Three-mile-plus tempo test.

After a good warm-up, run a steady three-mile tempo run

at your proper threshold pace, followed immediately by a test-effort 1 ,000 meters or
mile. Ifyour typical tempo run is four miles, add one mile to the end of the threemile tempo run; if three miles is
your tempo distance, add 1 ,000 meters.
This test is best run on a track, but you can do it on a flat road if you always use
the same course. Run at threshold pace for the initial tempo effort and see how
much better you can go for the final 1 ,000 meters or mile. Hold a hard, solid pace
throughout the final few minutes.
Three- to four-mile tempo run. Conduct your usual tempo run atyour proper threshold pace and record your
reactions to this run. Evaluate your fitness subjectively
or objectively (by testing heart rate or blood-lactate values ) . If you use subjective
measures, try to rate the effort at the end of each mile, starting with mile two.
Cruise-interval test. Run four to six miles of cruise intervals with one-minute recoveries. Record your subjective
feelings or your heart rate and blood-lactate values
after each mile, starting with mile two. Do as many miles of cruise intervals as you
would normally run in a workout based on current training levels. Be honest with
your evaluation of how you feel. Use your prescribed threshold pace.
Cruise-plus test. This test is similar to the three-mile-plus tempo test; it lets you see
what kind of mile you can add to the end of a cruise-interval workout. To perform
this test, run one fewer than your normal number of cruise intervals, and, following
the usual one-minute recovery, see what kind of mile you can add on. For example,
if your usual cruise-interval session involves five miles at six-minute pace, do four
cruise intervals at six-minute pace, take the one-minute rest, and then see what you
can do on the fifth interval, which is the true test.
Along with knowing your starting point and keeping on top of your training intensities, you should also evaluate
other aspects of your overall training situation. Write
down your long-term and immediate race goals. Determine how many days each week
you can train and how much time each day. Are you able and willing to train twice
on some days? Include the conditions that you expect during various phases of your
season, such as the weather and the availability of a track, grass, or trails to train on. Is
a treadmill available for training sessions? Is there a pool you can use for deep-water
running? When setting up a season of training, address all these concerns in addition
to the paces that you'll apply to your quality workouts and how much total mileage
you expect to run. In the next chapter, I help you determine how to set up a weekly
plan. The programs presented in parts III and IV provide additional program guidance depending on your race
goals and event specialty.
Fitness and Intensity Benchmarks 65

Magdalena Lewy Boulet

Magdalena Lewy Boulet was born in
Poland and began her athletic career
as a swimmer. She escaped with her
family from Poland in 1 989 and eventually ended up in Southern California.
finishing high school at Lakewood
High. She recalls that she took up
running at the age of 18 because she
"realized I was a lot more competitive
as a runner than I ever was as a swimmer." Her initial goal as a runner was
to earn a scholarship to go to college,
and the event that most interested her
was the 1 ,500 meters.
After a start at Long Beach Community College, Magda attended the
University of California at Berkeley on
scholarship and in 1 997 placed third in
the 5,000 meters atthe NCAA Division
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I national championships. She earned "'
 her MS in Exercise Physiology from Cal �
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8
State at Hayward in 200 1 . Magdalena �
was sworn in as an American citizen
z
on September 1 1 , 200 1 . She married mile standout Richie Boulet in 2002, the same S
year :
I became her coach while working with the Farm Team in Palo Alto. Chewy (nick name I
have borrowed from a Cal teammate) went on to place 5th in the 5,000 meters at the 2003
U.S. Outdoor Championships, to compete in the World half-marathon championships in
Portugal in 2003, and to place 5th at the 2004 Olympic Trials in the marathon. Magdalena
feels her future in running is in the marathon; I agree. What continues to impress me about
Chewy is her complete dedication to family and friends coupled with her ability to work
and still never waver from her commitment to success as a runner.
Personal bests : l ,500m 4 :23; 3,000m-9 :25; 5,000m- 1 6:04; 1 O,OOOm-32 :4 1 ; marathon 2 :3 0 :50
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