HEART RATE-BASED TRAINING:
INCREDIBLE TWEAKS
ROUND II
IMPORTANT NOTE: If this is your first HRT Race Plan, you shouldn’t be opting into Round Two
content or the ‘tweaks’ listed in this document!
In order to improve, we need to train year ‘round (with small, short breaks after races, natch). That doesn’t
necessarily mean we need to be in Beast Mode year-round. That’s a bad idea, actually; odds are good that
anyone who goes HARD all the time will burn out before they get better.
The INCREDIBLE plan, which focuses on developing a wide aerobic base, is an ideal way to keep your
training and motivation steady without risking injury, burnout or exhaustion. That said, doing the same
training plan year in year out can lead to boredom, the #1 killer of motivation.
The tweaks outlined in this document should allow you to capitalize on the aerobic gains you made in
previous rounds of HRT, and give you some new material to keep things interesting and fun.
If you have been training by heart rate for at least twenty weeks, you have four big choices at this juncture—
and all are solid:
1. The INCREDIBLE plan as is, repeating the lessons and content from Round 1 since there was a LOT
of content, most of which was new, and a lot of lessons you may have missed because you were
stressin’ over your 140 pace.
2. The INCREDIBLE plan with tweaks (on this document), repeating the content from Round 1 since
there was a LOT of content, most of which was new, and a lot of lessons you may have missed
because you were stressin’ over your 140 pace.
3. The INCREDIBLE plan as is, opting into new content for Round 2* since you did #allthethings in the
first round (Bosu, Loops, SSSCs). This is a solid option for anyone who is downshifting to
AMAZING from one of the higher-intensity plans (EXCELLENT, OUTSTANDING, 102).
4.
The INCREDIBLE plan (on this document), opting into new content for Round 2* since you did
#allthethings in the first round (Bosu, Loops, SSSCs.) This is a solid option for anyone who is
repeating one of the lower-intensity plans (AMAZING, INCREDIBLE).
*You should receive an email about opting into Round 2 content. If you don’t, please email us at
[email protected] and we’ll set you up!
TWEAKS KEY
BGPU: Big-Girl Pickup
PLR: Long Run with
Progression Practice
60 seconds at 10K pace at the end
of every mile
LR: Long Run
RR: Recovery Run
Heart Rate Cap: 140 with
exceptions; firm 155 cap
Heart Rate: <120
NSLR: Negative Split
Long Run
SS: Stride Sandwich
VLR: Vanilla Long Run
Heart Rate: <140
NOTE: If the day is blank, do the workout as written on the original INCREDIBLE plan.
On Saturday, maximum-time-or-mileage rule still applies.
WEEK
MONDAY
1
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SS
Ax4
60 min.
20 min RR
SS
Ax4
60 min.
VLR: 6 miles
2
SS
Ax4
60 min.
20 min RR
SS
Ax4
60 min.
VLR: 8 miles
Or 94
3
SS
Ax8
60 min.
SS
Ax8
60 min.
20 min RR
SS
Ax8
60 min.
SS
Ax8
60 min.
VLR: 10 miles
SS
Bx4
60 min.
SS
Bx4
60 min.
20 min RR
SS
Bx4
60 min.
SS
Bx4
60 min.
VLR: 14 miles
SS
Bx6
60 min.
SS
Bx8
75 min.
20 min RR
4
5
6
7
8
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
20 min RR
20 min RR
30 min RR
SS
Bx6
60 min.
SS
Bx8
75 min.
VLR: 12 miles
NSLR: 10 miles
LR: 12 miles
w/BGPU
LR: 14 miles
w/BGPU
SUNDAY
WEEK
MONDAY
9
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SS
Cx6
75 min.
SS
Cx6
75 min.
SS
Cx8
75 min.
SS
Dx6
75 min.
or
EAT
SS
Dx6
75 min.
SS
Dx8
80 min.
or
EAT
SS
D x 10
80 min.
SS
Ex6
80 min.
or
EAT
SS
Ex8
80 min.
30 min RR
SS
Cx6
75 min.
SS
Cx6
75 min.
SS
Cx8
75 min.
SS
Dx6
75 min.
or
EAT
SS
Dx6
75 min.
SS
Dx8
80 min.
or
EAT
SS
D x 10
80 min.
SS
Ex6
80 min.
or
EAT
SS
Ex8
80 min.
NSLR: 16 miles
18
SS
E x 10
80 min.
or
EAT
40 min RR
SS
E x 10
80 min.
VLR: 12 miles
19
SS
Ex4
80 min.
20 min RR
SS
Ex4
60 min.
VLR: 8 miles
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
30 min RR
30 min RR
30 min RR
30 min RR
40 min RR
40 min RR
40 min RR
40 min RR
VLR: 12 miles
PLR: 17 miles,
4P (8-12)
VLR: 19 miles
PLR: 20 miles,
4P (15-19)
VLR: 12 miles
PLR: 20 miles,
6P (12-18)
VLR: 12 miles
VLR: 20 miles
SUNDAY
THE PART WHERE
WE EXPLAIN THINGS
What it says: SS A x 4 45 min.
What you do: After doing Silly Toes, roughly cut the workout into thirds. (Don’t stress about this too much:
roughly is the key word here.) Warm up (EE: HR <140) for 1/3 of the workouts, then find a flattish (or
grassy) patch and perform your stride sandwich, aka accelerators (A x 4). Once those are finished, your cooldown (EE: HR <140) begins. Keep running until your total workout time is complete.
SS A: Stride 20 seconds, recover 40 seconds
SS B: Stride 30 seconds, recover 30 seconds
SS C: Stride 40 seconds, recover 20 seconds
SS D: Stride 20 seconds, recover 20 seconds
SS E: Stride 20 seconds, recover 10 seconds
Example: SS A x 6 60 min 60/3=20. Warm up for 20 minutes, then find a flattish or grassy patch and
perform 6 sets of series A (20 seconds stride, 40 seconds recovery); after the final recovery your cool down
begins, just keep running EE until your workout has reached 60 minutes total.
More details: Accelerators and Strides are performed the same way. You control your acceleration into a
run, then control your deceleration back down to a jog. NOTE: This is not an all-sprint. This is a controlled
acceleration, followed by a controlled deceleration. You’re at your top speed for 3 seconds, max.
Another note: When they are after the workout Coach MK calls them Accelerators; when they are baked
into the workout, she refers to them as Strides. In Round 1, we had to assume Accelerators would bump
your heart rate too much and make the rest of the workout frustrating. You should be fit enough now to toss
strides into the middle of your workout and keep going. YAY YOU!
What it says: VLR: Vanilla Long Run
What you do: No pickups, no fun stuff. Just long, low and slow (EE: HR <140), allowing your body to reap
the results of yesterday’s workout.
What it says: NSLR: Negative Split Long Run
What you do: Practice negative splits. First half of the run, run at EE pace. Second half, pick up the pace a
bit; your max HR should be 155 for the second half, and your average for the whole workout around 148150. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO PRACTICE RACE PACE. DON’T DO IT. AND YES, WE ARE
YELLING THAT.
What it says: PLR: 17 miles, 4P (8-12)
What you do: Practice picking up the pace through fatigue. Keep HR under 140 until you hit mile 8. Then
run 4 miles: each a touch faster than the one before. After you do those 4 miles, bring your heart rate back to
<140; you should not be so tired that you need to walk.
Big key: You should NOT NOT NOT come anywhere close to your ‘race pace’. We want to practice subtle
differences in pacing; 10 seconds per mile is more than enough! Max HR should not be more than 160, ever
during a progression run.
Note: On the 20 milers, if you are running by maximum time, complete as much of the progression miles as
you can, giving yourself time for at least one mile of cooldown.
What it says: Big Girl Pickups
What you do: After your warmup, at the start of every mile pick up your pace by maximum 2 minutes per
mile; hold it for 60 seconds, then return to EE pace.