The Official Fluid Blog

 Hey Fluid Fans!

Welcome to the second installment of Fluid's Coach's Corner. This week we brought in Josh Spiker, a Fluid sponsored athlete, running coach and professional runner. In this "Corner" he gives all you aspiring runners a glimpse into one his training weeks. This training snapshot is a great example of what the professionals do in regards to recovery and intensity.

Josh is an avid Fluid user and owned and managed Inside Track Running & Triathlon Company for 3 years before selling it back in February. While owning and managing the store, Josh ran a 2:24:56 marathon at Carlsbad in January of 2009 and in May decided to give Chicago a dedicated 5-month training block and see how fast he could go. After averaging 40 - 60 miles a week for 4 years Josh is now averaging between 80 and 105.

We wanted to provide you a glimpse into the training of an elite runner and hope you may take something beneficial away from it. We do not recommend you try any of the actual workouts as this week is based on a few months of progression (and 20 years of running) that has allowed Josh to complete a week like this. One important lesson to take away from this training week is that the long runs are significantly slower than goal marathon pace (5:10 pace.) His long runs are typically 50 - 75 seconds slower than marathon race pace and that's for a 5:10 race pace. Another important note is he only has 2 days where he runs at goal marathon pace or faster meaning there are plenty of easy days.

Monday

                AM: 10 mile recovery run with Brian Ball in Mammoth primarily on trails. Yesterday ran a 20-miler (at 9000 feet elevation) and needed a really easy run.

Tuesday

                AM: 7 1/2 miles easy plus 8 x 20 second strides. On the roads back in Ventura (drove back yesterday).

                PM: 5 mile Recovery Run on grass and trails at Arroyo Verde Park.

Wednesday

                AM: 8 mile fatigue run on the roads finishing at track: 2 miles easy (6:35), 2 miles medium (5:54). 2 miles hard (5:09), 2 miles easy (6:40). 5 minutes rest to change into racing flats at the track. 3 x 1600 meters in 4:44, 4:43, 4:42 on with 2 minutes recovery. 2 miles easy for cooldown. (13 miles total). FLUID directly after workout. Wore 2XU compression tights all day after workout.

                PM: 3 miles easy on dirt.

Thursday

                AM: 16 miles easy (6:25) on trails at Sycamore Canyon. Jen kept me company on bike and gave me Gatorade Endurance. FLUID directly after workout.

Friday

                AM: 7 1/2 miles easy on roads + 8 x 20 second strides.

                PM: 5 miles easy on grass and trails at Arroyo Verde Park.

Saturday

                AM: 3 miles easy warm-up. 4 Strides. 8 mile tempo on Rincon Highway (roads) at 5:07 pace. 3 miles easy cooldown. FLUID directly after workout. Wore 2XU compression tights all day after workout.

Sunday

                AM: 24 miles at Sycamore Canyon on trails at 6:00 pace average with last 5 miles sub 5:40. FLUID directly after workout. Wore 2XU compression tights all day after workout.

Total Weekly Mileage: 106

To learn more about Josh, what he has to say and how to contact him, visit www.joshspiker.com.