Question:I ran several half-marathons around 1h25, then tried a full marathon
(finished in 3h07) and took it easier for a few months. Now, as a
preparation for a sub-3 hour marathon attempt, I want to improve my
half-marathon time to 1h20. Obviously, this requires a pace 3:48/km
(or 6:12/mile). What training paces are appropriate? I thought about:
Interval : 2 x 3 x 1k, 60R @ pace 3:30/km (=5:38/mile)
Tempo run: 5km in 18:30 (pace = 3:42/km = 5:56/mile)
Long run : 2 hours (maybe a few fast miles, below 6:30, at the end?)
If I do these each week, with a few recovery runs in between, would that
be sufficient? Or too little / too much?
At the moment I'm not there yet! My 5k tempo run is about 19 minutes (in
a "run around the block" attempt) and 1k intervals are at about 3:40/km
pace (i.e. 5:54/mile) using a similar run around the block, but with
memorized kilometer marks. The first opportunity to race is at Jan 25,
maybe a bit soon (but of course many others will follow! :-)
I also wondered: would training at a 400m oval be better? Since the
races are all on the road, wouldn't training on the road suffice?
Answer:
You need to set training paces that are commensurate with your *current*
level of ability, not the level of ability that you dream about having.
When you run a race that suggests that you've improved, you can increase
the pace of your intervals and tempo runs.
Depends on your previous training. 2 hours for a weekly long run may be too
much unless you're doing a reasonable amount of milage.
Seems like a good pace given where you are now.
I don't think it matters a whole lot.
If I follow your link, "T-pace" for the level I aim at, is given as
3:45/km, so 18:45 for a 5k tempo run, and would be 19:50 for my
previously established level (1h25 HM). So either my current level
is somewhere in between 1h20 and 1h25 (HM time), or else I'm just
doing the tempo run too fast! How do I find out?
Yep, they are the "I-pace" for 1h25 HM. So I'll just try doing
them faster this week, and if that fails then the tempo run should
presumably be slower, because I don't have the required level yet!
Is that a useful interpretation of the paces?
Here's an abstract yet good way to figure out your tempo run pace...run
it at a pace that feels fast and is a good effort, yet at the end you do
not feel like you have run a race and you could continue that pace for another
mile or two. If you are cashed at the end, you are going too fast. If you
feel like you could keep going another mile or two, you are fine no matter
what the formulas say.
Don't run the same workouts every week. One week run a 5k tempo, the
next run 8k. Run 1k repeats one week, 800m the next (but same total distance).
This will better stimulate your body to improve, not to mention breaking the
monotony
You find out by doing a race. As you observed, there are other ways to check
your fitness without entering a race.
However, it's not necessary to re-test your fitness more often than once every
two months. If you really are at such a steep performance gradient that your
fitness changes substantially over such a short time, then you will be able to
improve quite rapidly even if your training is slightly less intense.
You could use an "I pace" workout as a fitness test in this manner, and this
seems (in my experience, any way) to be a reasonable approach to measuring
fitness, if you don't have any races scheduled. I'd caution against attempting
to set "personal bests" in your usual "I pace" workouts though. Just try to
do them at the right pace.
This deserves some clarification -- Andy -- you do mean that you could keep
going another mile or two *at the same pace*, right ?
I haven't run a sub-3 marathon - but I'm hoping to soon...
I have run a 1/2 in under 1:24 in somewhat difficult conditions, and that
was a 6 min+ improvement over the same race from the previous year.
I would say that the most important factor in my improvement was the steady
building of a mileage base over several months, without worrying too much
about faster intervals.
Try this link for some interesting reading: www.ffh.us/cn/hadd.htm
In terms of paces for various runs try this link:
www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running%20University/Article%201/mcmillanrunn...
