Training Advice

[Vinh Nguyen]

I was hoping for some advice to achieve a 3:10 BQ for my upcoming marathons. I signed up for St. George (lottery) and Myrtle Beach (Feb 2011). I think I have improved a lot in the past few months but would like to know what more I can do. I know I need to get more mileage in and run more frequently but is there any other advice? Slow my training pace? Add speedwork/tempos? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

[Jeff Linger]

Run 6 days a week. Average weekly mileage nearing 65 mpw. Keep all runs at an easy pace (1 minute over MGP [marathon goal pace]) except 1 AT/LT (aerobic threshold/lactate threshold) every 10 days. Do a long run 17-23 miles once per week at an easy pace, throwing in MGP miles every other weekend building up to 13-16 miles eventually. Follow an appropriate tapering program that includes sharpening runs. Consider backing off on the Body Pump classes to reduce some of that upper body mass (all that muscle is extra weight you have to carry through 26 miles). This is a very brief overview, drop me an email if you want to talk about specifics.

[Vinh Nguyen]

Thanks for the great advice Jeff! I'm currently in the process of upping my mileage slowly within the next 1-2 months. I'm sure I can hit 60-70 by the end of May. I do have a question on my AB days. How slow is too slow or should I just stick around 1 min above MGP? My pace for those days are usually 8:15-8:30 but if I increase my runs to 6 days a week I might need more of a recovery at a slower pace. Anyways, I appreciate the help.

[Sasha Pachev]

I believe if you are faster than 10:00 regardless of the fitness level you do not need to worry about it being too slow if your body is choosing that pace. Granted a 2:40 marathoner may not be getting 100% aerobic benefits at 10:00 pace for the entire 10 miles, but a 2:40 marathoner will not choose 10:00 for the entire 10 miles. So I guess my point is that a guy shooting for 3:10 will naturally choose the pace that gives near 100% aerobic benefits. Some runners, usually women with a weak nervous system (in fact, I've never seen a guy with this problem) naturally choose a pace slower than 10:00, and I think in that case they need to give it a bit of a push to improve the aerobic training effect, but guys usually do not need to worry about it. For them it is quite the opposite - their neural drive could get their bodies to run at intensities that they are not able to recover from in time.

[Vinh Nguyen]

Thanks for clarifying Sasha. However, I remember reading a book by Gordon Pirie which he stated that quality beats quantity; the speed at which you practice the most will be your best speed. I realize that he wasn't a marathoner but it does make sense. What is your take on that statement? How often should I be running at MP?

[Eric Jeppsen]

Jeff - Why only one fast run every 10 days?

[Sasha Pachev]

Comparing quality and quantity in absolute terms is not very helpful. One does not "beat" the other. Also, who is to say that 10 miles at 9:00 pace is quantity and not quality? I would say that quantity is a part of quality.  Running at slower speeds builds and maintains a foundation for running at faster speeds.  So you need to run the bulk of your mileage at slower speeds to have that foundation, and then a certain, rather small, portion at faster speeds. I would say no more than 15% of your total mileage for a rough number.