BTC Trail Sessions - Training Locations and Plans
Locations:
The locations chosen are tailored to specific workouts. The workouts will be structured to match the topography. For example, the first mile of the trail may be flat, then turn to switchbacks. In this case, we will have the athletes run at an easy pace until the switchbacks, then do hill intervals on every other switchback. At some point on the trail they will turn around and practice downhill intervals, and finish with the easy segment of the trail back to the starting point.
Each week, both practices (2) will start from the same trailhead. Trailheads will switch each week. We will do similar, but slightly different workouts at both practices each week. Some of these will be close to town, and some will require up to 30 minutes of driving. Therefore, we will run the practices at 4:30 - 6:00 to give everyone time to get their athletes from school to the trailheads. The tentative locations and workouts are below:
May 21 & 23: Sourdough/ Bozeman Creek Trailhead (Base Endurance Workout) Discussion Topics: Trail etiquette; Easy pacing; Feel the ground
May 28 & 30: South Cottonwood Trailhead (Base Endurance Workout) Discussion Topics: Run + hike method; Perceived effort
June 4 & 6: Bear Canyon Trail (Strength Building) Discussion Topics: Wildlife Awareness; Fast feet up hills; Fueling while running
June 11 & 13: Painted Hills (Strength Building) Discussion Topics: Trail etiquette; Erosion
June 18 & 20: North Cottonwood (Muscular Endurance) Discussion Topics: Pick your footing; Using and planning for switchbacks; Fast feet up hill and downhill
June 25 & 27: Mt. Ellis Trail (Muscular Endurance) Discussion Topics: Fueling while running (hydration); Wildlife and cattle awareness
Below are some examples of the workouts we plan to run. You will notice that we’re not specific about distances; we’re focused on time and perceived effort. This lets each athlete develop at their own pace.
Base Endurance Workout:
Work: 25 minutes up a trail at an easy pace. They should be able to talk in short sentences. We’ll stop for 2-5 minutes to regroup, then 20 minutes back. Estimate: 3.5-4.5 miles / ~350’
Benefits: Aerobic endurance; aerobic energy pathway development; mitochondria and capillarization development
Strength and Power Workout:
Work: 25 minutes up a trail, with 5 x 20 seconds hard (RPE 6) and 2 min easy (RPE 3). We’ll stop for 2-5 minutes to regroup then 20 minutes back. Estimate: ~4 miles / ~900’
Benefits: Strength and muscular development; aerobic capacity
Muscular Endurance Workout:
Work: 25 minutes up a trail steady at a comfortably hard pace (RPE 4-5) running the whole way. We’ll stop for 2-5 minutes to regroup then 15 minutes back with 5 x 30 sec. fast downhill w/ 1 min easy recovery. Estimate: 4 miles / ~750’
Benefits: Ability to use a higher percentage of peak strength for longer; some lactate threshold improvements