress and the assignment for the day is a progression run, you’ll still do the workout, but you might run slower than you did a few weeks prior. That’s fine! The key is that you have an aerobic stimulus and if you properly recover that night and the next day, you’ll have gained a bit of fitness. Distance running is a game of incremental steps forward; consistency is our goal, even though it’s not a glamorous goal. That’s fine – you didn’t think distance running was going to be glamorous, did you?

As you’ll see, all of the aerobic workouts are simple in their structure, yet as the iconic jazz pianist Thelonious Monk said, “Simple ain’t easy.” There is nothing easy about these workouts, so don’t deceive yourself into thinking that a simple workout won’t have you running near your capacity by the end of it.

1. Fartlek
2. Aerobic Repeats
3. Progression Runs
4. Progression Fartlek

These workouts should be done in the foundational phase of training. Foundational work is different than “base building,” a term that has historically meant putting in a bunch of easy miles, without strides and without non-running work. Foundational training is training that includes strides, LMLS and SAM, rope stretching, plus things like pool walking or pool running a time or two each week to ensure proper recovery. You’re laying a foundation, not building a base.  When you and your coach have done a few months of this work you can move on to doing some race specific work (work that may or may not have you tapping into the anaerobic metabolism during the workouts). You’ll need a coach to help you organize your training sessions, your training weeks, and your blocks of training, but if you can’t hire a coach for an entire year, doing 1-2 of these workouts a week, plus a weekly long run, plus all of the components in foundational training, will put you in a great position to do race pace work when you hire a coach.

The post Aerobic Workouts: Introduction appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

Summer 2020 General Strength Progression: Explanation PDF and Exercises PDF.

YouTube Channel with all the videos referenced in the progression – click here.

Running Circuits videos – click here.

To sign-up for my newsletter click here.

And to purchase my book Consistency Is Key, click here.

If I can ever be helpful please email me at jay@coachjayjohnson.com.

The post Wildwood Clinic – Resources appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

1. LSLM, SAM and Core X – YouTube playlist – click here.
2. To get the Summer 2020 General Strength Progression you’ll need to sign up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up.
3. While you’ll have to wait until the end of the month to buy a single copy of Consistency Is Key, you can get 10% off bundles of books – regular copies for your athletes and the limited edition Coach’s Copy for you. The 10% off discount I shared during the presentation is good through Thursday, June 11th.  Click here to order your books.
4. The Boulder Running Camps virtual camp is June 22nd – July 2nd. Click here to see our schedule and click here to see a list of speakers.

The post Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas – June 2020 Clinic appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

Jeff Messer, PhD, and I discuss how coaches and athletes can view training during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr. Messer references two papers and summaries them in this podcast.

1. Debunking the Myth of Exercise-Induced Immune Suppression: Redefining the Impact of Exercise on Immunological Health Across the Lifespan. Campbell JP1, Turner JE1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29713319

2. The compelling link between physical activity and the body’s defense system David C. Niemana,⁎ and Laurel M. Wentzb https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6523821/

At the end of this podcast is a coupon code for $12 off any BoulderRunningClinics.com videos, clinics that Dr. Messer has both spoken at and attended.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Overcast and Spotify.

Note: A hand-edited transcript of this episode will soon be by Sunday, March 29th. To get the transcript please join my newsletter – click here to sign-up.

The post Jeff Messer, PhD on Covid-19 – Episode 17 – Coaching Runners Podcast appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

Tony and I spend most of this episode focused on training, specifically discussing what distance coaches can adapt from the sprint world to improve performance. If you listened to episode 005 with Tony you know he strongly recommends distance coaches use wickets (aka mini-hurdles) with their athletes. He tweaks that suggestion a bit and points out that it’s very common for distance runners to run a set of wickets with poor mechanics. He then goes into detail with a progression of drills coaches can use to teach proper mechanics.

And just as John O’Malley said it’s important to watch the video below with Jeff Boele, Tony gives his reasons for why it’s a must-watch for serious distance coaches.

Combine this episode with episode 014 and you have almost three and a half hours with Tony!

The post Tony Holler – Part 2 – Episode 016 – Coaching Runners Podcast appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.

Three former guests on the podcast discuss a variety of topics, starting with a definition of the term “speed” and how that term fits into the training of distance runners. Specifically, Jeff Boelé and John O’Malley discuss acceleration and why it may or may not be useful for distance runners.

The conversation then moves on to a discussion of terminology across a spectrum of intensities, including threshold and vVo2max running. Later in the podcast John and Jeff Boelé address a question Joan Hunter submitted regarding sub-max velocity work and their answers are fantastic.

This podcast is in many ways an extension of the conversations these three men and Jay Johnson have been engaging in via a text thread for the past year.

While technical at times, the majority of the information in this podcast will be useful for coaches with two years of experience, coaches with 20 years of experience and everyone in between.

Below is the 20-minute video of Jeff Boelé’s neural session practice, the video that John O’Malley says is a must-watch.

If you’d like some transcribed excerpts of this podcast please join my email list via the sidebar to your right.

Finally, John, Dr. Messer and Jay all spoke at the 2020 Boulder Running Clinics and at the end of the podcast Jay shares a coupon code that will give you $10 off those videos. Visit BoulderRunningClinics.com to purchase the videos.

Bios:

John O’Malley  

A Brooks “Top 25 Most Inspiring Coaches” award winner, Coach O’Malley has an unprecedented coaching resume. He has had the unique ability to coach the “average” runner in addition to being able to take elite runners to the highest levels in Illinois and United States history. His cross country teams at Sandburg H.S. have qualified for state 14 years in a row, which accounts for every year he’s been coaching. His teams have placed in the top 10 in state eight separate occasions out, including three top four finishes, a runner up in 2014 and a state championship in 2015. Without their #2 runner, his team placed 4th at NXN in 2015 after qualifying and placing 16th in 2014. In additional to coaching two NXN teams, he has coached two individual qualifiers.  

He coached two-time Illinois state champion, 8:29 2-miler, 3:59 miler, only double Footlocker and Nike National Champion, Lukas Verzbicas. Last year Dylan Jacobs won Footlocker Midwest Regional, making Coach O’Malley the only coach to have coached two Footlocker Midwest Regional champions. Jacobs would go on to be a double All-American at NXN and Footlocker as a junior. At Detweiller Park, the Illinois state cross country course since 1972, two of O’Malley’s runners have broken 14:00, a feat only achieved by a total of six runners in Illinois history. His ability to create a culture in which all his athletes are fully engaged and determined is perhaps best exemplified by David Gleisner who as a healthy senior did not manage to make the team’s top seven and run at state or nationals, but would run 9:16 for 3200 that spring.  

On the track, O’Malley has coached five runners who have run 4:10 or better for 1600 and 15 runners 1:57 or better in the 800. His 4 x 800 relays have been most dominant. Having run 7:46 or better for the last six consecutive seasons, they placed in the top five in state seven times, including two state champion relays and setting the Illinois State Record of 7:37.3. In all, he’s had ten different foursomes run under 7:48. Additionally, Sean Torpy set the all time Illinois State Record in the 800 of 1:47.9. His 4 x mile relay won the 2016 New Balance Indoor National title. Sean Torpy would go on to become the Illinois state champion in the 1600, Chris Torpy the Illinois state 800 meter champion, and his team won three of the four distance events at the state meet in 2016, a feat only achieved two other times in state history. Last spring, after graduating three of his four state champions from 2016, his 4 x 800 came back to place 2nd in state in 7:46 and Dylan Jacobs ran 4:07 for 1600. O’Malley has coached three Gatorade Athletes of the Year: Lukas Verzbicas, Sean Torpy and Dylan Jacobs.  

The Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Coach of the Year, NFHS Coach of the Year, United States Track and Cross Country Federation Coach of the Year, Coach O’Malley’s coaching resume is perhaps only surpassed by his teaching accolades, which includes the Northwestern University Distinguished Secondary Teacher Award, the Stanford University Excellence in Teaching Award, the Illinois Education Association Leadership in Action Award and the Western Illinois University Inspiring teach award. 

Dr. Jeff Messer 

Dr. Jeffrey I. Messer serves as department chair and faculty in exercise physiology for the Exercise Science Department at Mesa Community College, Mesa, Arizona.  

Dr. Messer has published research in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, The American Journal of Physiology and The Journal of Applied Physiology. Most recently, Dr. Messer and co-authors published a 2016 paper entitled “A Simple Hydraulic Analog Model of Oxidative Phosphorylation.”  

Dr. Messer applies his passion for teaching and scholarly inquiry through his strong involvement in coaching both interscholastic endurance athletes and, periodically, pre-secondary and post-collegiate endurance athletes.  

Dr. Messer has been recognized by the United States Track-&-Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association as the 2016 National Girls High School Cross-Country Coach-of-the-Year. 

From 2006 – 2012, Dr. Messer served as co-head coach for cross-country and assistant coach (distance) for track-&-field at Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona. The Xavier College Preparatory cross-country program earned six consecutive (2007 – 2012) Arizona high school girl’s state cross-country championships. During the three-year period from 2010 – 2012, the Xavier College Preparatory cross-country program concluded the associated cross-country seasons ranked 22nd, 8th, and 21st in the United States. During the 2012 Arizona high school track-&-field season, Xavier College Preparatory had twelve (12) student-athletes average 5:13 for the 1,600-meter distance.  

In February 2013, Dr. Messer began to serve as head coach for girl’s cross-country and assistant coach (girls’ distance) for track-&-field at Desert Vista High School, Phoenix, Arizona. The Desert Vista High School girls’ cross-country program earned the 2013, 2014, and 2016 Arizona high school girls’ state cross-country championship. In late-May 2014, the Desert Vista High School girls’ distance program was ranked by MileSplit US as one of only two girls’ high school track-&-field programs in the United States with “top ten” groups in each of the 800-m, 1,600-m, and 3,200-m events. In December 2014, the Desert Vista High School girls’ cross-country program finished fifth (5th) at the Nike National High School Cross-Country Championship and thus concluded the 2014 high school cross-country season as the fifth (5th) ranked high school cross-country team in the United States. More recently, the Desert Vista High School girls’ cross-country program finished sixth (6th) at the 2016 Nike National High School Cross-Country Championship.  

Subsequent to the 2016 high school cross-country season, Dr. Messer retired from his head coaching endeavors in order to expand his community college leadership pursuits.  

Most recently, Dr. Messer returned and transitioned to the Desert Vista boys’ distance program as a volunteer assistant for the 2017 cross-country season. The Desert Vista High School boys’ cross-country program earned its first opportunity to compete at and ultimately finished eighth (8th) at the 2017 Nike National High School Cross-Country Championship. During the 2018 and 2019 Arizona high school cross-country seasons, Dr. Messer served as a volunteer assistant for the Desert Vista High School girls’ and boys’ cross-country programs.  

Additionally, Dr. Messer serves as the coach for professional runner Jessica Tonn. Miss Tonn recently finished as national runner-up at the October 2019 USA Track-&-Field 5-K Championships and hopes to compete at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Track-&-Field Trials.  

Jeff Boelé 

Jeff has a unique background as a coach. In his near 20-year career, he has worked with middle school, high school, collegiate, professional, and masters athletes.  With a background as an endurance athlete, Jeff got his start coaching distance athletes at Greenville College in Greenville, IL in the summer of 2000. Upon moving to Boulder, CO in 2005, Jeff’s coaching exploits started to diversify. He started working with a small group of post-collegiate athletes and eventually began helping at Lyons middle/senior high school (Lyons, CO) a few years later. It was at Lyons that Jeff’s coaching acumen was refined. Brought on to coach the high jump, Jeff took the challenge of becoming a great jumps coach seriously, and that meant taking a deep dive into the speed/power world. Eventually, Jeff handled programming for the cross country team and all event groups (sprint, jump, throw, distance) for the track and field team. He had direct oversight of the jumps and distance events.   

In 2015, Jeff met renowned coach Dan Pfaff at the ALTIS training enclave in Phoenix, AZ. Through this mentorship, Jeff was inspired to pursue a massage therapist license.  Becoming a licensed therapist in 2017 was one more skill set Jeff added to his coaching toolbox. The combination of sports therapy, speed/power and endurance training have equip Jeff well for his current role of working with professional and semi-profession distance athletes in Boulder, CO.   

Jeff has a proven track record of fostering a culture where athletes of all ages and abilities are able to develop and see continued progress in their athletic pursuits. Jeff holds USATF Level I and II (endurance) certifications and a jumps event specialist certification from the USTFCCCA. Additionally he is a licensed massage therapist in the state of Colorado 

Jeff works with or has worked with a number of notable athletes and teams. 

Paul Roberts – 2 x Nike Cross National qualifier, 5th place Footlocker Cross Country (2015), IAAF World Cross Country qualifier (2015) 

Katie Mackey – Multiple time US national champion, IAAF Indoor World Championship and Diamond League participant 

Lyons high school – 16 team state championships (cross country/track) and numerous individual state champions since 2010 

The post John O’Malley, Dr. Jeff Messer and Jeff Boelé – Episode 015 – Coaching Runners Podcast appeared first on coachjayjohnson.com.