Forums >Racing>Running 26.2 miles to be faster at 3.1
Every single one of my shorter distance PRs was set in a 3 month period around the hardest marathon training I ever did, including a 5K that was 20sec faster than any I ever ran on "5K training". .
I second that. After PRing big time at Twin Cities in fall 2010 I stunned myself by "accidentally" PRing at 5k a month later by 30 seconds and in the months that followed I was still slaying everything (HM, more 5k PRs, mile).
- Joe
We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.
Are we there yet?
+2
+3. since I started sub-4 marathon training, I've PRed every distance I've raced, including the half mary twice...
Just out of interest for all people who improved shorter time after starting marathon training: Did "marathon training" necessarily mean more mpw than you'd be doing previously? Or was the mileage the same, but structured differently?
during triathlon training I typically run less than 20 miles a week (which is probably why I have such poor run performances). For half mary training I got up into the 30s. For this round of marathon training, I got up into the 40s multiple times for the first time in any of my training.
Why is it sideways?
I set my PR in the 5k in outdoor track after an indoor season in which I focused on the 1000m. What does that mean?
I think most recreational runners will PR in the 5k by training for the marathon because the marathon is scary enough to motivate them to get out the door and do the work even though they have other responsibilities, while the 5k is not.
Slow-twitch guys like spaniel and elites that are suited to the marathon (and Paula is the athlete MOST suited to the marathon that has ever lived, so she is perhaps the worst example that could be used) will PR in the 5k by training for the marathon. As a runner, you should train to your strengths. A balanced runner like, say Geb, will not be able to reach his 5k PR by training for the marathon. I feel certain saying a guy like Alan Webb would not reach his 5k PR by marathon training. But I could be wrong.
I also have doubts about whether this is the best approach for Lauren Fleshman, given her running history. Running a 2:37 marathon did not get her any closer to breaking 15 minutes. If she had run under 2:30 at NYC, then I'd say definitely this was the way to go for her. This whole article has a lot more to do with publicity of the New York marathon and Fleshman than it does with proper training.
This is so true. If I was not training for a marathon, I'd have skipped so many workouts or lolly gagged on the tempo runs, or just plain declare that I had enough and bagged the run.
My 5K PR is from a week before my first marathon. I am pretty sure I'll kill that by at least a minute now while training for my second. For most of us 4 hour marathoners it's a different ball game/different sport than those 2:30 guys.
More miles for starters. And, track/speed work sometimes replaced by more CV, HM, or MP running.
Options,Account, Forums
For me, more mileage.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Prince of Fatness
I agree. I ran my 5K PR training for a half. At the time I already understood that the 5K is really a distance race and that I would probably do well based on how my training was going. Point is, I was not targeting the 5K at all, and didn't prep for it as a goal race.
I think that most recreation runners think that the 5K is a sprint and not a distance race.
Not at it at all.
5k PR was set on 5k training and 50 miles per week. Marathon PR was set on 74 mile per week average.
Get off my porch
not bad for mile 25
I agree. I ran my 5K PR training for a half. At the time I already understood that the 5K is really a distance race and that I would probably do well based on how my training was going. Point is, I was not targeting the 5K at all, and didn't prep for it as a goal race. I think that most recreation runners think that the 5K is a sprint and not a distance race.
Training for/racing marathons may be what transforms a 5K from a distance race to a sprint.
A Saucy Wench
I was questioning that as well. Even if the premise of more marathon like training would give her what she needs is correct, how does compressing the training into a short cycle and then beating herself up on a marathon race help her? Unless mental toughness was her problem I suppose.
What if instead of running NYC she had merely incorporated the style of training and not raced. She could have probably fit a couple more of weeks of endurance training that is now going to be spent on recovery before switching focus back to the 5K. Maybe even several more weeks since she had the NYC deadline and not some natural fit to her training deadline.
As to the masses running a 5K pr off marathon training, well, yeah, I did too. But thats just because most people dont really run that much until they tackle the marathon.
Could pickybars be mentioned a few more times in the article?
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
I think the opposite. I think most recreational runners think the 5K is a distance that you need to hold back and hold back and hold back so you dont bonk at the end. The concept that a 5K is done at the effort that 5Ks should be done at is revolutionary for most.
the 5K is a distance that you need to hold back and hold back and hold back so you dont bonk at the end, look good in the finish photos, and can show the spectators my awesome sprinting capability.