<Ken Hardy> wrote
Quoted message said:I just finished the 35M week.
I looked it over to see where I could add some miles as you suggested,
but I can't get to 50 without adding more than 10% per week. Run on
some off days?
Jeez, I feel ambivalent about luring you away from this program into
stronger stuff, but I'll follow the "Do ask, Do Tell" rule...
OK, to get to 50ish miles, I would add in a 7 miler (reall easy) in one of
your off days, and add a few more here and there on other days. Keep an off
day after the longest run of the week, though.
You can increase 20% per week *if you slow down 30-45 sec/mile on all runs*
(note emphasis).
After 2-3 weeks you'll be able to increase your pace almost up to your
prior level without much effort. Then mix in faster/slower days as you're
doing now. You are in pretty decent shape now, so I don't think the wheels
are going to fall off as long as you slow down for the first couple or three
weeks.
I would go with a 5 day training plan, keeping one off day after the long
run, of course. If you insert an extra day, make it extra slow (eg, 9:00
mile).
That program is so strangely complicated, what with varying distances on the
long run and seemingly random daily mileages. Maybe that is best for
beginning runners.
The notion of trying to race a marathon on an average weekly mileage in the
30's is insane to me :-). Adding mileage base turns a marathon from a
death march with massive slowing at the end to a more proper death march
with very little slowing :-) It's always gonna hurt, but with better prep,
you're hitting the snack table while others are struggling back at mile
20....
Look at the training patterns of experienced racers, and you won't find that
many fluctuations (except for Steve Common and Charlie (who just got out of
rehab** :-). What you find first and foremost is a determination to make a
minimum weekly mileage.
Karen tries to keep it in the 80's, I try to keep it a bit above 70, I2Run
is shooting for 50, etc. We tend to ramp up the mileage preparing for a
race and keep it there until taper time.
What varies in this realm of obsessive minimum mileage is the gradual
introduction of 2 or 3 stronger runs, be they distance, tempo, or repeat
work, coupled in with occasional back-off weeks or off days if you feel
overtrained.
The last couple of weeks of taper in your schedule looks good -- if you bump
mileage, you can increase week - 2, but week - 1 looks fine..
Anyway, my money is on the proposition that you can probably run your goal
7:45 marathon now -- your talent level can take you several notches faster
if you get a consistent base mileage going with a long run (not necessarily
20) every week.
I think you could get close to 3 (quite good for a 50 y.o.), with a solid
base of 60-70 mpw. Just remember Rome wasn't built in a day...
-- Dan
** I wish I was in rehab last night. Ran with a rare hangover this morning.
Yuck.
