Give me some advice

[seesuerun]

I would love any input whatsoever. Just in case you can't find my blog here it is. seesuerun.fastrunningblog.com/ I have had some problems.

I am planning on upping my mileage 10% each week. I run between 30-35 right now with lot of cross training because I teach aerobics classes and higher instructors so I have to attend classes to monitor and such. I imagine I will only be reaching into the 50s before Ogden (16 weeks with a tapper is that right?) and hopefully hit into the 60s before St. George or Top of Utah.

I am a speed work junkie so I will be holding off on that one too till my mileage is up higher.

My main goal right now is to get a 3:16 marathon for either Ogden or St. George

I only have a week and a half of training recorded but this was a very typical week for my running. I have really never had a coach or anyone tell me how to run. I have only read things and overhead conversations. That's why this blog is so great!

Thanks for all the ideas so far.

[Eric Day]

Sue, I think you got great advice on your previous post. (I wish I got the class of response you got) 

It looks like you have the determination, you only need to build up the mileage. Just be careful, 10% per week is a lot, but maybe with your xtraining experience, doable.
The key is distanced and endurance. I've been doing 45+ miles per week and feel I can only do a 21k in about 1:50-2:00 range. I need to work more distance more time and the, maybe then, work on speed to really race a race.

Fit in 10k & 21k races in your schedule as part of the training for the marathon.

Those are my thoughts...

[Michelle Lowry]

Hey Sue (can I call you Sue? it's less to type). I found your blog.  Since you did 35 and felt good, I would stick with 35 for another week (paying careful attention to your knee).  I have a good sports doc that I think you should go to for your knee. He can give you treatment on your knee, which will give you a better chance of handling an increase in mileage.  Also avoid doing speedwork out of a compulsive need to do it.  Right now you should be in base building phase, which can include some tempos, but a 1/2 mile at 5:50 won't do you much good (you are training for a marathon) but can do your knee harm.  So there's some advice -- you asked for it 

[seesuerun]

Alright. Thanks Eric. I will start mapping some races into my training. Great advice.

Michelle your advice is always very welcome and Sue is great. It is what many of my friends call me. Your are right about the need to tame that compulsive desire for speedwork. What drives that I am not sure? Maybe it is all the chocolate that I am eating Too much caffeine maybe? or just determination that I should really turn into miles instead. Who is the Dr? I have wondered if I should see one. My knee feels like it is improving but buckles after my runs. It is fine with everyday activity and only bothers me while running.

Keep all the good ideas coming. I'm loving the input!

[Chris M]

To help fuel your need for speedwork you could try tempo intervals (from the Daniels book), something like 5x5mins @ tempo pace with 30s recovery.
I tend to do continuous tempo runs of around 30-40 minutes at my half pace, although the interval type session makes for an easier session with the recoveries.

[Sasha Pachev]

Susan - I looked at your training. Some thoughts.

Do not worry about running too many miles. If it feels natural, if you are not running them compulsively to prove something, and you feel good, it is OK to go a mile or two longer than you planned. Weekly mileage goals are just a rough guideline, not a hard rule. I highly doubt that anybody ever got injured because he broke the sacred 10 % rule. However, many people have gotten injured because they got ambitious and failed to listen to their body. That includes those who kept the sacred 10 % rule.

In your training focus on what I call the positive cycle. You run, you rest, run, rest, then when the cycle is over you must feel no worse than you did at the start of the cycle. The safest length of the cycle is one day. A more experienced runner can afford to make that cycle longer - two days, a week, even a month. Any mileage is OK if you are 100% certain you are in a positive daily cycle.

Keeping your pace no faster than 8:00 is a good idea. A good guideline for proper aerobic base pace is the pace you choose naturally when you are telling stories about important moments in your life to your training partners. Which I think in your case will be around 8:00-8:15. The important part about aerobic runs is that they are stress-free. You should not feel obligated to maintain any particular pace, slow or fast.

Treadmill - think of ways to get off it. See if you can find somebody to run with. You are welcome to join our group - we start at my house at 339 N 1120 W in Provo most of the days at 7:00 AM. Our pace is not very fast even when we have nobody with us - 7:30-7:45, and we do not mind slowing down to 8:15.

As Michelle said - a surge at 5:50 is not a good idea for the knee. Do not rev up the engine before you've tightened the lug nuts.

[seesuerun]

Thanks Sasha. I highly value your advice and I appreciate the time you guys are putting into reading my entrees then thinking of ways to help me improve.

In your opinion, (everyone) what should my average week look like? I am trying to rewire my brain around no speedwork and building mileage. Sorry to be stuck on that idea. So I would do most of my runs between an 8:00-8:30 pace right building mileage? That is very maintainable pace for me. I feel good at that pace and a slower pace seems a little taxing. Those would be considered an "aerobic run". Would I then once a week do a 7:00-7:30 pace run and call it a tempo or should I boot the tempos as well. My tempos have been usually at that pace.

Another question. Am I figuring it out right to add my aerobics classes as time running? I figure that they need to be at the same cardio level that I feel with my run. I don't count the warm up, cool down or any muscle in my class as cardio time. But if it is an intense cardio class where I feel the same effects as running then I count every ten minutes as a mile. A class of 60 minutes I usually count as 3 miles. I know the best way to get better at running is running but I am not yet in a position to boot my classes altogether. I hope to be there soon though.

So Sasha you guys go at 7:00 am? How far do you go? Is it a big group? Would that be considered my tempo day. I have this fear of slowing a whole group down. I would however, love to run with a group like yours.

[Sasha Pachev]

Yesterday Jeff and I managed to average slower than 8:00 for 10.1 miles in spite of perfect traction. We are lazy, we do not run much faster than 7:30 too often, and if somebody is there that needs to go slower we always slow down and just chat more. We usually have anywhere between three and five people. We adjust the route based on who comes and how far they need to go. The whole length of the run is usually 10 miles, but we do a drop off 7 miles into the run.

Suggested week - run aerobically about 8 miles every day. Nice, relaxed. Once every two weeks run either a race or a time trial. Race is more preferable, but if the funds for entry fee and travel are low and/or you are in a time crunch, then the next best thing is a time trial on a previously measured course, ideally where you've run before.  There is a Fast Running Blog race this Saturday at 11:00 AM at the Fort Utah Park on the Provo River trail, right where it crosses Geneva road. You can do either 5 K or 10 K. See details in the News and Announcement section.

[seesuerun]

Great. I would love to run the race tomorrow...like Christmas morning but this laying off the speed work is really helping my knee. I think I will do an easy run tomorrow and start paying more attention to those races in the future they sound fun. I am not sure what day I will come out and run but I hope to get out with you guys within the next two weeks. I found an awesome group of ladies nearby who are really giving me a run for my money.

I will get up to the 8 and do the trial runs/ 5ks. I look forward to getting my mileage up higher. I wish I really heeded your advice a long time ago.