SmartCoach Pacing

Thanks Roslyn.  I've been tending to stick to 3 hours for the easy runs and doing them at around 10.30 as you say, same type of pace for the LSRs.  As I said before, it feels a bit like a backward step to go any slower than I'm comfortable with.

 And no, I haven't got a place on a HM but I was thinking about doing the Folkestone Half which is on 28th September and that's what I aimed the training schedule at.  There's also the Norwich Half on 30th November.  Maybe I'll give them both a go after following two consecutive schedules and see whether they do actually work and whether I've got any quicker!   The other thing is that this is my 5th attempt at getting a place in the London Marathon and I thought I'd get in some training just in case I finally get in!  If not this year, then I'll definitely get a place for 2010.

I've just realised in my previous post I said "I've been tending to stick to 3 hours for the easy runs"!  Of course I meant 3 miles!

 I hadn't heard that about Edinburgh but I've always had it in mind that if I ever did a full marathon it would have to be London as that was where I was brought up.  I live in Suffolk now though.

I had wondered what you meant about 3 hours, but figured you meant your long runs, so it makes much more sense now!

I'm at the opposite end of the UK to you, in the Outer Hebrides, so I have no idea at all what distance you're talking about, don't even know where Suffolk is!! my geography stinks. Are there smaller scale local marathons? Or are they all just halfs?

Outer Hebrides eh, that is opposite to me then!  Suffolk is South East of England, that bit that sticks out to the right on the weather map!  There are loads of different distance races from 5k right through to full marathons.  I've just not really entered any.  I tend to run on my own as my family live in London which is about 75 miles from where I live and I've never fancied doing a race completely on my own.  I'm thinking of joining the local running club though.

I'm from Glasgow originally.  Small world.

It is a small world. The connections you make on here, this place is cool like that.

I don't have a running club, although I believe there's an athletics club about 20 miles up the road from me. But from what I've been hearing from other folk, those who've taken the plunge & gone to a club have found it really good, with the majority having folk of various levels and abilities so no-one feels out of place. And I think it's helpful in giving you motiviation too, taking part in club sessions & challenges pushes you more than you would by yourself. Or so I hear. Also gets you into a lot of races a bit cheaper

Good luck!

CazSoul, I'd say that slowing down to achieve distance without walks is the better option. Once you can do the distance without walking, then you can start upping the pace. If you've only done a 5k race before the smoartcoach will start you off gently. The alternative is to time yourself over 10k & use that as the smartcoach basis, but that's likely to be slower than what you'd do in an actual race anyway.

The other option is to ditch smartcoach & use one of the beginner HM schedules that's on RW - or even use one of the Super Six people's schedules - Dump Truck started as a total beginner with almost no running at all. His would be a good option, his goal was initially just to finish, not any specific time, but the schedule still has him training at good speeds.

I still think the goal is to be able to increase your running mileage, although there's nothing wrong with scheduling the odd walk break, the point of the LSR pace is to get you able to manage the mileage without putting too much strain on your body. You'll soon feel the benefit of it & will possibly find that once you can do the distance without walking, you start to increase pace slightly anyway, back towards the 11.07.

Does that help?

Thanks for that Roslyn, have got a 7mile run planned tomorrow so will take the pace down a bit and see how I get on. 

Have got my 1st 10k race on 19th October and was thinking of starting the HM training once I'd got that under my belt even though I probably wont have the courage to actually attempt a HM for at least another year or so.  Will enter my 10K race time in it once I've done it and see what it comes up with.

I seem to have had a series of off days on my long runs just lately, whether I've got my timing wrong between breakfast & going out or not I dont know...  I've managed just under 6miles before without having to stop but the last couple of times I've had to take it down to a walk at least 3 times... Grrr!!!  Will make sure I have my porridge & banana 2hours before I go out, only left an hour & half last week and got a killer stitch ow ow ow.

I struggle with getting the eating timing right too. I'm more likely to get 10 minutes into a run & them my stomach starts growling though 'cos it's been too long. I've had to cancel a few runs because of getting so hungry there was no way I was going to make it out. I'm doing the GNR & I'm really worried about eating beforehand 'cos I don't tend to eat early in the morning & I think I'm going to have to practice getting my body used to an early breakfast so I manage on the day.

Good luck with the 10k. Once you've got that done you'll be ready for an HM in no time! It's amazing how little the difference is between 6 miles & 13 really. And if you can already run longer than 6, then you're past 1/2 way already. I find that if I don't have something to train for, I just don't go out. Too lazy unless there's a point to it. Even though I love running, I still need a kick up the *ss to get me moving, so well done on running for the fun of it!

What would runners do without porridge eh!

All hail the mighty porridge & banana.. Hee hee. 

Yes you will most deffo have to have some trial runs with the eating prior to GNR, they do say that you shouldn't try anything new on the day.  Hence me trying to work out the exact time I need to eat & what to eat prior to going out for my long run.

I may say now that I'll carry on running after I've done the 10k but as you say its hard to motivate yourself if you havent got a goal, might have to sign myself up for another race early next year to make sure I dont hibernate during the winter months.   I know after I did my 1st RFL I was full of all good intentions to keep up with the running but whithin a month I'd let it slide so I had to basically start from scratch again when I got back into it.

Caz, not sure what's going on here, but I've posted you a reply twice now & they've both disappeared.

I was just trying to say that I've got a number of HMs planned for next year starting around June, so I'll probably take a running holiday after the GNR - weather up here will be getting grotty by then anyway - re-join the gym and stick indoors until about March, then head out onto the road again just in time to start building up mileage for the first HM

I hope this one sticks!

SmartCoach is great and has helped me improve no end.  The PBs keep coming!

 But... 

What has happened to the printable version of SmartCoach?  Its suddenly gone from pringing a neat text tablation to including unnecessary graphics wasting almost half a page, and the lines delineating the cells have gone.  If we select 'view this article with no images' we have to re-enter all the data, only to find there in no GO >> button!

Can we have our old, neat printable text version back please?

That's handy to know as I've always used the .co.uk version & the only thing that it seemed to do was make me re-enter the information to build the schedule. Then it would print ok. Think I'll give it a try 'cos I'm needing something to run too again.

Cheers for the tip-off rayellis.

Hi advice please? Training for London Marathon. Following smartcoach programme which is going well. Did first 20miler yesterday. From tomorrow supposed to be 8mile Wed 8mile Sat 7mile.

I have miscalculated the run date as the week before, on my finish date!

How shall I best adjust the schedule please?

Thanks

I'd suggest just sticking in an easy week the week before, just to keep ticking over. Advice I've had in the past is that you don't want to be doing a long run, or training hard in the run up, especially to something like a marathon. Look upon it as good fortune that you miscalculated!

If I recall the days, you've probably got a fairly normal training week ending with the Sunday saying 'Race day' or something along those lines yeah? Take that 'race day' and do something long & gentle, but don't try & add more mileage, something a wee bit less than your current maximum won't hurt. Then just have whatever would be a normal 'easy' week, with 3 shortish slow runs to give your body time to recover fully. It sounded crazy to me when I first heard it, but it does pay off - you'll be totally fresh.

I'd agree 100% with Roslyn.  Isn't it great when folk agree! 

In a sense I'm doing some similar rethinking myself just now.  I was booked into the Wokingham Half which was cancelled because of the weather, and am running Reading at the end of March, so these last couple of weeks would have been quiet ones after Wokingham before starting training again on Monday for Reading.

As these weeks weren't planned for, I did what felt good at the time.  I took it a bit easier for the first week, then ran 12 miles last Sunday and 2 x 5 mile runs on Tuesday and Thursday, one a tempo run, the other a speed run.  Tomorrow I'll do 7 or 8 miles easy then I'll start the Reading schedule on Monday.  The result has been two weeks of relaxed runs that have felt really good, and that unexpectedly included the fastest 5 miles I have ever run!  And now I'm feeling really good and relaxed to begin the build up for Reading. 

I guess the thing is not to be a slave to the SmartCoach schedule but to do what feels good and right at the time and always listen to your body.

Good luck in London!