A bit like sub-4 (but 15 minutes quicker) - Page 12 - Spring Marathon

Ping Pong Boy

03/03/2004 at 14:58

Quick one. Adam House - as long as you're getting in the long runs as well then interval miles can only help to overall fitness. All marathon training routines I've seen include hard/tempo, easy, killer intervals and long run sessions.

adam house

03/03/2004 at 16:04

cheers guys - the interval programme i was following had a 1600mm in between the two 800's but there was no way i could get that in at that pace, hence me wondering if i was going a little fast. Without a doubt the least enjoyable session of the week. I put in 20 miles last sunday so hopefully i'm covering all the bases - just frustrating that i'm not getting faster, quicker !!

Bacon Roll

03/03/2004 at 16:16

Hi adam,

I think that i am probably following the same schedule. I also did my speed session on the tread and did the following.

1mile warm up
400m at 10 mph
200m at 6mph
800m at 9.5mph
200m at 6mph
1600m at 9mph
200m at 6mph
800m at 9.5mph
200m at 6mph
400m at 10 mph
1mile cool down

I am however only up to 17 miles on my long runs…….

adam house

03/03/2004 at 16:27

your just that bit quicker than me at the moment bacon - what's your target/ previous times and 10k/half times - quite a good bench mark

Bacon Roll

03/03/2004 at 16:45

Last year FLM was 4:00:37 off the back of limited training (longest long run only 17 miles... twice!) My best 10k was 52min but that was with no training at all. I will be able to tell you my PB for the half on Monday after Reading on Sunday but I am hoping for sub 1:40. I am aiming for sub 3:45 for this years FLM but anything under 4 will make me happy.

adam house

03/03/2004 at 16:48

i reckon your well on target for that if you can nail a 1.40

Donna C

03/03/2004 at 16:50

You might find the equivalent performance calculator at McMillan running useful for speedwork. Put in your expected time for the marathon and it will give you not only equivalent performances at other distances but also target times for 200, 400s, 800s, etc. for speed work.

You wouldn't expect to run a 400 at the same pace as a 1600! (I usualy put in something a bit quicker as well to compare say 3:30 and 3:45.)

Can't do links, but here's the web address...

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running%20University/Article%201/calculator3.htm

Save Ferris

04/03/2004 at 01:29

Might see you at Reading then Donna, they'll only be ten thousand runners so shouldn't be to hard to spot you :-)

I'm running with a friend and want to try 8 min miles as training exercise, aiming for 1.40 ish, don't want to go mad and then bugger everything up

Did 8 miles last night which should have been my tempo run but felt low on energy so struggled to get into any kind of rhythm, hope for better today .

Have a good day everyone whilst I'm catching up on my zzzz's

beders oldtimer 1

04/03/2004 at 10:18

Morning all

Ended up doing an easy 5 miler yesterday around 42 mins but kept heart rate low around 140. Doing a fartlek session today, sprinting and jogging round a park in ilkley which takes me around 3.30 a lap, looking for 8-10 laps.. we will see

Adam and Bacon that sounds like a good speed sesh to me, I think you'll find that there's lot of differnet sessions for different distances. As long as you're not just doing say 100 m sprints then whatever you do will improve your speed. I think the main thing is to actually do at least one speed session a week if you want to improve. You will find that as long as you keep up the speed work, your long runs will suddenly start to get easier and faster

I can't stand running on the machines, I just can't get motivated, so my only problem with the speed sessions is that I don't have any accurate distances outside. I suppose that as long as you vary the time and the intensity of the sessions it will all have the same effect.

It looks like another sunny day out there, even a bit warmer !! happy running !!

PB

Ping Pong Boy

04/03/2004 at 10:50

Things aren't looking good at the moment. My knee pain is getting a bit worse and I'm now feeling it after a shorter period of time. I started to feel a bit of pain after just 5 or 6 miles of last nights easy 9.5 miles.

I'll see what happens in my long run this weekend (21 miles) but if it goes badly I may be forced to give up on long runs and just stick with training no longer than 2 hours. I'll then just "chance it" on marathon day. Not exactly how I had wanted to prepare.

adam house

04/03/2004 at 10:53

i'm away on business from sat through to wednesday in Cannes - so a few nice early morning runs on the cote d'azur coastal paths should be nice. This will be my first marathon and i'm already feeling anxious about it - i just know that i'm not going to sleep that night before

Donna C

04/03/2004 at 11:01

I get really anxious about races too. I seem to yo-yo with my feelings about the marathon. At the moment I'm thinking I couldn't really train any more or harder and stay sane and well. I'll do my best on the day and that's all I can do. The world won't end if it takes me longer than I hoped for and the only person that will probably really care is me and I'm sure I'll get over it (eventually). I expect all this rational thinking will go out of the window nearer the time but I hope I enjoy at least the first few miles of it; it is a pretty amazing event.

Jealous of Cannes!

Freddo, I'll be aiming for about 1:40ish too I think. I'll try to remember my number tomorrow and post it here. Will be wearing blue tights and either a white or blue vest with my hair tied back in a low ponytail.

Aiming to get to the gym at lunchtime and do some speedwork on the treadmill. Any suggestions for good sessions that don't take too long?

Donna C

04/03/2004 at 11:02

PPB - I hope your knee gets better. It must be really frustrating. I'm surprised all the cycling doesn't help.

Ping Pong Boy

04/03/2004 at 11:15

Cheers Donna, I'm only cycling twice a week. I don't feel pain when cycling so it must be an impact problem.

A quick session that doesn't take too long. Well I quite like the 1 mile treadmill challenge. Warm up gently for a few minutes at a easy speed then stop the treadmill completely. Then from a stationary start run 1 mile as fast as you can. Last time I did it I managed 5 Minutes 54 seconds for the distance. It's tough as you have to try and catch up for the time the treadmill takes to speed up.

Cannes! You lucky B*gger!

adam house

04/03/2004 at 15:39

i felt a little bit left out having no pic on, so here's my 8 month old boy 'Fred'

Save Ferris

05/03/2004 at 02:06

Lot on your plate Adam, running a marathon a baby on your hands and business trips to the med as well, have fun on the coast runs

Hope all goes well on your weekend long run PPB and that you get round okay on the big day

Black tracksters/white top for me I think on Sunday Donna,(run in specs as well) Might see you there, best of luck for the day

Struggled again tonight on my hill session, pulled up half way through with shin pain, might have over done it this week so will make the most of Friday off and a maybe a couple of easy miles Sat before Reading on Sunday

Have a good day

beders oldtimer 1

05/03/2004 at 08:33

Donna and Adam

Everyone gets nervous on their first marathon. On my first FLM at the start I was thinking "oh my god what the hell am I doing here !!seemed like a good idea 6 months ago" Don't worry once you get started there's so many people running with you and cheering you you just relax and go with it. Don't forget to put your name on the front of the t-shirt, thousands of people shouting your name really gives you a boost, especially towards the end.

Freddo I got pains in my shins when I first started running, have you tried going to a good physio who knows about running. When i did i found i was running lopsided and after a couple of visits and some exercises i was fine. I still get a massage once every 5-6 weeks that really hurts but it does the trick. I also try and do as much off road as possible but don't know if thats possible for you

Did 8 laps of ilkley park fartlek yesterday, tough but i'm getting in my two speed sessions a week. 20 miler + planned for saturday with a group of friends , will let you know how it went.

good running at the weekend everyone

PB

Test

05/03/2004 at 11:47

PPB, nightmare, you deserve a bit more luck with the injuries. Hope it eases up soon.

Yup, I agree Peter, if you know how wonky you are (I'm very wonky) you get a great insight into your niggles and injuries and how to avoid them.

Can't see your pic, Adam! Anyway, have fun in Cannes (jammy!), and don't worry about the marathon - it's just another race, honest.

Touching loads of wood here, but I'm still on course with no injuries to speak of, and my fifth 20-ish miler (of six) coming up - the Wymondham 20 on Sunday, to be attacked at marathon pace. Anyone else going to deepest Norfolk this weekend?

adam house

05/03/2004 at 12:09

due to my family/work commitments i have to make a choice on the remaining weekends of running half marathon races or 20 milers on my tod - any opinions regarding which is of better value to me. It's a hard one i know as it's - fast race conditions vs endurance.

And while i'm on there's something else that's been bothering me. I ran the brighton half in 1.48 but was seriously treading water for the last five miles. Ok so i know that i went of at 10k pace and blew up, but i can't help feeling that if i hadnt have built up that cushion would i have blown up anyway and actually achieved a worse time. So the worrying thing is I think i'd probably do it again in fear that whether i go out hard or not i'll still be left with no energy come 2/3 race distance.

Test

05/03/2004 at 12:21

Adam - I vote long ones. They're definitely the most important session for marathon training.

Going off too fast is racing mistake no.1, and you'll survive just fine and get a quicker time if you set off more slowly. But only if you're comfortable with the distance. It may have been the case that you were under-prepared for your half, in which case you may well have slowed anyway. If you're OK with the mileage, the only way you'll blow up is by messing up the pacing. In which case a slow death is guaranteed.

You're going to have a deeply crap marathon if you go off like a scalded cat from the gun. In fact, consciously make the first mile or two the slowest of the race to get the fat burning and save that lovely glycogen (or so the theory says).