Q: The other day, I heard the term "junk miles." What does that mean?

I'm a 35 yo male about to start my 6th week of using a FIRST inspired program and I am loving it. I said "inspired" because I have been doing my speed workouts on a treadmill and that has made it harder to do the shorter intervals (200/400m) because of the treadmill lag time when speeding up or slowing down, so I have been using 800m or 1200m speed workout intervals. I have been pretty good with the tempo and long runs. Background: I have been running consistently for about a year and have been doing much better in shorter races than in longer ones. Current PRs: Mile: 5:37 5k: 19:43 Half-Marathon: 1:43:55 Marathon: 3:47x (I was under-trained to race it and took it relatively easy, not an all out effort) I was hoping that the tempo and fast long runs from FIRST would help build my endurance. I've been really pleased with the results of the training so far. I track all my workouts with a Garmin 305 using heart rate monitor and either the GPS function or a footpod to record speed. In the last 5 weeks I've seen a drop of 5-10 BPM for the same effort across my speed, tempo, and long-run efforts. Frankly, I'm sort of blown away by the rate of improvement.

My goal race is the Lehigh Valley Half-Marathon at the end of April. Before starting FIRST, I was hoping to break 1:35 in that race, but I think I now have a shot at 1:30 if I stay healthy and race smart. For cross-training, I am using a stationary bike 2-3x a week for 45 mins to an hour. In the last two weeks, I have also started played racquetball often for an hour after my speed and tempo workouts. My heart rate during the FIRST runs is definitely above the MAF thresholds. Last week my HR data was: Speed Workout: peaked at 95% of MHR Tempo: averaged 85% of MHR Long Run: averaged 85% of MHR (and hit it 22 seconds/mile faster than goal) During cross-training I'm typically averaging 110-120 BPM on the bike. Racquetball tends to be about 105-110 BPM, although is certainly way spikier than the bike. My aerobic fitness is definitely improving. I ran a (non-FIRST) easy 10 miler with a friend who I hadn't run with in a while 2 weeks ago. We covered the 10 miles at about an 8:35 pace and my average HR was 138, which is below MAF by 7 BPM. Before starting FIRST, I ran at the same distance/pace at 145 BPM. Since my FIRST workouts are starting to get consistently easier, I'm planning on bumping the pace one notch.

I forgot to give details about the footpod. When I am going between 8:30 and 6:00/miles, it seems fairly close to what the treadmills read (typically 1-3% difference, occasionally spot on, and occasionally 4% difference). I did an 11.0 miler on the treadmill a few weeks ago, and the footpod measured 11.03, which was pretty amazing. I did a 4x1200m workout on the treadmill today and the footpod measured my interval speeds correctly to within about 5 seconds/mile. When I'm going at very slow warm-up speeds, the accuracy is off significantly (footpod showed 11:30 when running a 12 min/mile this morning), so it definitely seems like there is a sweet spot for the accuracy. There is a way to calibrate the footpod to increase the accuracy by running 2x around a track to get an accurate 800m, but the nearest track to me has weird metal gates that are locked to keep people from using the inside 3 lanes. Since I am running a lot indoors this winter, I think the footpod is definitely worth the $50 price from Amazon (a much better deal than off the Garmin site for $100).

Interesting topic over on the RW forum. I personally have backed off a bit on the FIRST training over the Holidays. First, the gym I belong to (LA Fitness) decided not to offer the early morning (5:45 a.m.) spin classes on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. That threw a wrench into my planning as I'm not real good about designing workouts on a bike. I also decided to eat and drink too much over the Holidays as well. I basically just put in miles at a slightly easier tempo over the break. However, I found that my times weren't that much slower than when I was trying to run faster. My main concern with the FIRST program has to do with adapting to the pounding that you get during a race. I ran a 5K the Saturday before Christmas and was very disappointed with my time of 20:58. Although it was pretty windy, I thought that I should be at least a minute faster. My legs were dead after the first mile and felt like they'd been hammered to death. While reading the RW forum, some thoughts came to mind: 1. While you won't save any time by x-training instead of running, you can save pounding. 2. You can also train at a higher level. If you run your easy days like you should, the pace and intensity would be pretty low. Doing 3 spin classes of 45-minutes each gives me a lot harder workout than running an easy 6 miles during the same period of time. Thus, while you're still exercising for 45 minutes, you might be able to develop more in the cardiovascular area without destroying the muscular system. There's a guy in the Fort Worth area who's older than me. He does all of his "running" on the elliptical with the exception of a weekly speed session and when he races. He's run in the 16s for the 5K although I believe he's in his 50s. The hard part for me is that I'm not running all the time. I spent several years running 70+ mpw, so it's hard to back off and think that I'm getting just as good of a workout while running less. I'm used to feeling beat up after a run. With the x-training, I'm not beat up, but I'm tired.

i ran 4 marathons in 3 years and my times were in the range of 3:47 - 4:10.  My training was basically 16 weeks of running lots of miles and long runs building up to about 22 miles a few weeks prior to the race.

I wanted to qualify for Boston (49 years old) and needed 3:30 to do so.  I tried this FIRST program.  I tell you it worked for me and I highly recommend it.  

 i ran 3:29 at Twin Cities in the pouring rain and wind to make Boston.  I didn't train as hard for Boston due to the weather where I am from and other excuses, so I just broke four hours at Boston.  (I did finish ahead of Bill Rodgers though )  Boston was an incredible once in a lifetime experience for me although I might try it again in a few years.

This program really works if you follow it.   Good luck!