- Tuesdays are for marathon paced runs (7:00/mile) from 7 to 10 miles
- Thursdays are for three mile "speed" sessions (6:10/mile) at the track. Starting next week, I change these to six mile "strength" sessions (6:50/mile).
- Monday, Wednesday, Fridays are for recovery runs
- Saturdays are for rest!
Anyway, I'm probably not going to race again until October 11, unless I hear that a critical mass of WRCE members are running the Oktoberfest 5k next month. Racing short races hard at this point in the training cycle only necessitates more recovery time, and I'd rather just keep marathon training to see if I can snag a coveted marathon PR when I hit the finish on Columbus Drive.
So, I guess we'll see in October if my marathon time improves by doing less mileage but with more quality workouts, or if it's better to simply run lots of miles and leave quality workouts for shorter races.
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| On Navy Pier During a Sunday 16 miler |
How did you decide to train this way this year? Just curious. You know I'm a big fan of the low mileage plan. What's your time goal?
ReplyDeleteI'm using the advanced plan in the book "Hansons Marathon Method". It emphasizes marathon pace runs, speed/strength runs, and a long run which tops out at 16 miles. I was also influenced by the book "80/20 Running" which says that 80% of miles should be run slowly. My goal is to break by PR of 3:05:03. Also, I would be extra happy if I could run even or negative splits. I almost always run positive splits in marathons when my speed peaks at mile 13. I would like to figure out how run faster for the final 13.1. I always seem to fade...
DeleteI've always been intrigued by Hansons Marathon training, but they advocate high mileage--I didn't realize there was a 3 day/week plan. I'm anxious to see how you do!
DeleteWell, they don't actually have a 3 day/week plan that I know of. I only wrote down my quality runs and my long run. The other days are for "recovery runs" or rest. I added a fourth entry to my bullet list to account for M,W,F runs! Anyway, I'm still not putting in as many miles as I did last year, since I wasn't doing too much quality, it was easier to log more miles. Thanks! :)
DeleteI am also a fan of doing lower mileage (more because I'm injury-prone, though)! I am excited to hear how this training method works out for you. Good for you for dialing back on races these next few months. You are clearly very focused on your big goal - and I have the utmost in confidence that you will blow everything out of the water, as you always do!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is good that you know your mileage limitations. Staying injury-free is of paramount importance! :) Yes, the marathon is the big goal and it is easy to get distracted by racing too many short and fast races which can set my long distance focused training back a few days. Thanks! I hope you are right about blowing everything out of the water! I am hoping to do a better job of pacing this year and maybe even negative split a marathon! :)
DeleteIt sounds like a great plan, but I think you should be running your long runs slower. IMO. Keep the speed for when it counts...during speed work! Continue to stay focused on your big goal and I think you'll definitely PR this year. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sara. Yes, running fast doesn't matter very much on long runs. Plus, I feel better the day after my long runs if I haven't blasted my legs the day before. The hard part is forcing myself to slow down when I know that I can run faster! Thanks for the encouragement Sara! :)
DeleteAre you trying Hansons to see if you can run negative splits at the race? And you are still running more than 3 days a week (per your comments... I felt like the post implied three days a week of running too, but you just meant those are your focused runs)?
ReplyDeleteI remember you talking about how for the marathon you had this number of miles you wanted to average out to, per day, and it was something like 7.8? How much less are you running now?
LOL, this comment sounds like I am dissing it. I am totally not. I think it's great to try something new, and that your legs are feeling it and you are naturally slowing down for your LRs sounds like a good things. Just gotta plan out the taper right!
I have tried Hansons in the past, and have positive splitted every time. So, really I am just doing their plan because I did not want to learn a new plan and keep things simple.
DeleteI feel like I run my best negative splitting, so I have to force myself to start more slowly and be confident I will have enough juice left to finish faster.
I guess I should have been more clear about running six days per week instead of three!
Marathon Collapse Point theory states that you need to run 1/3 of the marathon distance per day, so I would need to run 8.7 miles each or about 63 miles/week. Last year I ran 64 miles/week over the last 8 weeks of training. This year I am "only" planning on running 57 miles/week. So, my collapse point (according to the theory) will happen at mile 24.5 instead of 26.2. Hopefully, my quality training will help me break through the wall over the last 1.7 miles!
I hope you're right about slowing down for the long runs is a good thing! It is a strange feeling to not be able to run at paces that were easier last year. I guess it's all about effort at this point, and I think that I am putting forth greater effort this year than last. Any tips on a right taper? I want to be really fresh but not rusty! :)
Were the bullets always in the post saying which days you run? Did we all miss that? It seems clear to me now!
DeleteAhh, Collapse Theory. Thanks for telling me the name! I think you will be okay with that low # of 57! LOL! Teasing!
What really works for taper for me is a two week taper, where I only cut down 5 miles the first week (I average 40-50 mpw, so run 35-45 instead of 40), then marathon week, I only run about 15 miles during the week then run the race. And I always run 3 miles the day before. I just can't do the three week taper. Not like I am worried about losing fitness or think I have injuries... I just miss the running! The small two week cutback seems to work for me (I did it 2x last year and had two great marathons).
I actually added the last two bullets shortly after Wendy's comment, so if you read this post it before that, I can understand the confusion! I like your two week taper routine. I think that my legs will need a 15 mile week that last week to recover from the punishment I'm currently putting them through. Agree that a three week taper is too much. Besides missing the running, I feel like I get a little rusty both mentally and physically. I actually did a one week taper a couple of years ago and my legs never felt fresh at any point during the race, although they never really felt horrible! I guess I'm still in the trial-and-error phase when it comes to marathon training. Maybe I always will be? :)
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