Comments on running schedule (Read 1218 times)

Hello: I am a new runner and have been at it for about 6 months now. I log about 25-30 miles per week. My schedule is something like this - M: 10km; T: Swim 1.5km; Wednesday: 10km; Thursday: 8km; Friday: Swim 1.5km; Saturday: 16km; Sunday: AM: Golf/Swim PM: 6km run (depending on travel some of these days don't happen) All my runs are at a fairly easy pace of 6min - 6:15min per km. I am trying to improve my speed and may start trying intervals on Sunday or maybe a tempo run. I've been told that I am perhaps running too many "longish" runs during the week and that I should limit to just one long run and spread the remaining mileage out. While I don't feel particularly tired for the most part, I wanted to get some advise from the experience runners out there before I go injure myself again (I already got a case of tendinitis in my second month when I tried to increase things too fast). I am not training for any race in particular - maybe a half marathon next year and a marathon the year after that. Thanks a ton, AB

Welcome, AB. PRE pretty much covered it. 25-30 is a very nice base to train for a half marathon and I see no problem with that being spread over 4 days. Your long run of 16km is just about a third of your weekly mileage so I'd say its right on, particularly since you're swimming two days a week as well. We're all nosy so please start posting and sharing your log As PRE said, add speed work gradually to avoid injury. Try not to do hard workouts on consecuitive days and consider mixing in some hill work as well. Fast finish long runs are probably my favorite "hard" workout (easy for the first half, then gradually faster down to HM pace).

AB, if you've been at it for 6 months or even 3 months consistently at 25-30 miles per week, you can add some speedwork now, I wouldn't wait. If you find yourself picking up some aches and pains, you can always back off. Just be careful not to push through if you feel an injury coming on. I had some problems last year with achilles tendonitis and it cost me 6 weeks off without running so I understand your caution. Just make sure you maintain a good portion of your running at a nice easy, conversational pace. Run lots, mostly easy, sometimes hard.

I don't see anything wrong with your schedule. An hour every other day with one 50ish minute run tossed in the mix seems fine for what you're doing. You can make on run a tempo run, or try a 'high aerobic' style of of interval training where you essentially pick up the pace for about 90 seconds, then spend 30-60 seconds on a recovery jog, and keep repeating this several times over. The Wednesday run might be a good candidate for it, or even Thursday. You don't try to knock yourself out with this run, it's just harder than normal. You have lots of options, experiment a little.

You can also check out chennairunners.com . Its a local running group that meets everyday

Hi AB, This is off topic, but how hard is it to find a good place to run in Chennai? I visited your city a little over a year ago and didn't see very many runner friendly roads or trails, but maybe I just didn't see the right areas.

Hi everyone, a few more questions on building speed. I took all your suggestions and did a 6k run today on the treadmill. I ran a good part of the run at 11kmph or a 5:30 pace and my heart rate only went to 155. It was a little hard but not too bad, I was surprised I was able to do that - but then again its a treadmill, lets see how I do outside. I am thinking of setting myself a goal of a sub 2hr half and/or a sub 4 full marathon. If I run these numbers past the various running calculators, they suggest building up to a tempo run of between 5:00 - 5:20 per km. This sounds quite do-able. However, most training schedules suggest a tempo run of once a week and that too just for a relatively short period. How does running 45 - 60 minutes of tempo at say 5:15 per km get you to run a whole Marathon at 5:42? Is this a leap of faith that a newbie should take? Thanks again for your comments. ab

I knew Chennai sounded familiar, Narsi's workouts seem to be at a slightly faster pace (?), but he seems to be nearby (at least one of his routes lists "Boat Club"). If you want to use the log here, you can ask for assistance with an export/import by posting in the Technical Support forum. The RW log is an older version, and Eric* is getting ready to roll out yet another great update here. Good luck with your running AB, keep up the good work. *properly known as the Great, Powerful and Wonderfully Helpful Eric

Thanks for the comments guys. I've got enough to keep going for a while. All this talk about speed etc, has given me a near term goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon. I still think I will wait for a year and a half of running before trying to run a full marathon. PRE: thats exactly the workout I tried on Monday, it was pretty good, though my legs did get a little sore. I think I am more comfortable doing these workouts in the treadmill though - at least until I get a "feel" of the speeds. Jeff: I am definitely building up to it. I recently ran a 10k in training in about 60 minutes and my heart rate never went over 156-157. I felt fine after the workout and figured I could probably do about 57 minutes at least if I had pushed it. That gives me training paces of just over 10min/mile for long and easy runs and about 9:20-9:30 per mile for tempo. After one case of tendonitis caused by doing too much, I am definitely wary. BadDawg: Wow! it is a small world. Don't know Narsi personally but I have actually seen him running very often on the road when I am returning from my morning runs. ab