Looking at training specifics, is there anything you have done to produce a notable "breakthrough"?
There are two articles in the Jan/Feb Running Times about periodization and Canova-style special blocks. Thoughts on how effective they might be?
Doing a lot of Pfitz-style stuff for the majority of the year (excluding the dreariest parts of winter) has been effective, but I think that there is still a lot of room to do certain things better, envelopes to still be pushed.
I love Pfitz and I think it is very effective for me. But if you want to try something new, Hanson might be a good fit too. I know plenty of friends of mine (including some forumites here) that have trained with it successfully and gotten PRs they could not even imagine.
FWIW, my coach loves Canova workouts but I don't have enough knowledge and experience in them to comment.
Damaris
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You kind have already said it. The Pfitz 18/55 brought me to another level and you have already done that. For what it's worth, a little bird told me that the Hanson marathon plan trains you to run on very tired legs so that might be worth a look for you?
P.S. I am one of the forumites that have PRd with the Pfitz 18/55 plan.
Probably also worth taking a look at the logs of the some guys on here who have taken it to another level.
I'd look at*:
Scully (run up to Boston 2013)
Jeff (run up to Baystate 2010)
abemend (run up to Fox Cities 2013)
And then guys who are already there:
runwietcha and schneidr
You'll see a lot of the same stuff I reckon - a shitton of miles, a lot of marathon specific pace, a commitment to stretching, strength, and a big commitment to nutrition (including not drinking). Basically all those guys above threw themselves completely at it. And turned in some good stuff, way beyond what they were doing before. Scully in particular is a good one to look at - his times were just around where you and I are (if I should be so bold as to compare us), but for Boston he went all in and busted out a 2:38.
*just use the Browse User Logs function to find 'em.
Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and roguesWe're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
There are no secrets.
1. Have the right genetics. Either you have the right genetics or you don't and no amount of hard work will make up for a deficiency in that aspect.
2. Run lots of miles. Lots. If you want to take it to the next level in the marathon, then you need to be knocking out 90-100 mile weeks routinely.
3. Run your hard workouts really fucking hard. You don't need that kind of mileage if your focus is on shorter distances a/l/a Pete Magill. Indeed, Magill notes that nationally competitive 5K masters runners typically keep it in the 60-70 mpw range. (In case you don't know, he was the first American over 40 to run a 5K in under 15 minutes). But your hard workouts need to be really fucking hard. As in really fucking hard. Canova's hardest workout is 18 miles at marathon pace.
4. Run your easy workouts really fucking easy. Running your hard workouts really fucking hard means you run your easy runs really fucking easy. (Again by way of comparison, Magill runs without a watch but he has said that he runs his easy runs around a 7:00 pace. That's from a sub 15:00 5K guy. Sammy Wanjiru used to do morning progression runs and he'd start at a 7:30 pace. This from a guy who ran marathons at a 4:50 pace and 5K's sub 13:00). This includes having the balls to recover fully before your next workout. Canova's 18 mile marathon pace run can lead to as much as 10 days of recovery before the next hard workout. How many recreational runners do you know that have the balls to spend 10 days without doing a hard workout? Any? Nope. They panic and think they absolutely MUST get in two hard workouts every week.
5. Lose weight. I don't think you need to live the life of a monk. Hell, Wanjiru is dead because he was drunk and jumped off a balcony. I don't know what your BMI is but if it's over 20, then you will benefit from losing weight.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
...a commitment to stretching, strength...
This will be my singular focus for 2014. It began that way in 2013 but as the season and mileage cranked up, I got away from it and it cost me big time. That will never happen again, ever.
Jay, adding doubles worked wonders in terms of recovery for me. It was nothing ridiculous, just about 30 to 35 minutes in the evening twice per week. You are probably running much more than that but I just wanted to throw it out there that doubles are the shiz.
No advice, as I seem to be taking it a few levels down each time, these days. If you want advice on that, let me know.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
delicate flower
I'm also someone who like to get to the next level. That would put me at Level 1.
<3
Kevin - Thanks. I think going "all in" for a specific distance is part of it at this point, but the allure of the marathon is at odds with my best AG% of the year -- the mile, a distance I ran on a whim with hardly any specific training.
LTH - All true. A definite weakness of mine is not doing my repeats and tempos as hard as they could be done.
Rick - Re: doubles, yes. More over the summer training cycle for sure.
Heh - mile's my best AG% too (also without spec training). I kind of dislike marathons, and pretty sure Boston will be my last.
Good luck with your pursuit.
Count me as a big fan of doubles. I struggled for a long time trying to get my mileage over 50 mpw and could never seem to make it work. Once I started doing doubles, I started doing 60-70 routinely. I find that I am much more relaxed on my afternoon run if I can get in a 3-5 mile jog in the morning. By "jog", I'm talking about 8:30-9:00 pace when my easy runs are typically in the 7:45 range. Here are a couple of decent articles.
Double Your Pleasure
Should You Run Twice a Day
Singles, Doubles and Triples