Speed Hurts

After the Ann Arbor marathon in early April, part of me wanted to keep up the consistency, but a bigger part of me decided to be lazy. In this case, lazy = 3-6 mile runs 4 times a week, with a 10-12 miler once a month. As though that monthly long run was doing anything for me...

By the time the heat & humidity came (who am I kidding it was already here in April) I was driving the struggle bus. In late June I started using my heart rate monitor again as my excuse to be slow and take walk breaks. Gotta stay in that fat burning zone amiright?

My fat-burning zone must be broken. It's all still here.

After about 6 weeks of "heart rate training" (that term is used very loosely) I bit the bullet and tried to exert myself on a run. It hurt.

August 3rd - 2 mile tempo run
Goal: I hope to God I can still run sub-8:00 miles.
Result: 7:51, 7:49

Hamstrings were not appreciative, but I survived.

It then took me 9 more days to convince myself I should do it again. This time, I hit up the track for some sprint repeats.

August 14th - 2's & 4's
3 sets of 200, 200, 400 with equal distance rest in between
Goal: 200's in 48, 400's in 96
Result: 200's avg 45.8, 400's avg 95.6

This was my first track run since February and my second time running hard (also probably since February) so I'm guesstimating at paces here. So far, I seem to be pretty good at guesstimating.

Since this workout fell right in the middle of the Olympics, I also attempted a 100m dash before cooling down.

Watch out Usain Bolt, it only took me 17 seconds.

August 16th - 3 mile tempo run
Goal: Can I possibly do 3 miles sub-8?
Result: 7:57, 7:51, 7:35

Either I super sandbagged or I was just really, really ready to be done. That third mile definitely hurt but I assumed it was because it was the third mile. I'm learning how difficult it is to run hard after a year of running not-hard.

August 20th - 1000s
1000m repeats are the worst idea ever. At least when you choose a loop that has a big ass hill for at least 500 of those meters. I went into this workout thinking I would do 10 repeats (aka 6.2 hard miles). Seems logical since I've done 3 miles hard right? Exactly. Needless to say I dialed it back to 6 (my legs wanted to stop at 4).
Goal: 4:43
Result: 4:44 average

This was hard. I blame the hill. And being out of speed-shape. And maybe a little on the 9358392% humidity. But, once again, I survived.

August 24th - 2s and 8s
4 sets of 200, 200, 800 with equal distance rest in between
Goal: 200's in 48, 800's in 3:12
Result: 200's avg 46, 800's avg 3:13

Distance is for the birds. 200's are my new favorite. Way less painful.

August 27th - 3 mile tempo run
Goal: Be more consistent than last time.
Result: 7:32.8, 7:32.6, 7:32.5

Consistency, check.

I equally like doing speed workouts on my normal running routes and the track. They finally started rubberizing the tracks where I live (why wasn't this done 20 years ago) but apparently that means they must also fence and lock the tracks. Does that mean I can opt out of the $$$ school taxes I pay? So annoying. When fence hurdling becomes an Olympic sport, you'll see me there.

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5k tune up

in brief: my legs are even less in tune than my vocal chords. (world premiere music video drops tomorrow. get hyped.)

the planned workout: 4x200 (:30 rest), 3x1000 (1:00 rest), 4x200 (:30 rest)

what i actually loaded into garmin: 4x400 (:30 rest), 3x1000 (1:00 rest), 4x400 (:30 rest). go me.

200 vs 400, not a huge deal right? it becomes a minor issue when you don't double the goal time while doubling the distance. mmyeah. cause i can run a 400 in 0:46, no problem. that only rounds up to a 3:10 mile, totally doable.

needless to say, it was disheartening to constantly hear garmin beeping at me to speed up and i basically flaked on the whole workout.

4x400 - 1:31, 1:41, 1:47, 1:50 --> not quite the 1:34's i was looking for
3x1000 - 4:49, 4:31, 4:36 --> nowhere near the 4:11's i wanted
4x400 - 1:42, 1:39, 2:10, 1:45 --> still not 1:34's

i don't know if i was mentally checked out or if my legs are still recouping from sunday's 19 miler, but this isn't quite the confidence boost i was hoping for.

(photo is unrelated)

i found a new use for my garmin charger

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cupcakes and marlene

for some reason i've avoided virtual races in the past, but apparently if you put food in it i'm much more likely to participate.

i entered the popular cupcake marathon, even though i can't even eat the grand prize.

yeah i couldn't get the image to print larger. not winning.

so... i made my own logo (you know i can't resist ms paint). attention bakers, this image is copyrighted, but i'm willing to sell it in exchange for dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, bean-free cupcakes.

i wasn't a very good racer. i didn't head out for a run thinking 'ok, this is for the cupcakes'. it was more hindsight (/jason's prodding) that i even remembered to enter my data on the official spreadsheet. nevertheless, i logged my 26.2-miles and then some so i think i should definitely win a prize.

[non-existent attempt at a segue]

the marlene
aka how to make goal marathon pace (gmp) feel easy.

thursday evening i did the marlene. last week we did similar speed workouts and she started talking trash. when she posted this week's workout i first thought she was nuts, but then i decided to take on the challenge. i'm coming after you marlene.

the workout:

• 800@5k, 1600@10k, 3200@gmp (no rest in between!)
• 1000 recovery (i did 0.65? we'll call that even)
• 3200@gmp, 1600@10k, 800@5k

my splits:

• 3:17, 7:04, 15:49 (hmm that wasn't too bad, i'm glad i gave this a shot)
• finally. i can stop for a second.
• 15:54*, 7:07**, 3:17***

*still not too bad
**started to notice the wind a lot more. dug deep to hang on 'cause i knew marlene had posted strong mile splits.
***i hate you marlene. seriously, this one was rough!

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dear speed: be my friend

i love my flats

i had an amazing run wednesday. somehow i managed to coerce myself into running to the track for some speedwork and didn't cut it short. i was feeling pretty good throughout the repeats though so i never really wanted to quit. maybe that means i should have pushed harder?

fast-running and i are still getting reacquainted. i've had some fear toward intervals and tempo runs for over a year and have avoided them at all costs. lame i know! since i'm already enforcing the rules on myself with my nutrition, i figured i could be the boss about some speedwork too.

the workout: 2x800, 1xmile, 2x800 (with 0.20mi recovery jogs)
my splits: 3:24, 3:26, 6:55, 3:19, 3:13 (avg pace for the whole workout 6:45)

the last time i did a workout and averaged a similar pace was uh, february 2010 (i told ya, avoidance at all costs). hopefully this is the confidence boost i need to make amends with fast-running and her boyfriend heavy-breathing; we need to become bff's again like we were in 2008 (yikes, that was three years ago).

i haven't raced in forever, so i'm not entirely sure what my training paces should be. i just kind of guessed at these. i'm pretty sure i'm not in 3:20 marathon shape if you consider these yasso's.

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the boston bug

i guess the excitement and wonder of the boston marathon got to me a little too much, and i over did monday's easy run. the legs were a bit tired for tuesday's i-pace intervals. on monday i overestimated what was on schedule but i was thoroughly enjoying myself so i just kept going. the distance was fine, it was picking it up for the last two-miles that probably didn't help me too much today.

monday (4/20) pm run: 9.3 miles, 1:21:11 (avg pace 8:43), avg hr (162)

today, tuesday, i had 5x4-minutes "i-pace" (~6:25 mile pace) with 3-minutes easy. usually in a first rep i don't feel "it" yet and i get through it easily. not today. set 1 - barely talked myself into the full four minutes. ahh a sweet rest period, although still chugging along at about an 8:34 mile pace. those rest periods are never long enough. into set 2, talked myself to 1-minute, then 2, etc etc. during break #2 i decided i'd just do 3 sets today, told myself it'd still be decent. survived set 3 although i was having some trouble swallowing my saliva or something and i was being one of those annoying people who makes noises while they run (trying to clear my throat). during the break i noticed i wasn't even to 5-miles yet so i forced myself into set 4. almost found out what it's like to puke while running. survived though. after the final break i knew i couldn't ditch out on the last rep, whether or not i puked. i'm not sure where the overall feeling of crappiness came from 'cause i've done faster intervals before, but i hope it doesn't come back to visit me again anytime soon.

tuesday (4/21) pm run: 9.5 miles, 1:14:34 (avg pace 7:50), avg hr (169)

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earth to lindsay

i did the wrong stinkin' workout!

now that i realize i did the wrong one, i distinctly remember being so relieved two weeks ago when i looked at my training schedule and saw that i would never have to do the 2x(10x200) workout again. 20 intervals are just no fun.

for whatever reason, i thought it was the plan for today and i did it again. perhaps that's why my legs felt so jello-y. i survived though and even improved a little from the last time.

the workout: 20 minutes easy, 10x200 at "r" pace (0:44) with 1 minute easy recovery, 10 minutes easy, 10x200, 10 minutes easy

last time (4/3): 2.5 miles of intervals in 14:30 (avg 200m 0:43 / avg mile pace 5:48)
today (4/14): 2.5 miles of intervals in 14:16 (avg 200m 0:42 / avg mile pace 5:42)

tuesday (4/14) pm run: 9.2 miles, 1:12:11 (avg pace 7:50), avg hr (176)

i ran yesterday too - it was slow and the legs felt heavy and sluggish. i hate when they feel worse after a day off. seriously, what's up with that.

monday (4/13) pm run: 8 miles, 1:08:25 (avg pace 8:33), avg hr (168)

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i've decided small towns are no longer "quaint"

so... i needed to mail something to reebok today. i so wrongly assumed i could go to the local post office like any other "normal" town but no, the po was closed from 11-2.

although i don't really get the impression i would've been able to have my stuff packaged anyway, and i wasn't too confident in the service.

there probably aren't even enough people in the town to use all those po boxes.

i know i said i'd "get on it" nutritionally this week but i've only done a halfass job so far. i haven't had any cake or cinnamon rolls, but i can't resist the yummy chocolate chip cookies at the hotel after work. the running is still going (12 days straight), so at least that makes up for a bite or two of the cookies.

my legs have been tired and a little sore/achey (in general) monday and tuesday. i probably won't have time to run thursday so i'm planning on a short, super easy run wednesday, and taking thursday off.

monday (4/6) pm run: 5 miles, 44:45 (8:57 avg pace), avg hr (151)

i gave in to my legs and forced myself to run extra easy. it's hard (for me anyway) to slow down on the 'mill because i just want to get the miles over with already. after the short, recovery run i ellipticized for 10 minutes and it actually felt kinda good. (i've never been a fan of the elliptical, i'm too awkward on it.)

tuesday (4/7) pm run: 9.5 miles, 1:15:10 (7:54 avg pace), avg hr (164)

this was a tough interval day (tired legs), but i kept pushing myself through it and dangling my upcoming 'day off' in front of me.

the scheduled called for these intervals by time (4 minutes at interval "i" pace with 3 minutes rest) and i decided to go with it instead of translating it to distance. i roughly did 1000m+ in the 4 minutes of i-pace (avg mile pace 6:26), completed all 5 reps, and didn't cut the cooldown short.

now head over to the happy runner and check out her 200th-post giveaway!

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we now return to our regularly scheduled program

you've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.

- george horace lorimer

i've had an easy transition to actually-working five days a week (though i'm sure i will miss my off-fridays dearly) for about 11 hours/day, and still having energy to run. making myself go to bed at 10pm helps - i've even started to wake up naturally at 5:30 so i get to work on time. i know, how exciting. i'm definitely not complaining. the hours are longer, lunch is almost non-existent, but the work is plentiful so i don't have to sit and twiddle my thumbs like i did back in the office. obviously i'm still digging the jeans/t-shirt attire; i totally wore one of my marathon shirts in earlier this week.

i forced myself to re-hitch a ride on the running wagon and am now going on 8 days straight. (last week was so crappy, i logged more mileage on monday and tuesday alone this week.) i'm not aiming to have some incredibly long streak, i just need to get myself safely away from the hole i dug. however, i am still desperately slacking nutritionally. hopefully i'll clean it up (for the most part) this weekend and crack the whip monday. i've had a few not-so-lovely stomach aches lately and i know it's from all the crap i keep plowing down.

wednesday (4/1) pm run: 6.26 miles, 53:42 (avg pace 8:34), avg hr (162)

nothing exciting - just an easy run on the hotel 'mill followed by 10 minutes on the bike.

thursday (4/2) pm run: 3.52 miles, 30:00 (avg pace 8:31), avg hr (157)

this was an 'optional' workout day but i figured i'd go for a few easy miles and continue my little streak. there was a dude on the tm when i went down to run, but he said he only had about 9 minutes left so i pedaled away on the bike (10 min) while he finished up. the bike is positioned so that you can see the tm's dashboard, and when i sat down he cranked up the speed a little. swoon.

just kidding, at least he was running. a few minutes into my run and a super bad rain storm rolled in. i could hear the thunder and rain over all the noise of the treadmill and tv. i had briefly considered running over at the high school a few miles away, so i was glad my confinement to the tm paid off for once.

friday (4/3) pm run: 9.2 miles, 1:11:58 (avg pace 7:49), avg hr (164)

like i mentioned, my diet has been less-than-spectacular all week, and extra worse today. i had a delicious, warm, gooey cinnamon roll at 6:30am, moist homemade chocolate cake at 9, cheesecake for lunch, and chips/dip and donuts sprinkled globbed in between for my afternoon snack. (and yet i wonder why i can't seem to get rid of my buddha belly. it's a mystery.) i felt 20 pounds heavier with each bite, but i deserve it for being such a sucker for sweets and chocolatey goodness. yes, i still have my food allergies, but i know they won't kill me so sometimes i suck at being good. :(

anyway friday was interval day. as i shoveled junk food in all day, i was a little worried about how i'd hold up. since i had cake for breakfast and lunch, i had a slice of (pepperoni) pizza around 3pm to ensure i at least had some nutrients. ...riiiiight. so i fueled terribly, but i survived. definitely won't be fueling like this again though.

the plan: 20 minutes easy, 2x(10x200 repetition "r" pace with 1 min easy), 10 minutes easy after each set. (my r-pace for 200m is 0:44)

i was quite intimidated by the "2x10" part, but figured i'd get through the first set and try to do as many of the 2nd set as i could hang on for. i got competitive with myself and completed the workout as prescribed, what a good feeling!

1st set - 0:45, 0:44, 0:45, 0:42, 0:45, 0:43, 0:45, 0:41, 0:45, 0:42
(avg 0:43; mile pace 5:49)
2nd set - 0:41, 0:45, 0:42, 0:44, 0:42, 0:45, 0:42, 0:45, 0:42, 0:45
(avg 0:43; mile pace 5:46)

all-in-all, it feels good to be back in a routine and logging normal mileage. i wish i could run outside more (/ever) but i'll have to savor that on the weekends when i have the time to drive somewhere populated and runner-friendly (sidewalks/shoulders).

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march 2009

i rounded out the month of march with two more runs, extending my little 'streak' to 5 days. i desperately need to keep it up so i can get back into shape.

monday (3/30) pm run: 7 miles, 59:10 (avg pace 8:27), avg hr (170)

i don't know how my monday run avg hr was higher than tuesday's (interval day), but whatever. i had a bit of a headache after work and of course was not in the mood to run but i headed down to the hotel 'gym', plopped myself on the treadmill and didn't stop until i reached 7 miles. i probably would have gone longer but the stomach threw in the towel and i made a beeline for the restroom.

tuesday (3/31) pm run: 7.53 miles, 59:51 (avg pace 7:56), avg hr (166)

again, not totally in the mood but i knew i wanted to run. i was a little grouchy pre-run, but as soon as i finished my workout i felt 100 times better. days like this make me really love running.

today called for 1000m repeats at "interval (i) pace" (4:03 for me). i warmed up for 2.25 miles, did 3x1000m (.625 miles) with .35 miles recovery (~3 minutes) and then ran at my easy pace for about 20 minutes until i had ran for a full hour. the intervals went alright, but there is room for improvement. 1000m/0.625 is an odd distance to do on the treadmill. i had to round up to .63, and with the .35 recovery periods i forgot what mileage i needed to end repeat #2 on, so i think that one is a little longer.

3x1000m - 4:07, 4:09, 4:04
(goal pace 4:03)

---

march 2009 - easy running, some laziness. traveled a lot, so that's my excuse. fell off the yoga wagon, but stretched decently after most of the runs. found some of my speed again - completed three speed (repeat) runs and two threshold runs. lost my mojo, but made strong effort at the end of the month to find a morsel of motivation and drive.

total mileage: 141.66
time spent running: 20:29:56
days off: 8 (2 scheduled, 6 lazy days)
abs/yoga: 9 ab workouts/0 yoga sessions
avg resting hr: unknown, somehow didn't measure it once all month
avg max hr: 184.50
pushups: 365 (i realized i did a lot this month and figured it was stat-worthy)

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lil wheezy

i am struggling to get things done in my life lately. my free time, what little there is, just flies by. guess i need to quit going in to work or something... (just kidding, kind of) :) my personal life has also randomly gotten a little more exciting (/busy) and i never have time to do anything. my laundry (for one person) could probably rival joy's family of four right now. i'm really not sure how you adult people handle life. i can't even take care of myself. :-/

monday (3/16) pm run: 5.2 miles, 46:24 (avg pace 8:55), avg hr (165)
after sunday's 7 hour drive i didn't quite have the energy to get up in the morning to run so i ran after work as usual. it was cloudy and cool all day with rain in the forecast, but it appeared to be holding off. i got home, changed, and opened the door to get my run done and alas, it's raining.

ok, so it was a light rain, but i have had no troubles lately talking myself out of a rainy run. i remember one time a little over a year ago i did mile repeats in the pouring down rain, and now i can't even do a shorter, easy run in light rain. oh well. hopped on the treadmill, it was invigorating.

tuesday (3/17) lunch run: 6.2 miles, 51:48 (avg pace 8:21), avg hr (175)
it's 400m repeats day again! happy st. patick's day to me. i was not doing these on the treadmill again as i was certain last week's attempt was way off my actual abilities. i completely missed my alarm in the morning and i knew i wouldn't be able to run after work (dinner plans) so i ran during lunch. i did the repeats on the streets in a neighborhood near work that has some basically-flat stretches and my times were much more reasonable to me. i feel a little better about last week's treadmill repeats since i can officially say something (treadmill and/or nike+) was off.

5x400 - 1:32, 1:31, 1:28, 1:28, 1:29
(goal pace 1:30)

wednesday (3/18) pm run: 9.3 miles, 1:21:52 (avg pace 8:48), avg hr (162)
i love dst. i can magically run for over an hour and it's still not even 'dusky' out. 68* doesn't hurt either.

i'll be honest - i wasn't feeling this run. i had 8 on the schedule but secretly wanted to do more (11) all day. i knew after work i wasn't feeling up to much more than 8 so i filled a water bottle to take with me so i couldn't use thirst as an excuse to quit early. the pollens and allergens are out in full force (as they are all year round anyway); at some point my town was listed in the top 10 worst places to live for people with allergies. terrific! i have all kinds of allergies, let me buy a house here. brilliant. so anyway my lungs were sucking for the first 8 miles and then it was easier to breathe. not sure if they quit trying to kill me or if i just inhaled enough allergy crap to numb them and they rolled over and played dead. i struggled with motivation until about 7.5 miles and then i semi-enjoyed the rest of the run. coulda been 'cause i knew i only had 1.5 left to go and perhaps a little cooperation from the lungs helped as well.

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spoiling my shins

it only took three years of encountering minor setbacks from various injuries (thankfully never anything serious) for me to learn the proper way of handling them when they first try to set up camp.

when my shins hurt saturday from the running, walking and hiking, i iced them a little saturday night and skipped my sunday long run. i made an ice cup at work (part boredom, part necessity) and iced them during the afternoon on monday. i also ran shorter than originally planned, stretched well (*gasp*) and iced again after my run. they felt better on tuesday although still a little achey, so i iced again at work in the afternoon, ran shorter than planned again and followed it up with another solid stretch regime.

my ice cup. works wonderfully.

today (wednesday) i think they are continuing to feel better and i'm hoping my extra efforts in stretching and icing and taking it easy will help them not become full-on shin splints. the only day they really hurt-hurt was saturday, and they have just been noticeably achey since. so, i'm hoping the crisis is almost fully averted. i gave them the ol' ice cup again at work today, but ran today's run as planned (but slow).

monday (3/9) pm run: 5 miles, 45:42 (9:08 avg pace), avg hr (163)
i'm dog sitting again this week so i took ol' buddy out for 3 miles and then hit the treadmill to finish the run. i feel bad putting him back in his crate after he's been in there all day. i still can't believe how much slower he's gotten. he used to hang with me for 6-7 miles and now i practically have to drag him home on a 3 mile run. it was 81* though, maybe the heat was getting to him. (planned mileage was 8, i didn't really mind doing 5 instead.)

tuesday (3/10) pm run: 6 miles, 50:59 (8:29 avg pace), avg hr (172)
my first non-strictly-easy run since the goofy challenge. it was tough on my tortoise legs. again, i felt bad for the dog, so we did a 2 mile warm up outside and then i hit the treadmill for my intervals. yes, intervals. because we wouldn't want an gentle transition from 6 weeks of easy running now would we.

the plan was: 20 min easy, 10x400 "repetition (r) pace" (1:30) with 3 min easy, 10 min easy. unfortunately for me, i knew i should take it easy on the shins so i only did 5x400. at least it's a start in the speed department. i didn't really know what setting to put the treadmill on since the calibration is off a little, so i picked 9.0. my nike+ is also 'off' whenever i run faster than easy pace since my stride changes i guess, but i figured i'd at least get close enough.

having the treadmill rotate at 9.0 is quite the motivation to pick up your feet. i felt like i was going to be thrown off the back end it was spinning so fast. i'm pretty sure i'm never running intervals on the treadmill again. when i finished a 400, i had to hang on for dear life while trying to turn the speed back down for my recovery.

so obviously, my times weren't exact to the starting/stopping points. i wish they had been better, but i'm not going to adjust them. gotta start somewhere. hopefully the next time i do these (on a track) i'll see better and more accurate results.

5x400 - 1:51, 1:50, 1:50, 1:48, 1:48

see, i'd imagine if you were running on a treadmill at the same speed then your time should be the same... i did improve a little and hopefully my theory as to why my times are so much slower than goal pace (1:30) will be proven soon on the track.

wednesday (3/11) pm run: 7.1 miles, 1:04:50 (9:07 avg pace), avg hr (159)
i headed out later than usual (7pm) with jess. we ran an easy 5 together that was a lot slower than normal but didn't feel so easy to me. when we got back to the house i leashed up the dog and took him out for another 2 miles to complete the run. those two miles were faster and felt better, so i think i just needed to work some kinks and lead out of my legs.

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5k workouts

one of my goals is to run a sub-20:00 5k, and ultimately even faster. the following 5k workouts from running planet are designed to help increase your strength, speed, and stamina.

1. 12x400 meter repeats - warm up, run 12x400m at goal 5k pace, recover between repeats for 30 seconds. as you progress, cut your recovery time to 15 seconds.
2. 6x800 meter repeats - warm up, run 6x800m at goal 5k pace, recover between each repeat for 1 minute. as you progress, decrease your recovery time.
3. 3x1600 meter repeats - warm up, run 3x1600 at goal 5k pace, recover for 2 minutes gradually decreasing your recovery time.
4. 400 meter repeats with float - run 2-4 miles alternating between 400 meters at 5k pace and 200 meters at a strong (but relaxed) pace. this workout builds your lactate threshold and running economy at race pace.
5. lactate builders - alternate between running 30 seconds at nearly full pace and 30 seconds at an easy pace. continue until you are no longer able to hold a strong pace.
6. 3x400/800/400 compound sets or supersets - warm up, run 400m at nearly full pace, slow down to goal 5k pace for 800m, speed up to near-full pace for 400m. take no recovery between distances, but recover for 5 minutes between each compound set.
7. 5k long run - 4 miles at an easy pace, speed up to goal 5k pace for 1/2 mile, slow down to easy pace for 4 miles, speed up to goal 5k pace for 1/2 mile again, slow down to easy pace for 2 miles, finish with 1 mile at goal 5k pace (12 miles total)
   

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six key marathon workouts

6 Key Marathon Workouts (from letsrun)

1) 24 mile long run at an easy pace (80-85% of marathon pace). This workout has many benefits essential to successful marathon running. It aids mental concentration, adaptation of the muscular structure to competing for multiple hours, it makes the body more efficient at using energy sources such as glycogen and fat (especially in using fat as a fuel source) and boosts the bodies storage capacity for glycogen. To enhance this fuel burning efficiency it is recommended you only take water and electrolyte tablets during this workout.

2) 20 miles run with the first 10 miles at an easy pace (80-85% of marathon pace) and the last 10 miles run at marathon race pace. This run does many of the same things as listed in #1 above but it also teaches your body to run at marathon pace when you are tired. This workout is a staple in many marathoners programs including Ryan Hall's. Others suggest just last 5-6 miles.

3) 10 mile Tempo run at 100 to 102% of marathon race pace. It is recommended this workout be done on the road on a course similar in geography to the course you will be racing on. This workout is often used mid-week to acclimate the body to running at marathon race pace and boost aerobic stamina (endurance). Intimate familiarity with desired marathon pace is crucial in successfully racing a marathon, especially in the critical early stages when you are feeling fresh and its easy to get started at too fast a pace.

4) 10k Tempo run @ 105-106% of marathon pace. It is recommended the workout be done on a track or on a flat surface where the pace can be closely monitored. This workout is a favorite of Renato Canova for building aerobic power/capacity in his marathoners. Many runners substitute a sub-maximum effort 10k road race for this workout. This workout pushes outward the anaerobic threshold and enhances the aerobic efficiency and characteristics of muscles fibers in the muscular system. In addition prolonged efforts at faster than marathon pace have the additional mental benefit of making marathon pace seem easier in comparison.

5) 6 x 1 mile @ 110% of marathon pace with 400 jog recovery. It is recommended that this workout be done on a track or flat road course. This workout is a classic speed workout for marathon runners. This workout improves the body’s efficiency (aerobic capacity) as well as it ability to process and get rid of lactate. This increased efficiency enhances the body’s ability to handle, remain relaxed at, and run efficiently at the slightly slower pace of marathon race pace. Studies have found little benefit to running at more than 10% faster than goal race pace, so if able additional reps or a shorter recovery should be used rather than increasing the pace of this workout.

6) 3 x 5k at marathon pace.
3 x 5k is a fine workout for building aerobic power if structured properly. Do it in a progression style - run a 5k at marathon pace, then jog half mile to recover then do another 5k at 10 seconds per mile faster than marathon pace, then jog half mile to recover than do the last 5k at 20 seconds per mile faster than marathon pace. Done in this fashion makes this an excellent workout.


Example in calculating paces.

If marathon race pace (MRP) for you is 6:00 per mile (360 seconds) then:

80% of MRP is 360/.80 = 7:30 (450 seconds)
105% of MRP is 360/1.05 = 5:43 (343 seconds)
110% of MRP is 360/1.10 = 5:27 (327 seconds)

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