July 2000

This is a 7 week training schedule for a teenager or anybody out there
that would like to go for a personal best in their next 5K.

You must have log at least 50 miles a week for at least 4 weeks with
some track experience before attempting this training.

If for any reason you can't finish a week the way that is in the schedule
go back and do it again. Even if in that week you have a race. Never do the
following week until you fulfill the week before. Trust me, you won't make
the following week. You will feel too weak and can damage your performance.

This training should be done during the racing season. As you can see,
I am only giving you 2 races during the 7 weeks. If you want to continue
for an extra 4 weeks with races go back to the beginning. The only
differences are that you should be doing the repetitions faster than before
and you should be feeling stronger.

Note that I am not telling you to do track at race pace. I don't believe
running at race pace. Why? Well! How I am suppose to know what your race
pace is. I don't know you! Besides, you can not count race pace since you
probably will take your personal best. You can not use your personal best
because it is not accurate. When did you did it? What Conditions:  cold,
hot , windy, hilly course? Are you in that kind of shape? 

My advice is to do the first week's training according of how your body
feels that day. From there you already know what to do next time you do
the same training. For example: if you do 12 x 400 in 73second, next time
you have 12x400 you should go for 71sec. Now you know what is your pace
for 400. And from there you should know your pace for your next race. 

Good luck and thank you for keeping in touch with us. 
Sorry if I don't come here too often but I am a very busy woman!!
I can't coach everybody. I can't reply to everybody. Is too much for me.

Week 1:  (60 Miles)

Mon: 6 miles
Tues: 7 miles
Wed: 5 miles
Thurs: am 30 mins pm track 12 x 400
Fri: am 6 miles pm 6 miles
Sat: 8 miles run
Sun: am 30 mins pm track 4 x 1000

Week 2:   (60 Miles)

Mon:  8 miles
Tues: am 7 miles pm 7 miles
Wed: am 30 mins pm track sets of 800 & 300 x 4
Thurs: off
Fri: 40 mins inc. 10 x 30 sec fast
Sat: am 30 mins pm 30 mins
Sun: am 30 mins pm track 5 x 1000

Week 3:  (67 Miles)

Mon: 6 miles
Tues: am 6 miles pm 7 miles
Wed: am 30 mins pm track 15 x 400
Thurs: 5 miles
Fri: am 6 miles pm 6 miles fast
Sat: 7 miles easy
Sun: am 30 mins pm track sets of 800 & 300 x 5

Week 4: (55 miles including the race)

Mon: 8 miles
Tues: 5 miles
Wed: am 5 miles pm 6 miles
Thurs: am 30 mins pm 2 x 400, 2 x 1000, 2 x 400, all out
Fri: 5 miles easy
Sat: am 20 mins pm 20 mins
Sun: race

Week 5:  (63 Miles)

Mon: 8 miles
Tues: am 6 miles pm 6 miles
Wed: am 30 mins pm track 12 x 400
Thurs: am 7 miles pm 6 miles
Fri: 40 mins inc. 10 x 30 secs fast
Sat: am 30 mins pm 30 mins
Sun: am 30 mins pm track 5 x 1000

Week 6 (61 Miles)

Mon: 7 miles run. (Final 10 x 100 fast, this will be at the end of your run)
Tues: 10 miles fast run
Wed: Am: 7 miles easy/ PM: 7 Miles easy.
Thus: off
Frid: AM: 5 miles run/ PM: Stair. Track: Do 400/800/1200/1mile/1200/800/400.
       All with 400 meter recover.
Sat: 6 miles easy
Sun: 12 miles long run incorporating last 2 miles at faster pace. 

Week 7 (Race weekend) (41 miles + race)

Mon: 5 miles easy
Tues: Am: 8 miles/ PM: 7 Miles with 10 x 100 fast at the end of the run.
Wed: am: 4 miles easy/ Pm: Track: 3x400/2x1000/3x400
Thu: 5 miles easy
Fri: off
Sat: am: 25 minutes run/Pm: 25 minutes run with 5 stride.
Sun: Race day

By: Sandra Khannouchi

May 99

My dear fellow runners:

It had been a long time since the last time I talked to you. It is not because I had a lot to do; I only have to take care of Khalid, my two daughters and the house. I know I don't have any excuses but since Khalid got his Achilles injured my life turn up side down..... Well, you know how you get when you are injured and can't run. You drive everybody crazy at home and if you don't believe so, ask your wife or husband. Trust me, they will tell you how crazy you are when you can't run. So, that's what Khalid was doing ...driving me crazy!!! Thank God he is free of that terrible injury and back in his feet again. It is going to take him time to come back to that great shape, but he will be back.

This time I want to give you a special work out to bring back that speed that you lost during your injury time or during those winter training days that you were not able to do. This must be done at the track and you must have several track training before doing it. You can do this during racing season, but you must be careful not to over do it. I suggest you do this training with a friend. It could be very tricky mentally.

Warm up for 2 miles (Stretch..talk....and bla bla bla, you know! Do everything you do before doing that hard work)

Here it is: 12 X 200 with 200 meter jog recovery (jog means, your easy pace run, not your working pace run.) After the 200'S, recover for 3 minutes.

Then: 4 X 400 with 1 minute recover walking. After the 400's, recover for 5 minutes.

Finally: 1 X 1 mile all out.

2 mile cool down.

At the end of this work out you are going to hate me. But I am sure that it will bring you fast performances. At first if you are not strong enough you can cut the training in half. For example: 6 X 200.....2 X 400....1 x 800. This will also be tremendously to a 1500 meter runner.

Hope you like my new training and if you have any questions about it or any comments please don't hesitate to contact me at: question@khannouchi.com. See you next month and sorry this being so late, but was Khalid's fault.

Sandra Khannouchi

March 1999

I have been asked many times about vitamin supplements: does Khalid take them or not? Well, for those who want to know .....yes, he does. But you must be careful when choosing your vitamins because not all of them are natural like as it might state on the bottle. You should know which vitamins that you need the most. Each person is totally different from one another and what is good for your friend is possible not good for you. In my opinion, when an athlete is in complete training, he/she isputting their body in an extreme stress. In order for you to provide your body with the right amount of nutrients you must eat a lot of food. This is when the supplements take over. Because, for one thing, you don’t want to gain weight!!! Do you?. Secondly, I don’t believe that you will get everything from food. I could be wrong, but I can just tell you what I believe about supplements and how I feel about them. You don’t have to believe me or do what I do or what Khalid does. Each person has their own theories.To make it short, my advice for you about supplements is for you to take what your doctor recommends or what you think you may need after reading about it. Never put any new or strange vitamin or any other supplement in your mouth before researching about it. Read and ask. What Khalid and I usually take as supplements include the following:  vit C: 1000mg 3x a day. vit E: 400ui once a day ACES: once a day (antioxidants) B complex: 100mg. 2x a day Amino Acids in liquid form once a day with vit B6. Brain chain Amino Acids (L-Leusine/L-valine/L-Isoleusine); I think they are good for muscle repair. vit B12: 1000mc once a day. Again, I think they are very important for energy resource. Iron: 100mg; just one week each month. Folic Acid: 400mc. Remember that any vitamin that is in liquid form is better absorbed byyour body. When taking pills, realize that sometimes only a small portion is absorbed by your body, the rest being destroyed by the gastric acid or passed through unused. There are more supplements out there, but as I said before: you only take what you think you need or what your doctor recommends.  I also recommend that you buy a book about vitamins and read all the information before taking them. I am glad to be with you again and remember if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

Sandra Khannouchi

January, 1999

January and February (where we live) are the worst months to train, but just because it is cold out doesn’t mean that you should stay home watching TV. That is a terrible thing to do.One way to make winter fun and less stressful through is cross training. I am not going to tell you to go out there and use all kinds of machines available in your gym. Not all of them will work for runners. I will just tell you the ones that I make Khalid use when he can't run. First of all I want to say that when Khalid is able to run (free of injury) he does not cross train. He just runs, even if it is snowing, and if he has a track workout to do, he will go to the track and do his speed training. And I have to be there freezing to death encourage him! But that is his job and you do not have to suffer like him. That is why cross training is good for you. If you can get access to a pool, then you are in luck. Water running is one of the best alternative training methods for a runner and the one that simulates running the most. That is if you really know how to do it. There is one thing to understand: some people say that if you run in water for 30 min. is equal to one hour of running on land. Well, for me it is not. If you run 30 minutes in water it is just like running 30 minutes on the trails.The effort is just the same to me; the only different is that your cardiovascular works a little big harder. If you think that running in water is right for you, then you can fallow this tip. Take the first week just to run between 30 to 40 minutes (if you start with less than 30 minutes, you are doing nothing. It is better to stay home.) Run slow the first week. When you reach 40 minutes then you are ready to do some intervals. I suggest you do the fallowing:  If you can find a 25 meter pool that is more than then five feet deep, that is the best. If not, at least find a pool with some part of it that deep and adjust your workout accordingly. Also, there are a number of vests that you can buy to keep you afloat. Using the vest in a pool deep enough, you can run without touching the floor. Most runners (with low body fat) will sink without it, so you will probably need to buy one.  First workout:8 laps repeat. Time them, so that you can compare improvement. Take 30 to 40 seconds recovery. Do not run; just stay by the side of the pool. Add 2 laps in the each workout, until you reach 15. This is equal to run 400m repeats. (“for me”, for somebody else probably not. But if I am coaching you, it's just 400m repeats.) Second workout: after warming up for 20 min., do 1 lap, 30 seconds recovery/2 laps, 40 seconds recovery/3 laps 1 min. rec. Then you go back:3 laps/ 2 laps/ 1 lap. That is one set. You start with one set and then increase until you can do three. Trust me, you will not get there easily. I did it twice and Khalid never made it. He hates running in water, but it works for him. I always beat him and I even do my speed session without the vest. Without the vest, you work harder, but you must be very strong to do that, so do not do it, you may sink. Stay with the vest.  There are many other speed training workouts, but in other for me to explain it to you I must be present and is not possible for me. But if you are very interested due that you are going through an injury or just want to know, feel free to e-mail me and ask any question. There are many ways to train to keep your in but I can not tell you all. Believe it or not, Khalid keeps me very busy.  We also have stationary bike (which I love very much), and a Cross Walking Machine (this is a machine that simulates walking, but if you do it at a fast speed it is just like running. Khalid loves this one. It is the only cross training machine where he can beat me.). And of course the Nordic Track Cross Country Skiing machine, which is the best Cross Training machine for runners. Those are the only alternative training methods that I use and for each of them I have my own set of training routines. This training varies according to athlete, so it is very difficult for me to tell you what to do and how to do it if I do not know you or supervise you. The only thing that I can do is for you to ask for an advice and I will try to give to you. Having a coach who can give you individual advice and monitor you is the best way to train.  Well, I think have to go for now. But “I'll be back”.Any questions, comments or any suggestions are welcome, whether they are negative or positive. I take everything. Thank you for coming back and I'll see you next time with information about the winter trail training run.

Sandra 

December, 1998

First of all, I want to apologize for being away from all of you for a while. After the Chicago Marathon Khalid was so sad and disappointed. He was worried if his fans would understand his loss in Chicago. He feels bad and wants to make it up to you. How? I don't know, but with God''s will he will do it.  I want to thank all of you who sent him email. It made him feel much better and he started believing in himself again. I know that he has not answered many of those letters yet, but he will try to answer as many as possible. After the race Khalid couldn't even walk. We went on our annual vacation and after that I started looking for doctors to try to cure Khalid's injury. He did not run for six weeks at all. So he was getting crazy and was driving me crazy. I got to the point that I couldn't take it anymore. So, I put him on a cross-training schedule. Yes, believe it or not Khalid was cross-training and I made him work harder than running. When cross training, I always pick running in water as the main priority. Since I have to do the same training when he is cross-training, this is the only chance I have to beat him in training!  Today I do not want to talk about to cross training, I will do that in January. I want to give you some tips about the indoor/outdoor season as I promised in my last discussion. You may have forgotten by this time, but I did not. Fifteen hundred meters is usually the main event in distance running in both seasons and is usually the harder one to train for during the winter. Since most of you have already finished the cross-country season and the base training for the next season, I just wanted to tell you that even though it is cold out there, it is time to hit the track to work on your speed. Even during racing you can get some speed work in during the week, and I mean real speed work. It may be possible that some of you make like outdoor better than indoor, so I suggest you train harder during the indoor season. Know that you are going to sacrifice some races by going to them after hard training and expect slow times. Your main goal will be the outdoor season and whatever you lost indoors you will gain back outdoors. There are several specific workouts that I like to give for the 1500 meter to 5000 meter runner. I understand that in High School you have your own coach and you should talk with him or her before using someone else's workout. So please do so. The following is racing season speed training. It can be done three days before a race: Run 15 minute warm-up. 15 minutes stretching the main muscles. 4x400 faster than race pace with 200 recovery, 2x1K at race pace with 400 recover, 4x400 faster than race pace with 200 recovery. There is a 400 recover between each set. It probably seems easy, but trust me it is not. As you get stronger, you can add one Km in the middle of the workout until you reach four. But not more, unless you are going to run road races. In that case, you start with 2x1K and add one until you can do 4x400, 5x1K, 4x400, all 200 recovery (even between sets.) If you can do this workout and the next day go out for an 8 mile loop and not feel tired, you can consider yourself in very good shape. Next time I will give some tips on winter training for those who love road racing. And I will give some examples of fartlek and tempo running that are going to make you feel better. It is great to be back with you and hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Do not to forget to run, even in snow!

Sandra 

October, 1998

In the last month Khalid received many e-mails asking for advice and even asking for training schedule. Writing a training schedule is not as easy a task as it seams to be. In order for me to be able to write a training schedule for any person I most first know what kind of training this person has been doing in the last three months. But the most important I must have communication with this individual.  Giving a training schedule is something that I am not going to be able to do. But instead I am going to take some of those questions of yours and try to discuss the situation in this session of Khalid's web site. This month I want to discuss about a questions sent by Steve Kecskemeti, from Livonia, MI. He asked Khalid: As a high school runner, what type of base work should be done between the fall cross country season (5k) and the spring track season (800M, 1600M)? How can indoor races be incorporated? First of all before I start to explain I want to state that as a coach I am a very direct person and I always said what ever is on my mind. It seems that Steve runs for a high school. Well Steve! Supposedly you should have a coach that is taking care of your training and guiding you correctly through all the season, and the good thing for him is that he is getting paid for it! The first thing that I suggest to all high school runners is to try to communicate with your coach, talk to them, explain to them any misunderstanding in your training, tell them how you feel, what do you like, what you don’t like. Communication is the most important between an athlete and a coach. If you do not like how your coach is training you then tell him/her. If he/she is a good coach, he/she will listen to you and will discuss the problem and he/she will try to develop a special training for you. If you are confused like Steve, and you need somebody else's advice, then as the coach of your favorite elite runner this is my advice to Steve and for all of you.First of all you must pick your event. What do you like? Cross country? Perfect. This mean that you are a middle or long distance runner. That is my main field. Now, pick a season. Which season you like the must? One important issue, you most understand that you can not peak for all the seasons. That’s why you most pick the event and the season that you want to be in real shape and ready to ramble. This is a very big issue and it takes a lot of my time. So, what I will do is to discuss each season and events separately every two weeks. This will probably be a long series and you may have to come to Khalid's web site often, but trust me will be worth it and you won’t regret it. Hopefully, you will learn a lot from me. And I am doing this for you because of the support that Khalid receives from you, and he needs that energy of yours to keep his spirit on and keep giving you the performance that all you deserve. So, by giving you my advice you is my way of saying THANK YOU.In the first two weeks of October I will discuss cross country. Now! You want to kick ass in the cross country season? Then when the summer times comes don’t be lazy, be smart, use the summer season to build your strength, stanima, and speed. How? Very simple. Since during the summer season you don’t have to study, that means that you have more time to train. Teach your body to run twice a day, doing this gradually. You first start with three days a week until you can do five. Remember listen to your body. If you feel you do not recover fast then don’t do it. but if you body can handle it, then don’t overdo it. In those day that you run twice, at first just go for 30 minute in the morning and then a 35 minute in the afternoon easy incorporating 8 to 10 X 20 seconds or 100 meter runs at a fast but relax paced in the afternoon run. This will teach your body not to depend on slow runs. This will teach you legs that you also need them to run fast.Now, the short cut to build strength, stamina and speed is very simple: fartleck, hills, and tempo run. When you are training you most train your lactic acid resistance, your strength, and your speed and endurance. This three types of training will get you there and all of them can be done during your summer season. If you do this and also incorporate some weight training (since this is better to do during off season due that you are not racing) and if you believe that you can fly then you will fly or at least you will run personal best. Also the summer will help you to relax from the track and will make you stronger for the track season as well. Ask your coach for specific training in this three areas. Supposedly he is the one that knows you the best. If you have problems then here are a few examples. Fartleck: Go for 45 minute run. Warm-up for 15 minutes, then run 2 minutes fast, 4- 3- 1. All 1minute recoveries. The recovery time must be running, not walking or jogging. First do 2 sets and you can increase as your body gets stronger. doing the fast run this most be done at race pace and the recovery as your easy run pace. At first will be hard for you but your body will get use to with time. Hills: pick two different hills, one short and one long. The short will help your speed and the long will help your stamina. Start with 6 or 7 (if you are in better shape you can start with more) and increase them on each work out. Tempo Runs: They are easy. Just take a 45 minute run: 15 warm-up, 15 minutes fast pace (a little slower than 10K pace), 15 minute cool-down . Or go and run a local race (not more than 5K.) Remember you are only in high school and you want to watch your speed and you also want to have a long running career. That's enough for now. Next time I will discuss training between season (cross country and indoor-outdoor for a 1500 meter and up runner.) Thank you for being with me and I hope that I can help. I also want to hear your opinion, your comments. Please don’t hesitate to tell me whether it is negative or positive. I take everything!

With All My Love. Sandra Khannouchi

September, 1998 - From Khalid

All elite runners used lighter shoes to run their speed workout, to run races and sometimes just because they want to run light. I also know that most of you, like us, like to train with lighter shoes. Racing shoes are lighter and therefore have less cushioning and support than training shoes. They allow you to run faster. I use two different pairs of shoes at one time, one for racing and one for speed workouts. If you use the same shoe for both, you might not realize when it has lost support and you risk an injury by running a race in it. In speed training, I use the New Balance 220: this is a very comfortable and light shoe but has enough cushioning and support for these demanding workouts. For racing I use their 110 shoe. It is much lighter but does have enough cushioning to race in (I use them in any distance race, including the marathon). It is important to realize that after workout, you will go back to training the next day so you don't want your legs to be sore from training in a shoe with little support or cushioning. After a race, you will be sore, but you can rest.

August, 1998 -From Khalid

Last year I ran the Philadephia Half-Marathon prior to running Chicago. There were three weeks in between, which is enough time to recover. This year, the Philly Half is only two weeks before the marathon, not enough time to recover fully. So this year I will run a 5K prior to Chicago for a speed tune-up. My long race prior to Chicago will be the New Haven 20K on Labor Day. If you have a marathon coming up, don't do too long a race too close the your marathon.