Let me start by saying I’m having dreams of running a full marathon in 2011, specifically the BayState marathon in Lowell. This race has two key advantages. First, I’ve run the half-marathon version already, and am familiar with the start and finish portions of the race. Second, the Squanacook River Runners, of which I am a member, manage one of the water stops. And thirdly, it’s only a 30 minute or so drive from home to the starting line. Okay, so I can’t count very well tonight.
Not that I’ve put a lot of thought into this (okay, maybe I have), but being able to reliably finish a marathon in under 5 hours seems like a good goal. Most marathon courses close after 6 hours, which means no more water stops or traffic cones, and probably no medal at the finish line. So if you plan for 5 hours and have a bad day, you’ll probably still finish in under 6. Or at least so goes my thinking.
And if you combine the two half marathons I’ve run, you end up with a time somewhat over 5 hours. I need to get faster. I also need more endurance, but building endurance hasn’t been a problem for me. I just go slow and take walk breaks and can go quite a long ways.
As luck would have it, I’ve got two races coming up in the next month, the Ayer Thanksgiving 5K and the Mill Cities relay race. The fun part of the relay is I don’t know how long a leg I’m going to need to run yet.
So my short term goal for the next month is to get some good speed work in, and not focus so much on the total weekly mileage. I’m thinking tempo runs on Tuesdays and interval runs on Thursdays. Wednesday would be an easy run. Monday and Friday off. And a good long slow run/walk or trail run on the weekend, just so I don’t lose what endurance I might still have.
Okay, now that my plans are in the public domain, I am honor bound to follow them, right? If anybody is reading this, send encouragement please!
Not that I’ve put a lot of thought into this (okay, maybe I have), but being able to reliably finish a marathon in under 5 hours seems like a good goal. Most marathon courses close after 6 hours, which means no more water stops or traffic cones, and probably no medal at the finish line. So if you plan for 5 hours and have a bad day, you’ll probably still finish in under 6. Or at least so goes my thinking.
And if you combine the two half marathons I’ve run, you end up with a time somewhat over 5 hours. I need to get faster. I also need more endurance, but building endurance hasn’t been a problem for me. I just go slow and take walk breaks and can go quite a long ways.
As luck would have it, I’ve got two races coming up in the next month, the Ayer Thanksgiving 5K and the Mill Cities relay race. The fun part of the relay is I don’t know how long a leg I’m going to need to run yet.
So my short term goal for the next month is to get some good speed work in, and not focus so much on the total weekly mileage. I’m thinking tempo runs on Tuesdays and interval runs on Thursdays. Wednesday would be an easy run. Monday and Friday off. And a good long slow run/walk or trail run on the weekend, just so I don’t lose what endurance I might still have.
Okay, now that my plans are in the public domain, I am honor bound to follow them, right? If anybody is reading this, send encouragement please!
As with love, you don't commit first and then love, so with running you must first love it and the commitment follows naturally. You obviously love running, and writing about it, and have made it part of your life. Getting to the point of running a marathon next October only requires that you do what you love in a more committed fashion. Run more (long) races for training if you don't like running alone. Run different kinds of races (and/or different races than you've entered before) to add more fun and anticipation to your runs. However, if you want to get faster, you have to run faster in practice. That means fartleks, or track workouts, or other bursts of speed for 1/4 or 1/2 miles. For most people, such workouts are only fun in retrospect, when you find yourself actually running faster with no more effort during races! For most people, I think one speed workout a week is enough, though as you build up you might throw in a second every so often. There is no substitute for "time on feet," so long runs are essential. But in addition to long runs, I find LONG hikes can be just as helpful as long runs if the distance is the same. Enjoy, and you will do well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insights and ideas Paul. Generally I enjoy the speedwork while I'm doing it, and admittedly I'm trying to effictively cram for the 5K in just over 2 weeks, legs willing.
ReplyDeleteI find your comment about hiking quite interesting. I've always felt climbing Mt. Monadnock was a major workout, and wondered if it was beneficial to running.