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Completed half marathon, next one in 2 months - how to continue training (Read 189 times)

roadrunnermom


    I ran a half marathon yesterday, not my first and not a PR. Wind was really bad, and definitely slowed me down, but I'm happy with my time of 1:59 despite that it was about 5 minutes off my PR. I also had a bad callous on my foot that really bothered me the second half of the race LOL. I am doing another in about 7 weeks and was wondering what I could do to give myself a better chance of coming closer to my PR. I think trying to PR is bit ambitious, so I thought I'd attempt to try for 1:55, a 4 minute improvement over yesterday's half. I am not sure if that is even pushing it. It is a fairly flat course, the only issue might be heat in mid-May. Should I take a week off before jumping back in? What should my first long run be? Here is what my training looked like:

     

    M - speed intervals - 6 miles of either 800m or 1600m intervals

    T - easy run + strength

    W - tempo run - approx 5 miles, including one warm-up, one cooldown, 3 miles tempo pace

    Th - strength training + elliptical or bike

    F - long run - included one 13 miler, two 12-milers, a few 11's and 10's, one 10-mile race since January.

    S - easy recovery run

     

    I averaged close to 30 mpw.  I really want to avoid going beyond 30 miles since I'm not young (41) and have previous injuries I want to avoid coming back. Any suggestions on what I can do to step it up.

     

    Thanks!!

    zonykel


      Try running wizard. It may be too close for this coming half, but perhaps it'll help you in your next race.
      Julia1971


        The only thing I really might change is the interval workout.  At your pace, you're probably not able to hold your max intensity for that long.  Maybe try doing 200s, 300s, and 400s instead.

         

        Oh, and 41 is young!  Wink

        roadrunnermom


          The only thing I really might change is the interval workout.  At your pace, you're probably not able to hold your max intensity for that long.  Maybe try doing 200s, 300s, and 400s instead.

           

          Oh, and 41 is young!  Wink

           

          Thanks,  Julia, especially for that awesome compliment about 41 being young. What pace should I run a 400 at? I use the calculators, but it's so hard to guess, they just say to run the interval in 1Tight lippedx or similar. I usually need to know what pace to run!!


          an amazing likeness

            M - speed intervals - 6 miles of either 800m or 1600m intervals

            T - easy run + strength

            W - tempo run - approx 5 miles, including one warm-up, one cooldown, 3 miles tempo pace

            Th - strength training + elliptical or bike

            F - long run - included one 13 miler, two 12-milers, a few 11's and 10's, one 10-mile race since January.

            S - easy recovery run

             

             

            What I see in your plan is out of 5 runs per week, you've got 2 quality (tempo + intervals) and a long run on top. So 3 of 5 runs are workouts, and only 2 allow for recovery and easy miles. I'd consider if you want to make 1 of those days an easier run, and rotate between the tempo / interval / hill runs on that Wednesday.

             

            Julia's right, 41 'taint old at all.

            Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

            Julia1971


               

              Thanks,  Julia, especially for that awesome compliment about 41 being young. What pace should I run a 400 at? I use the calculators, but it's so hard to guess, they just say to run the interval in 1Tight lippedx or similar. I usually need to know what pace to run!!

               

              I don't think you need to run them in a specific pace.  I would say you should run them about as hard as you can and still complete the workout.  Once you get good at it, the pace will probably end up being pretty close in range.  And, you'll know you did it right because you'll be pretty spent at the end.  A good rule of thumb is to do no more than 10% of your weekly mileage as speed work...  Are you following a specific plan?  How'd you come up with the plan you're following?  I'm just trying to think of how you might be able to find some appropriately challenging track workouts.

              zonykel


                Try the McMillan running calculator (It's free). You input one of your recent race results, and it gives you paces for various workouts. Another source is the book "Daniels Running Formula".

                Julia1971


                  Try the McMillan running calculator (It's free). You input one of your recent race results, and it gives you paces for various workouts. Another source is the book "Daniels Running Formula".

                   

                  OP, I was going to suggest these sources but hesitated because some people (like me) have a lot of natural speed.  If you're one of those people, McMillan might work nicely because he gives you a range of paces (although, I think he still makes you decide if you're a short distance or long distance runner or something weird like that) but Daniels might cause some angst since the pace charts are laid out more precisely.  So, I went with just run very, very hard.

                   

                  I was also going to recommend the 5K-15K training program in Daniels if you weren't working from a plan already. He also explains the purpose of intervals, which I still don't completely get, but helped me at least stop trying to do things like mile repeats, which is probably why I honed in on that part of your schedule.

                  roadrunnermom


                    Julia, I'm honestly not following a plan. Someone I know recommended this "made up plan". Perhaps I should follow one, I just never know where to start. I'd like to run 5 days per week and keep it around 30 miles per week. I always thought that mile repeats were essential for half marathon training, guess I was wrong??  I have to read into Daniels.

                     

                    zonykel, thanks for your suggestions. I have played with macmillan calculator and that's where I determined what pace to run my mile repeats and tempo runs at.

                    Julia1971


                      Julia, I'm honestly not following a plan. Someone I know recommended this "made up plan". Perhaps I should follow one, I just never know where to start. I'd like to run 5 days per week and keep it around 30 miles per week. I always thought that mile repeats were essential for half marathon training, guess I was wrong??  I have to read into Daniels.

                       

                      I don't think it's that bad a plan.  But, if this person told you to run mile repeats, they may not like you very much.  Do you owe them money?  Smile  Definitely check out Daniels.  In a nutshell, for interval workouts, you want to run at your max effort for about 5:00.  For slower folks, that's not going to be a mile.  It's probably going to be closer to a 1,200.  If you're not running at max anymore, then it becomes more like a tempo workout...  I tend to think tempo workouts are the core workout for half marathons.  Having that 3 mile tempo in there is good.  If you can stretch it out to 4ish miles and maintain pace, I think that would also be a nice improvement.

                        Sorry, but I think it is hard to give anything more than general advice to someone without knowing more about their running history.

                         

                        It would be useful tyo know how many yeard\s you have been running?

                        What your PR is for the half?

                        How long have you been running 30 miles per week?

                        What time do you run your 3 mile or 5k tempo?

                        How fast do you run the 800m or 1600 intervals, what rest interval, how many?

                         

                        I  don't see any reason why your age should limit your training to 30 miles per week, though your injury history may be a factor, as you said. Also no reason why you cannot run a new PR.

                        Just bmy opinions, of course!

                        PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                            10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                         

                        zonykel


                           

                            In a nutshell, for interval workouts, you want to run at your max effort for about 5:00.  

                          if I remember correctly, Daniels suggests running those intervals at the speed at which you reach VO2 max, which is different from max effort. I don't recall the rule of thumb for the suggested pace, though. I think it's around 5K pace.

                          Julia1971


                            if I remember correctly, Daniels suggests running those intervals at the speed at which you reach VO2 max, which is different from max effort. I don't recall the rule of thumb for the suggested pace, though. I think it's around 5K pace.

                             

                            I believe you are correct re Daniels and VO2Max but I'm not sure about the 5K pace part.  If R and I pace were 5K pace, it seems to me he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by just saying "5K pace" instead of making the elaborate charts.  But, you're right, "max effort" was not a good description on my part.  Max effort would probably be a 50 yard sprint.  Smile

                             

                            OP, invest in some good running books if you're curious about these things.  IMHO, there's nothing "bad" about your schedule other than trying to run 6 miles of 800m or mile intervals, which I took to mean pretty intense efforts.

                             

                            Good luck finding a training program that works for you!

                            roadrunnermom


                               

                              What I see in your plan is out of 5 runs per week, you've got 2 quality (tempo + intervals) and a long run on top. So 3 of 5 runs are workouts, and only 2 allow for recovery and easy miles. I'd consider if you want to make 1 of those days an easier run, and rotate between the tempo / interval / hill runs on that Wednesday.

                               

                              Julia's right, 41 'taint old at all.

                               

                              I was wondering that as well; I see many plans have most of the shorter runs as easy runs and alternate tempo and interval every week. Thanks, ok, 41 is not old  Smile

                              roadrunnermom


                                 

                                I don't think it's that bad a plan.  But, if this person told you to run mile repeats, they may not like you very much.  Do you owe them money?  Smile  Definitely check out Daniels.  In a nutshell, for interval workouts, you want to run at your max effort for about 5:00.  For slower folks, that's not going to be a mile.  It's probably going to be closer to a 1,200.  If you're not running at max anymore, then it becomes more like a tempo workout...  I tend to think tempo workouts are the core workout for half marathons.  Having that 3 mile tempo in there is good.  If you can stretch it out to 4ish miles and maintain pace, I think that would also be a nice improvement.

                                 

                                Ha ha - yeah maybe the mile repeats are overkill. And you're correct, if it's not max, it's more like a tempo

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