Running advice please....

j_courter

I posted this on my page, but I thought I'd try the forums today. First a little background: I've been running for close to two years. I'm currently training with a half marathon in mind (May 4), but I'll also be running a full marathon in October.

My runs lately have all been at an easy pace with some occasional fartleks thrown in. I also tend to see a hill and think, I'll just push up this baby and get it over with.... Here's my current weekly plan: M-4 (miles), W-4, T-6, S-13. I want to throw some speed work in before my race next month. I think I'll try to start out with 4x400's but the question is when? Would you add an extra day for speed work or just incorporate it into a planned run? Thanks so much for the advice!

Happy running! :glasses:

scottb81

If you want to add 1 specific speed day and you are training for a half marathon the most beneficial workout woule be a targeted tempo run. Training at lactate threshold is more relevant to half and full marathons than anaerobic intervals.

20 min warmup, 20 to 30 min at 10K pace, 20 min cooldown.

Also 6 strides after an easy run a couple of times a week would be good.

A fifth running day would also be beneficial if you have the time. Start out with a 30 minute easy run and increase the distance over time as desired.

RisOnTheRun

If you have the time, a fifth day (probably Tuesday) for speedwork runs would be great. But if time is an issue, you can probably get pretty similar results replacing your Monday or Wednesday workouts with speedwork (Wednesday if your long run is Sunday rather than Saturday). But still try to make sure that your total workout (i.e., the speedwork plus your warmup and cooldown) is still 3-4 miles or so if you're going to replace a 4 mile run.

I'm not training for speed right now, but when I was Wednesday was my track day--that gave me plenty of space between my speed work and my long run. Speedwork should be hard enough that you don't really want to go out for a 13 miler until you've had a day or two of no running or easy running in between.

bigbrownkid

whats your goal. your shorter runs should be faster than your longer runs. most training plans have you run once a week at your race pace. and personally i think adding a 5th day is to much running, and your legs will be overworked. also very close to your race, you dont want to over strain your legs. my opinion would be continue doing what you are doing, maybe run your shorter runs faster. after your half, you can adjust your training since you will have 6 months.

my background: been running 1 year doing my first marathon in 3 weeks.

EdTheGinge

Try this group http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/13157-from-plodders-to-sprinters

Couple of postings on this and other topics, best thing is this group is actually active

mlb929

I do the run less run faster plan and love it . It's a day of speed work, a tempo run, and a long run.

j_courter

thanks for the input everyone!