Forums >Running 101>Deciphering training plans....
Hello all!
New to the forum and I hope I can contribute some and learn a lot from more experienced runners.
I've completed 2 marathons but both were with the intention of just finishing. In other words I was pretty slow and I never really pushed myself. All of my training was done with slow and steady runs. I completed both at around 4:40.
I got the running bug again and now I'm looking to train differently and improve my times. I want to run faster.
ive found a couple different training plans that seem doable......I'm just having trouble figuring out what some things mean.
hoping you guys can help.... Here's a couple examples:
5+ miles
Slow 5 Miles0:20Fast2:00Slow0:20Fast2:00Slow0:20Fast2:00Slow
does the above mean to run 5 miles or more than 5 miles? And I'm assuming the ":20 fast 2:00 slow" means alternate that until hitting 5 miles? Is that correct?
My next question is the training plan has "3x1.5mi" listed on certain dates and then it's broken down like so:
2 Miles Slow1.50 MilesFast2:00Slow1.50 MilesFast2:00Slow1.50 MilesFast
if I'm interpreting this correctly it means that I'm going to run 2 miles slowly, then run 1.5 miles 3 times fast (they give a certain pace I just didn't copy and paste it) while in between that running slowly for 2 mins? Am I correct?
Sorry for all the questions. I just want to make sure I'm doing this correctly!
Thanks for any help anyone can provide
It's a little hard to say on the first one. I read "5+ miles, 5 miles slow" to mean the first 5 miles are at an easy pace, then there are three hard 20s sprints (or possibly strides) at the end with 2 minutes of very slow jogging interspersed. The "+" represents the extra distance from these anaerobic intervals, which would be on the order of 0.5 to 1.0 mile depending on how fast you are. The alternative, 20s hard with 2:00 recovery jog for 5 miles (about 20 sets), doesn't make sense to me.
The second workout looks like tempo/lactate threshold intervals, a staple workout in many plans.
Following a structured plan for a few months prior to the race should lead to a major improvement in your PR. Good luck!
Great, thank you! After reading your response to the first one and looking at the training plan again, I think you are correct. Definitely makes sense to me. Appreciate your response.
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What plan are you following? A lot of people here will be familiar with specific plans so sometimes if you post where you found the plan, you'll get some good answers too. (I've used Higdon plans a fair amount.)
Myself, I dislike the term slow. I prefer the term easy. Easy as in you could reasonably speak short sentences while running. Don't give up those easy and steady runs. Those are still key to your training, but definitely mixing in some faster work is good too.
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Thank you for the info. I'm using the Jeff Gaudette training plan I found on the runkeeper website. The previous training plan I used had me running 6 days a week so this plan surprised me because it's usually 4 runs a week.
Im looking forward to starting it this week!
SMART Approach
If you can run six days per week, then you should do this. Gradually, Increasing your weekly miles is the best way to get faster and build your aerobic engine. Mixing in faster running and tempos is fine but running less days per week usually means less miles and less performance. Can you post his plan?
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Here is the link to the training plan:
https://runkeeper.com/fitness-class/running-marathon/10?menuSelection=FEED
on the bottom left you can click on "schedule" and that breaks down each run specifically. Being what I would still consider myself a novice runner, running only 4 times per week seemed odd to me. I figured that if that's the training plan it must be okay though.
I have another question, in the description of the plan, he mentions that this plan is for those intermediate runners who can handle 30-40 miles per week.....I'm assuming that means building up to 30-40 miles per week as training progresses, correct? In other words, to start this plan I don't ALREADY have to be doing 30-40 miles per week?
Sorry if these are silly questions, I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Thanks for all of the info so far!
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NewbieRunStp,
A few questions embedded in your last post...let me offer my insights.
(one challenge, and benefit, of a variety of responses is that they wont all agree, and may even be in conflict...you'll need to navigate through the info and learn what fits you best)
Weekly distance -- looking at the plan you linked to, yes it is going to be build you up to that 30-40 miles/week level. So you don't need to be running that now, before starting the plan. However, to my eye that plan doesn't spend much time "base building" -- you'd be well advised to be comfortably running ~20 miles / week already.
# runs / week -- if you're going forward with that plan and aiming for a marathon from it, I certainly would advise running at least 1 more day per week than the 4. It looks like you could use Monday as your 'recovery' day and do some cross-training, then fill in the open day in the middle of the week with some easy (low effort, low impact) miles to build up.
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NewbieRunStp, # runs / week -- if you're going forward with that plan and aiming for a marathon from it, I certainly would advise running at least 1 more day per week than the 4. It looks like you could use Monday as your 'recovery' day and do some cross-training, then fill in the open day in the middle of the week with some easy (low effort, low impact) miles to build up.
I agree with MilkTruck on this. One of my concerns when I look at that plan is that the long run is a huge bulk of your weekly miles. The second full week of December, your long run is 50% of your weekly mileage. As you get further into the plan, there are weekly the long run looks to be more than half your mileage. It's easy to fall into the trap of focusing just on the long run.
On faster days I like that there is a 1 mile warm up and cool down. I would encourage you to add some miles on each side of the runs where you have faster work i.e. 2 mile warm up and 2-3 mile cool down so you have 2 bigger days per week. If you add one more run per week I would recommend an easy 3-4 miles before a day you do faster work. This primes the body and you will feel better. The rest of the program is reasonable. I would encourage you to run by feel and not necessarily try to hit specific paces goals etc. Also, don't kill yourself in those faster days. If this is new to you, you need to listen to body.
All great advice. I sincerely appreciate everyone and their insight. I am comfortably doing 15-20 miles a week now so I'm hoping my base is there. I will adjust the plan as necessary and throw an extra run in there as often as I can.