Sev Dragomire's Training Plan For A Fuckass Half Marathon: On Long Slow Runs
So today's lab was probably the worst thing I've ever experienced, and I'm missing two potentially awesome social events tonight to sit at home and write last week's lab report, and I look like a truly unfortunate hobo right now as I'm dressed in varying shades of brown and grey, none of which match (I am counting 3 different browns and 3 variations on dirt-grey, I am a winner) -- so why am I in such a good mood?
Let me show you.
or click here.
So the fabulous jennyclarinet and I are training to run a half-marathon in May. I wouldn't be Sev if I didn't research the hell out of running a half (WHAT DO I DO FOR A LIVING, LADEEZ AND GENTS? THIS IS WHY), and in my research, I've found some interesting things I wish I'd known last year when training for the relay (which was, mind you, "only" 8 miles, not 13.1).
I've constructed a training plan for myself, cobbled out of multiple plans I've found online and a lot of advice and comment threads from runners - which is a super useful community by the way - and because of that, about once a week I'm going to update the training plan here and talk about it for a while.
So here it comes: Sev Dragomire's Training Plan For A Fuckass Half Marathon.
The number one thing I am finding in all of these plans and discussions is this: I was training way too fast last year. Not like overall week-wise: I mean that I was running way too fast in my training. The number one, number one, very first thing all of these plans say is: Do your long runs slow, you idiot. Keep your heart rate low; you really should be able to carry on a conversation; even if it feels like you're plodding; yes, I really do mean that slow.
It is, apparently, better to run less miles at a more "proper" (aka slower) speed, because if you speed up, what you gain in weekly mileage you lose in recovery time for your body. The main reason to run slow is to get in miles without hurting yourself. There's a "dead zone" in pace/heart rate at which the stress you're putting on your body outweighs the physical benefits - they call them "junk miles", I guess. High pace/HR has its place - in things like tempos and intervals. Low pace/HR belongs in long runs. Especially when you're still building a base up to the race distance itself, like I am.
And by slow they mean, 1-2 minutes slower than race pace. That's slow. I was running slow last year on long runs, but I definitely wasn't running that slow. And: no wonder I got sick all the time, no wonder I hurt my IT band, no wonder my ankle acted up. No wonder I got strep twice. I was completely overworking my body.
The thing is, the long slow miles build up your base. They teach your body to run in good alignment and good form before you're working anything too hard. They help your joints to build up the strength and resistance they're gonna need when you do start pushing. They help your body get used to running 60, 70, 80, 90 minutes at a time before it kills you.
So, since I have a good deal of time until the race (in May), and because training was so hard on my body and my (nonexistent) immune system and my (80-year-old (thanks Grandpa)) lungs -- I am making a point to do (a) more (b) long (c) slow running. For February, my focus is going to be on long slow miles. Seriously. I'm going to do one tempo workout a week, where I run tempo intervals at a faster pace, but the rest of it? I'm going to try just racking up long slow miles and see where it gets me.
I just did 5.4 miles today, in 60 minutes. Yes, that's slow; that's the point. My heart rate averaged around 158 bpm (max 168). This is all good. And at the end of it: my legs hurt, but my lungs were perfectly happy, my chest didn't feel like exploding, and I felt like I could've taken a walk break for some water and come back for more miles. It was that good. That didn't happen last year. Already, this is better.
So February's goal is going to be lots of long slow miles. March's goal is going to be to continue to increase mileage, while upping the tempo/interval intensity. April's goal will be more speed work - upping the speed of those long runs, and more tempos/intervals/hills. By May, I'll be tapering for the race. This is my overall plan!
So, my goals for the marathon are, by increasing difficulty (and I have multiple goals so that I'm not horribly disappointed if class eats all of my free time and I can't make the hard ones):
And my goals for the month of February are:
This entry was originally posted at http://seventhe.dreamwidth.org/45787.html, which has
comments. Comment there (with OpenID) or here, it's all good.
Let me show you.
or click here.
So the fabulous jennyclarinet and I are training to run a half-marathon in May. I wouldn't be Sev if I didn't research the hell out of running a half (WHAT DO I DO FOR A LIVING, LADEEZ AND GENTS? THIS IS WHY), and in my research, I've found some interesting things I wish I'd known last year when training for the relay (which was, mind you, "only" 8 miles, not 13.1).
I've constructed a training plan for myself, cobbled out of multiple plans I've found online and a lot of advice and comment threads from runners - which is a super useful community by the way - and because of that, about once a week I'm going to update the training plan here and talk about it for a while.
So here it comes: Sev Dragomire's Training Plan For A Fuckass Half Marathon.
The number one thing I am finding in all of these plans and discussions is this: I was training way too fast last year. Not like overall week-wise: I mean that I was running way too fast in my training. The number one, number one, very first thing all of these plans say is: Do your long runs slow, you idiot. Keep your heart rate low; you really should be able to carry on a conversation; even if it feels like you're plodding; yes, I really do mean that slow.
It is, apparently, better to run less miles at a more "proper" (aka slower) speed, because if you speed up, what you gain in weekly mileage you lose in recovery time for your body. The main reason to run slow is to get in miles without hurting yourself. There's a "dead zone" in pace/heart rate at which the stress you're putting on your body outweighs the physical benefits - they call them "junk miles", I guess. High pace/HR has its place - in things like tempos and intervals. Low pace/HR belongs in long runs. Especially when you're still building a base up to the race distance itself, like I am.
And by slow they mean, 1-2 minutes slower than race pace. That's slow. I was running slow last year on long runs, but I definitely wasn't running that slow. And: no wonder I got sick all the time, no wonder I hurt my IT band, no wonder my ankle acted up. No wonder I got strep twice. I was completely overworking my body.
The thing is, the long slow miles build up your base. They teach your body to run in good alignment and good form before you're working anything too hard. They help your joints to build up the strength and resistance they're gonna need when you do start pushing. They help your body get used to running 60, 70, 80, 90 minutes at a time before it kills you.
So, since I have a good deal of time until the race (in May), and because training was so hard on my body and my (nonexistent) immune system and my (80-year-old (thanks Grandpa)) lungs -- I am making a point to do (a) more (b) long (c) slow running. For February, my focus is going to be on long slow miles. Seriously. I'm going to do one tempo workout a week, where I run tempo intervals at a faster pace, but the rest of it? I'm going to try just racking up long slow miles and see where it gets me.
I just did 5.4 miles today, in 60 minutes. Yes, that's slow; that's the point. My heart rate averaged around 158 bpm (max 168). This is all good. And at the end of it: my legs hurt, but my lungs were perfectly happy, my chest didn't feel like exploding, and I felt like I could've taken a walk break for some water and come back for more miles. It was that good. That didn't happen last year. Already, this is better.
So February's goal is going to be lots of long slow miles. March's goal is going to be to continue to increase mileage, while upping the tempo/interval intensity. April's goal will be more speed work - upping the speed of those long runs, and more tempos/intervals/hills. By May, I'll be tapering for the race. This is my overall plan!
So, my goals for the marathon are, by increasing difficulty (and I have multiple goals so that I'm not horribly disappointed if class eats all of my free time and I can't make the hard ones):
- Finish, without having to walk.
- Finish at an 11-minute mile pace.
- Finish at a 10-minute mile pace.
- Finish in 2 hours.
And my goals for the month of February are:
- 4 tempo runs, building up to 20 min @ tempo (1/4 done)
- Get long slow run time up to 90 minutes *or* 8 miles (60/90 min, 5.4/8 miles)
- Get weekly mileage around 13-16 miles, depending on how the former two points go
- Not get sick or injured, ha ha - I know I don't have exact and entire control over this, so "within reason"
This entry was originally posted at http://seventhe.dreamwidth.org/45787.html, which has
comments. Comment there (with OpenID) or here, it's all good.