All of you who have made it up to this point after completing week 8 of the running training program are doing great! Keep up that momentum and you will be getting the results of a leaner body, faster times, and a more fit you. I hope that last week's tempo run felt controlled but like a hard effort; you should have been able to learn a bit about pacing yourself from that workout too. If you felt like you were fading at the end you most likely were a bit overzealous in the beginning; conversely if you think you may have had a bit too much energy left at the end you could try to go out a bit harder next time. It's all a process and you will get more familiar and in tune with your body with practice...so keep at it.

This week we are going to actually do a little time trial sort of workout so that you can see what kind of shape you are in now and then we will do the same fitness test in a few weeks to mark your improvement. It's always motivating to see in black and white that you've progressed and the clock is your proof. The time trial can be done out at a track for the best of accuracy and that's recommended; but if you don't have access to one you can measure out the distance on the roads. (You can use your car to help you there.) The time trial is going to be like a race, and you can even enlist a fit buddy to help push you if you'd like so it will be all out by the end.

Monday: Weight routine with five minute cardio warm-up
Tuesday: Combined interval workout for total of 40-55 minutes (with a warm-up and cool-down you will do 4 to 5 sets of three minutes hard, two minutes easy, 1 minute hard, two minutes easy)
Wednesday: Easy run or cross train for 40-55 minutes
Thursday: Weight routine with five minute cardio warm-up
Friday: 2 mile time trial (do a warm-up that includes some strides before you start, do 8 laps around a track, and then finish with a cool-down for a total of 35-45 minutes)
Saturday: Easy run for 40-55 minutes; be sure to go easy to allow yourself to recover from the time trial!
Sunday: Long run 45-75 minutes

Finally, you should still be focusing on getting that perfect form for at least the last 10 minutes of each run. Also do a form check periodically to catch yourself if you are lapsing into a bad habit. Keep it up you guys, and it is important to write down your finishing time for the time trial in your running logs so the next time you do it you will have a goal to try to beat!