Marathon Training and Discussions

1

MP? (Read 201 times)

    I have never run a marathon before, but my training plan has two MP runs a week. They are from 5-8 miles long- at that distance I can easily do at 9:30 pace without too much effort. Long runs (10+) miles for me are usually at a pace of 10:15-10:45 unless it's cloudy and not humid, then I can drop about 30 seconds a mile with the same effort. My main goal for the marathon is just to finish, but I guess I would say my ideal goal pace would be 10:00, which is around what McMillan predicts from 5K and 10K races. My question is: should I do these training MP runs at 9:15 pace to get used to pushing myself over distance, or should I do them at 10:00 which is my marathon goal pace? 10:00 is pretty easy for me most days, most of my easy runs are at or faster than this pace. Thanks!
      Okay, I've got to ask, what does MP stand for? Confused
      Next up: A 50k in ? Done: California-Oregon-Arizona-Nevada (x2)-Wisconsin-Wyoming-Utah-Michigan-Colorado
        ooh, haha- marathon pace. I was wondering why no one had any advice to share... sorry about that!!
          I knew what MP was - but wasn't sure how best to answer. In my case for the first couple months of my training - I ran the Easy and Tempo paces given by McMillan. Every 4 or 5 weeks, I would run a mile time trial or a race and recalculate my paces. In my opinion, if your planned MP is 10:00, then that's what I would run them at. Maybe run a time trial or another 5k/10k to re-evaluate your fitness in 4-6 weeks. I have a friend who has been plagued with injuries - thankfully mostly minor - due to planning his running paces too fast (according to Mc Millan). I think he compounds this by trying to run these even faster than planned. I try to tell him that it's probably not a good idea treat training runs like races. But what do I know Smile

          When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

          btb1490


            Finding your pace for your first marathon is pretty tricky to do. Most would advise you to not worry about your pace too much for your first marathon, rather to just go out and finish it comfortably. I tend to agree with that. But still it leaves you with the question of "how fast should I train"? If McMillan predicts a 10 minute pace, then use that pace. Most first time marathoners can benefit most from putting in more miles, rather than running less miles at a faster pace. The marathon is primarily an endurance event, and those with a good endurance base as their starting point will do the best. Once that base is in place, then start worrying about faster workouts. So even though 10:00/mile feels easy to you at shorter distances right now, you should keep at that pace and work on increasing your overall miles. Best of luck in your training. What marathon are you planning on? I wanted to add what Hal Higdon has to say on the subject. "Well-trained runners sometimes can multiply their 10K time in minutes by 4.66 and predict their approximate marathon time. First-timers should probably multiply by 5, then add some more time for safety."
              Thanks both of you. I'm planning to run ING Miami in January. I have another 5K next weekend, a 10K in a month, and a half in 2 months, so I'll keep re-evaluating a MP. I was curious, because when I came back to running this spring after an injury I was doing mostly easy runs with a few intervals, but no tempo and I felt like I wasn't prepared enough to push the pace and hold it in a 5K until recently when I added more speedwork in. I understand that the 5K and the marathon are totally different creatures though, so I'll try to tone down those MP runs a bit.