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Using McMillan running calculator. (Read 1706 times)

    I've never seen it until yesterday. According to it I should be running my recovery runs (will be doing one today) at 10:30-11:00 pace. Wish me luck! Not sure if I can slow myself down that much. I will also be trying to use his pacing for my marathon training.

    Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

      I've never seen it until yesterday. According to it I should be running my recovery runs (will be doing one today) at 10:30-11:00 pace. Wish me luck! Not sure if I can slow myself down that much. I will also be trying to use his pacing for my marathon training.
      Slowing down like that sometimes seems painful. Must just be a mental battle since normally I am pushing to go faster, not slower! Good luck today, be careful, don't set yourself back with being sick.

      Michelle



      jEfFgObLuE


      I've got a fever...

        rockenmamof5: I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think that "recovery jog" refers specifically to the pace of your easy recoveries during a hard interval workout (i.e. if you did 6 x 800m with a 400m recovery jog in between the hard 800s). I don't think this is meant to be a pace for a whole run. I think the pace you probably want to run is the "easy run" pace, which is faster than the "recovery jog" pace. Cheers, Jeff

        On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

          You're probably right Jeff. Hadn't even thought about that. Yep definetly a mental battle for me Michelle. I'll definetly be taking it easy today. Between blister and my cold I don't want to do anything to keep me from racing on Sunday. Looks like I'll be aiming between 9:30-10:00 then. THanks!

          Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

            rockenmamof5: I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think that "recovery jog" refers specifically to the pace of your easy recoveries during a hard interval workout (i.e. if you did 6 x 800m with a 400m recovery jog in between the hard 800s). I don't think this is meant to be a pace for a whole run. I think the pace you probably want to run is the "easy run" pace, which is faster than the "recovery jog" pace. Cheers, Jeff
            That's how I use it, too. In fact, as my fitness improves, the upper end of the "easy run" pace always seems to correspond with the VDOT-based training paces in Daniel's book.

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

              Recovery run in this context means super easy days like the day after a workout or race. It is the whole run. But everyone is a bit different so if you are recovering well running a bit faster it's okay. As long as you feel better after a recovery run than before it you are probably doing it slow enough.

              Runners run

                Well I had a great run. Dh did a great job taping up my blister (not sure why he used mole skin the day of the race instead of just taping it) I tried to slow my pace down but found myself in a comfortable pace and kept that for most of the run. I think I'll just keep listening to my body. That's what I thought Mike. Thanks

                Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

                JakeKnight


                  Recovery run in this context means super easy days like the day after a workout or race. It is the whole run. But everyone is a bit different so if you are recovering well running a bit faster it's okay. As long as you feel better after a recovery run than before it you are probably doing it slow enough.
                  Yep. "Recovery run," as McMillan uses it, is the whole run, and its slow. (Although come to think of it, it'd probably be a good pace for recovering between intervals, too). I do a lot of "recovery jogs," often 2-3 a week. Usually after every tempo and interval workout, usually after long runs. Sometimes if I just feel like it. I love McMillan, and although I'm not a slave to his recommendations, I've discovered that I naturally follow them pretty damn closely. My long runs, easy runs, and recovery runs all fall in his ranges, even if I don't aim for them. I also use his recommendations for the interval times and they really seem just about right on the money. By the way, I cheat on those recovery runs: the only way I can run 10-10:30 recovery pace is to walk. A lot. A little walk break every five minutes. If I tried just jogging at 10:30 pace, it would suck, and I'd get bored. Running steady that slow really does hurt, too. I have no idea if this is what McMillan has in mind with his "recovery jogs," but it seems to work for me. Your mileage, as always, may vary. One piece of advice using his calculator: make sure you enter various race distances, and use your best recent PRs (and update them as you get faster). I get some varying results depending on whether I enter a 5k or marathon PR (10k seems to work best for me), and then use my best judgment to pick where in the pace range I should aim. Seems to work well. His race predictions seem pretty close, too: based on my March 3rd 10k, he only missed my marathon time by 6 minutes (which can probably be chalked up to the warm day, and/or me being a wuss) and only missed my cold half marathon PR by 10 seconds. Not bad.

                  E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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                  Mishka-old log


                    You can always try getting on a bike for recovery. Keep the RPMs high...at least 90, but 100+ is preferable. Keep the intensity low. I don't know HR zones well enough to recommend a %, but an intensity where you could easily hold a conversation is appropriate. As with a recovery run, as mikeymike said, if you feel better after the ride than before it, you got it right. Also, as your legs become seasoned to the movements of cycling, you can get a slightly higher aerobic stimulus than a recovery run at a lower impact than a recovery run. Just remember to always keep it easy Wink
                    jEfFgObLuE


                    I've got a fever...

                      Well, you folks (mikeymike, JakeKnight) are right. Recovery jog is a whole workout, as defined by McMillan. I would still submit that it also corresponds to a good interval recovery pace based on my own experience. Here's where McMillan defines his different run types.

                      On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                      JakeKnight


                        Out of curiosity - and its only mildly off topic - anybody ever use McMillan's online coaching? Or any online coaching, for that matter? Just followed Jeff's link up there and was reading about it, and I'm curious. Pretty pricey. Is there any point to such a thing for an average schmoe? Actually, I do know one cool reason to do it: so I could casually use the phrase "my coach." That'd be fun.

                        E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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                        Scout7


                          I know people who have used coaches (both online and in-person), and I know some coaches (not directly, but through other sites). I think that it really depends on your goals. If you want to commit to being the best that you possibly can, then getting a coach would be worthwhile. In that case, though, I would consider an in-person coach, who can at least see you running initially, and is available for more than just an email every couple of weeks. If you are interested in improving, but don't feel that you can get enough information on your own to be effective, or you're completely new to athletics and aren't sure as to where to even start, then I would say online coaching is probably a better option. That way, you have someone who can create a plan without you having to think about it a whole lot, and can explain things that you don't understand, but you don't have to pay the extra money for overly individualized attention. I do think that picking a coach is a personal thing. You have to match up personality-wise, and there has to be a fairly open communication between both parties. The only coaching I've ever gotten was in HS. I think I would like being a coach. I dunno. That help?
                          derek


                            By the way, I cheat on those recovery runs: the only way I can run 10-10:30 recovery pace is to walk. A lot. A little walk break every five minutes. If I tried just jogging at 10:30 pace, it would suck, and I'd get bored. Running steady that slow really does hurt, too.
                            I've been doing the same thing too. The plan I'm doing has me running 2 recovery runs a week of about 4-5 miles each. I'm suppose to do recovery runs in the 10:00-11:00 range so I've been trying to do it at 10:30, but it's hard, so I usually end up walking a bit at the end of each mile.

                            Derek

                              I'm definetly going to use the recommendation times for my intervals and tempo runs. As far as my recovery and easy runs I'm going to try and get as close as I can. On easy runs I tend to get in a certain groove and stay. I'm hoping I'm completely over my cold and can get more of a true idea of my running capability on Sunday.

                              Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson