First all, I’m not a runner per my training and compared to most folks on this site, I don’t train much at all. 6-10hrs a week tops
This Sept. I went 18:42 in a 5k. At the time I was running substantially less than 15 miles per week.
On may 3rd, I’m doing a half marathon. My real goal is 1:23 which will be hard to get to as it is. But is sub 1:20 possibile if I slowly bump up my mileage? I have about 20 weeks to go. Right now I’m just running 5-8 miles a day 3 times a week at 6:45-7:20 pace. All easy, slow base building stuff. I’m hoping to get up to 45 miles a week at 6:30 pace of faster by race time. Any tips or hints?
N=1 and all that, but FWIW, I ran 17:45 last Thanksgiving and ran 1:19 in January. The key for me was running nearly every day in Dec (I think I missed 2 or 3 days)…roughly 40-45 per week. Though your 5K time is slower, you have more time to prepare. You have the right idea, slowly build up mileage, 10% a week or so. Lots of easy running. I would also strongly encourage you to increase your run frequency from 3x to 5-6x per week.
Add some weekly speedwork about 12 weeks out and starting about 4-5 weeks out I would add race simulation workouts where you run 10-12 miles easy with the last 2-3 miles at your desired race pace.
18:42 on less than 15 miles a week indicates that you have some natural ability. You can do it.
Anything is possible. I would suggest you pick up the book Jack Daniel’s Running Formula and read especially the parts about training at different paces for an explanation of why 45 mpw @ 6:30 pace isn’t the best way to get where you are going. That is really fast for an avg. It is not awful if you are running low mileage/frequency, but will almost certainly not work as you bump up mileage/frequency.
It sounds like you should be able to do it if you bump your training up to 45 miles/week, and do the correct workouts (based on your performance on only 15 mpw).
For more anecdotal evidence, I did a 1:20:16 1/2 in the spring with only 35 to 40 mpw, and barely a sub 18 min 5k. I was probably in 17:20 5k shape during race time though.
For the next little while, try to run 6 or 7 days week, and get your mileage up slowly. Start adding some tempo stuff 5 or 6 weeks out and you should be good. Read Barry P’s post on running a 1:15 after an injury for inspiration.
The key is going to be staying healthy.
It sounds like you’re really wanting to ramp up the mileage, which is good, but if you just go at it too quickly and don’t pay attention to what your body’s telling you, you run a big risk of running yourself down.
As you increase your miles, listen to your body. Some people can just run and run and not worry about injuries. Most people - myself included - need to be a bit more careful. Best of luck in your quest. If you’ve got 20 weeks, then by the time you race you’ll have a much better sense of what you’re capable of.
-Charles
ramp up mileage on soft surfaces, drop weight (if possible), vary your pace during the week… I wouldn’t aim to hit every run @ 6;30 pace… run on feel for the majority of runs.
I’ve found it helpful to not time/pace runs except speedwork (track/tempo) and long runs.
I think it’s possible. Assuming that you’re doing the Indy Mini on May 3rd, the course is VERY flat and the crowd support is pretty good most of the way.
No it is not too ambitious to run 1:20. However, make sure you really read this next sentence:
IF YOU ATTEMPT TO EXECUTE THE PLAN AS YOU HAVE LAID IT OUT, THEN YOU WILL NOT EVEN MAKE IT TO THE STARTING LINE!!!
Right now your tempo pace is likely around 6:30/mile, and you run 15, or fewer, miles per week.
In the next 6 months you want to do triple your current volume AT YOUR CURRENT TEMPO PACE!
You do not need to run anywhere near that hard. I know from experience. Running is not like swimming or cycling. You can’t go hard very often. You can’t even go moderately hard very often, especially while building your mileage.
I would suggest building your mileage 10% every other week. Once you hit 40 miles, then keep it pegged at 40, and begin to do some tempo work.
At that ramp rate you will double at 14 weeks. You will be at around 40 miles 17 weeks from now. That will give you about 3 weeks to work on a little more speed/tempo stuff.
This is basically the exact running plan I am on. This is the running plan Marky V did in his build up to going ~8:40 at IMAZ. This is what BarryP did recently.
I just can’t stress enough that you will get injured if you attempt the plan as you have it laid out. You likely run too hard right now. Back off the gas a little, so you can handle more overall training stress/volume.
As another dude with 80-minute dreams, I say go for it. I ran 81 minutes in a half 4 years ago and 82 minutes in a hilly 1/2 in 2006, and neither were off stellar training (35-45 mpw for 2-3 months) or a lot of speedwork (Hit the track maybe 4-5 times in 2 months). Most mileage should actually be easy, close to 7:30 pace, but a couple focused workouts every week should be at goal pace or faster … One thing that was effective for me was inserting faster miles toward the end of my long run. So for a 12-miler I would start out at 8-min miles but drop down to sub 7 and even 6:20 pace in the last 3-4 miles. Sort of a classic workout. I also say race a lot of 5Ks and 10Ks in March and April. Good luck!
In the next 6 months you want to do triple your current volume AT YOUR CURRENT TEMPO PACE!
It speaks to the issue that many runners and triathletes have a very poor/narrow range of paces that they can run at. They do pretty much ALL of their running at the same pace. When they do a “race”, they will run at roughly the same pace whether the race is 5K or 15K long.
Rick, the following plan would be realistic. Keep in mind that this should only be used as a template. You should listen to your body every day and make adjustments accordingly.
Important note: ALL running in white should be done at 1:30 - 2:30/mile slower than current 5K race pace. These paces should gradually drop as you get into better shape, but as it stands you are running way too little and way too fast.
EDIT: 5K + 40s/mile means 40s/mile SLOWER than 5K race pace.
There are many different ways to approach a training schedule, but the above covers the fundamentals. Any amount of striders, hills, plyometrics, speed, etc. is icing on the cake, and you don’t have any cake. Your number one priority is to get in lots of easy running. Your number two priority is to get a good bit of solid workouts that will stimulate an increase in your lactate threshold. If you notice above there are 11 solid workouts that target specifically that. In addition there are 5 workouts that are at a little faster pace, still targeting improvement in your lactate threshold while getting significantly closer to your V02max.
Actually, since posting the picture, you should probably have one or two 13 mile runs under your belt as well. You can continue to build the long run up to 13 miles and take away a mile or 2 from Monday’s workout to compensate.
I’m doing the Pittsburgh half marathon. The course is about as flat as it can be, it’s pretty much built with PR in mind. If you were riding a TT on the course, you would only have to shift up or down a single gear maybe three times or not at all.
I realize that sub 1:20 is very unlikely, but… it’s such a sweet plumb. And I’m pumped about the race. It’s going to be a huge turnout, esp. for the full marathon, and they are going to have bands every mile.
Many critiques are probably right on. I wish I had some weight to lose. I’ll likely gain my winter 5-7lbs. but its always gone by April. I do fear that if I don’t increase my speed bi-monthly that I’ll turn into long slow distance guy. Everyone says that’s BS, but it seems like a real possibility to me.
Just be careful not to marry yourself to the plan. If it starts feeling aggressive, just repeat a week or back-off to the previous week. I had to make a lot of assumptions about your fitness level and ability.
The real magic to running is that there is no magic. Its like cooking. You need some basic ingredients as the core of your dish surrounded by just the right amount of spices, and cooked at the right temperature. Sticking with this bad analogy, if you want ham, you get a chunk of ham and glaze it and put it in the oven at 375. The typical triathlete seems to forget that no matter what you do, 95% of what makes that dish is the simple fact that you’ve got a big hunk of ham.
Training for most distance races is simply doing lots and lots of moderately slow running with regular weekly workouts at race pace…for the most part. That’s probably 90% of the job. Typically longer races rquire more running and fewer workouts while shorter race require more workouts and less running. If you can wake up every day and do the above consistently, a low 1:20 or even sub 1:20 is very realistic. However the magic is not going to be in how hard you push yourself. Its the getting on the road every day and getting in a moderate run that feels good.
Since everybody wants you to think more and more miles, I have to go the other direction
You can run sub 1.20 without putting in a lot of miles. My brother went from a coach potato to a sub 17.30 on 5k and 1.22 on a half marathon on snow by running three times a week, average 22 miles. I will recommend to run a little bit more, but as you can see, you do not need to put in 50 miles.
I will not tell you what to do, but this is how he structured his running.
1 run: 5 to 8 X 1000 meters intervals with 1 minute break in the off season, one and a half minute break in the season.
2 run: Progressive run 45 – 60 minutes
3 run: slow 60 – 90 minutes (he ran mostly 60 minutes)
Since everybody wants you to think more and more miles, I have to go the other direction
You can run sub 1.20 without putting in a lot of miles. My brother went from a coach potato to a sub 17.30 on 5k and 1.22 on a half marathon on snow by running three times a week, average 22 miles. I will recommend to run a little bit more, but as you can see, you do not need to put in 50 miles.
I will not tell you what to do, but this is how he structured his running.
1 run: 5 to 8 X 1000 meters intervals with 1 minute break in the off season, one and a half minute break in the season.
2 run: Progressive run 45 – 60 minutes
3 run: slow 60 – 90 minutes (he ran mostly 60 minutes)
No matter what, have fun.
This plan is to running as Option ARMs are to the housing industry. Sometimes it works out OK, rarely is it the better route in the long run, and sometimes it leads to total disaster.
Your brother is a physiological anomaly. Advising someone to follow his training plan is like telling someone not to build their 401k because your uncle didn’t have to because he won the lottery.
The overwhelming majority of research on the subject supports building a strong aerobic base, which is done best for most people through consistency, mileage, and relatively low/moderate intensities. What’s the great sig line someone here has - “speedwork is the icing on the cake. you don’t have a cake yet.” That pretty well sums it up.
Flanagan wrote: *This plan is to running as Option ARMs are to the housing industry. Sometimes it works out OK, rarely is it the better route in the long run, and sometimes it leads to total disaster. *
**
I am not sure how you can come to that conclusion. One run is hard, one is slow and one is threshold. It sounds quite smart if you ask me….
Lactone and BarryP: My brother (sadly for him) does not have a long distance talent. But he understands that you can build from speed, not just from “long and slow”.
I guess I used a banned word her on ST, speed work. But if you want to run fast in competition, you have to run faster during training. I am not sure why speed work is so bad. Intervals should be done all year around.
