Rylee Blade's 5K Championship at Nike Outdoor Nationals

Every season starts somewhere. For most, it starts on the first day of practice. For some, the true work begins in the offseason. But for Rylee Blade, her dreams of the 2024 track season started on the eve of her 2023 season finale. On June 16th of last year, Rylee was in Eugene, Oregon to compete at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She would race the 2-mile the next day, and the mile after that. However, it was the race she didn't run that may have been the most impactful. On Friday night, she watched the 5000m Championship and was hooked. At that point she knew: The Nike 5K would be her target in 2024.

Product Worn: COROS PACE 3

Analysis Tool: COROS Training Hub

Creating a Season Plan

No dream is realized without a plan. In today's age, data is king, so after setting her sights in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State 3200 and the 5K at Nike Outdoor Nationals, Rylee and her coach built a plan.

"My training load was a little bit lower than normal just because I dealt with an injury at the beginning" Rylee noted. "And then once I got healthy, probably around the end of April, we started going up a little bit and focusing a little bit more on the training. And then, going into CIF finals and stuff, we kind of did what was working, and kept it a little bit lower."

Rylee Blade's Training Status graph, showing her overall season plan for 2024

COROS Education: Base Fitness is a 42-day average of your daily training load. Training load takes into account the volume and intensity of each session to quantify the stress on your body.

After the CIF Championships, the training focus shifted to the 5K, bringing training load back up. "For my workouts and stuff, they're maybe a mile or two miles longer than my 2-mile workouts." Rylee said. "So that's probably why it went up a little bit."

Throughout the season, Blade steadily increased her base fitness while managing fatigue levels. This metric is key for all athletes, as it reflects their ability to handle increased training loads over time. Blade reached her peak fitness at the most critical point of the season, demonstrating her optimal preparation for the Nike 5K.

Of course, no plan is perfect without making adjustments. Rylee was able to leverage resting heart rate data from her COROS Pace 3 every morning to ensure her body was ready to train. Rylee explains, "If it spikes, then you might be fighting something before you even know, or you're kind of like you might be overtraining a little bit. So I feel like that's something that helps me to either pull back or just know that my body is trying to fight something."

Tailoring Workouts to 3200m and 5000m

With her target races being different distances, Blade's mid-season transition from 3200m workouts to 5000m workouts was a unique strategy. This shift involved increasing her workout volume slightly and tailoring her sessions to meet the demands of the longer distance. The event-specific training was a critical factor in her success.

Before CIF: 1600m, 400m, 400m, 800m, 150m

Blade's workout graph prior to CIF, showing pace and heart rate

This workout was done in the weeks leading up to the CIF State Finals, and was designed for the 3200m. It consisted of a mile at 5:04, two 400m reps at 1:11 & 1:10, an 800m at 2:24, and a quick 150m to finish. The effort put her heart rate into the threshold zone, mimicing what she would feel in a race.

After CIF: 4x800m, 4x400m, 1x150m

Blade's workout graph after CIF, showing pace and heart rate

After shifting her focus, Rylee's first 5K workout was 4x800m, 4x400m, and a 150-meter rep to finish. This workout was a mile longer, and was paced slightly slower. In this workout, her 800s started at 2:35 and worked down to 2:30, while the 400s were 1:12 down to 1:08. Her heart rate was still in the threshold zone, continuing to target the same race-like demands.

Becoming a Nike Outdoor Nationals 5K Champion

At last, on June 12th, race day had arrived. By halfway, Blade was in a two-way battle for the lead. Then, with 1 mile to go, it was her time to shine. "I was able to kind of simulate those workouts and be able to push myself in the later half of the race" she recalls.

In the final minutes of the race, Blade opened an insurmountable gap on her competition. When asked about her decisive move, Rylee explains, "I was kinda trusting my fitness and my threshold to kind of carry me through the last K and just try and finish strong and not let anyone catch me in that last lap."

Ultimately, Blade's fitness carried her through to a finish in 16:18, and she was crowned High School National Champion in the 5000m. The road ahead looks promising for the rising senior, as she has one more year to build on her high school legacy.

Blade during her championship performance at Hayward Field (Photos by Victah Sailer - PhotoRun)

Rylee is a member of COROS NextGen, a program which aims to work with elite high school athletes as they push their boundaries as the next generation of distance runners in the U.S.

Collectively, the program has won over 25 state championship titles in 2024 as athletes across the country gain better insights into their training, and ensure their fitness is where it needs to be at the right time. For any high school athlete chasing their best, go to www.coros.com to learn more on products, training tips, and insights from athletes of all levels.