RW Forum SIx – 3.30 – 4.00

I'm a bit of a plodder but managed to get quicker through lots of hard work. The hard work has lapsed over the last year for lots of complicated reasons but I hope to get back into it soon. PBs are 3:37 marathon, 1:34 HM, 1:09 10m.

I've entered Brighton marathon and Wales trail marathon.

If being a bit of a plodder gets PB's like that then I want to become a bit of a plodder !

Carter - great workout today. Must be good to get that mileage under the belt and at a good pace.

I did an hours run this morning at 7am (have never got up and gone staright out before) as it was the only time I could do it due to family commitments. Pushed it a little as I needed to be back but only to 9:21 mm. Planning a 12 miler on Saturday at 10:00 mm. Having run 3 days on teh trot this week, I must admit to being a little tired but at the same time quite pleased. Running does funny things to the brain !

Looks like I will settle on the Berkhamsted HF and as you say Spoons the hills will work well as part of my marathon training. I am really keen on the Marathon PB and can pick up a HM PB later in the year.

Will investigate the differences in the garmins over the weekend  and see what the best deals are in the sales.

Have started putting together a revised schedule to take me to Paris and will share this over the next day or so.

Back to work tomorrow and I am looking forward to it NOT.

That was my point. My first ever race was a half and I did about 2:20ish. So through training I've knocked 46 minutes off. Anyone can do it. Even me!

Nice work Carl

I had to work today as well

Morning - yes - if you up the mileage and pace too quickly you are likely to get injured. If you reduce the pace whilst upping the mileage you are less likely to get injured as reducing pace reduces stress and fatigue. Off road running actually reduces fatigue in many ways as the surface is softer than Tarmac and also every step and foot strike is slightly different so you use a wider range of muscles than the constant pounding of pavements. Hills can add fatigue but I wouldn't worry too much as you will have to slow down when running up them anyway! I think the key is to mix things up as much as possible. Sme road, some trail, some flat, some hills, some quick, some slow, some long, some short etc. It makes things more interesting too.

Ok Spoons, thanks.

Here is the Strava link to my run yesterday - http://app.strava.com/activities/34331099 (you shouldn't need a Strava account to view it).

So, as per Mr Spoons I shall be posting the link to all of my training runs so you can have a good laugh at them !

Spoons - is it necessary to have a weekly session that focuses on hills ? Where I live it is practically impossible to go on a run without hitting some hills. So I was thinking that the hills I climb in my LSR would be sufficient to count as a weekly hill session whihc then gives me more time to focus on speed during the week. What do you think ?

sorry, not very busy at work today so updating my plan and have some questions.

Spoons. wrote (see)

This might look scary:

4 hour marathon is 9:00 pace.

3:45 marathon is 8:30 pace.

So if we initially work on your goal marathon pace as around 8:45 (we'll have to see as we progress if this is correct but it sounds about right for now).

Therefore:

Long slow run pace is 10 min miling

Half marathon pace is 8 min miling

10km pace is 7:40

5km pace is 7:20  

Tempo runs around 7:45 pace  

Mile reps 7:20 pace

800m reps 7:00 pace

400m reps 6:40 pace  

Do you have a Garmin?

Some of these paces are going to be very difficult for me to achieve straight away. Would it be better if I gradually increased my speed over the course of my plan or do I need to hit them from the start ?

In a Mile reps session how many mile reps would I run ?

During my taper would I also reduce the intensity of speedwork ? (as well as my overall mileage)

carterusm wrote (see)

In a Mile reps session how many mile reps would I run ?

Spoons loves mile reps - he'll probably make you do 5 or 6

Santa Baby chickadeee wrote (see)

carterusm wrote (see)

In a Mile reps session how many mile reps would I run ?

Spoons loves mile reps - he'll probably make you do 5 or 6

At least 20

OK:

re: the hills - if you're getting loads of hills in on all of your other runs then hill reps are less important.

re: the speedwork - this is just a guide and something to aim towards. If you can't hit the paces straight away don't worry. You may never hit them and you may do better than them. Have a go and see how you get on. The key with intervals is that you don't kill yourself on the first one and gradually slow down throughout the session. You should aim to keep the pace the same or even gradually speed up throughout.

Chickadeee is right - I do love mile reps. I would start off with something like 800m reps first and build up to mile reps. With mile reps start with 3 and build up to 5 in March.

Santa Baby chickadeee wrote (see)

carterusm wrote (see)

In a Mile reps session how many mile reps would I run ?

Spoons loves mile reps - he'll probably make you do 5 or 6

Mind you - mile reps are so last year. I'm now getting into 2 mile reps

Looking at your schedule - the long runs look good.

When doing some marathon pace in a long run, I would suggest breaking it in half.

So - rather than say, 20 miles with 6 @ MP being 14 slow + 6 @ MP

do - 10 slow + 3 @ MP + 3 slow + 3 @ MP + 1 slow

Make sense?

Looking at your schedule you are starting the tempo runs and speedwork on 7th January.

Can you do a short tempo and speedwork session next week?

Tempo run - just stick 15 minutes at a quicker pace in the middle of an easy run.

Speedwork - Maybe 8 x 400s or similar just to get used to it. Don't worry about pace on the Garmin. Run on feel and we'll look at the pace afterwards.

Also - make sure you always get a decent length warm-up before doing speedwork (at the very least a mile / 10 minutes).

Spoons. wrote (see)

Santa Baby chickadeee wrote (see)

carterusm wrote (see)

In a Mile reps session how many mile reps would I run ?

Spoons loves mile reps - he'll probably make you do 5 or 6

At least 20

A marathon is really just a short warm up then 26* 1m reps, or 13* 2m reps.  I mean how hard can it be....

carterusm wrote (see)

During my taper would I also reduce the intensity of speedwork ? (as well as my overall mileage)

Or will you be expecting me to increase the intensity ? 

carterusm wrote (see)

During my taper would I also reduce the intensity of speedwork ? (as well as my overall mileage)

Minni wrote (see)

Spoons. wrote (see)

Santa Baby chickadeee wrote (see)

carterusm wrote (see)

In a Mile reps session how many mile reps would I run ?

Spoons loves mile reps - he'll probably make you do 5 or 6

At least 20

A marathon is really just a short warm up then 26* 1m reps, or 13* 2m reps.  I mean how hard can it be....

What about 1 rep of 26 instead ?? Minni - I hope youre giving your mentee some lovely sessions like these ??