A clydesdale no more!

I just bearly started to feel decent on my runs too since the marathon. I am finally started to feel like I have my body back.

So glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better. I have been thinking about your situation and couldn't help but wonder if you had some kind of cold that caused fluid in your ear. But I guess it doesn't really matter since you are feeling better. Have you ever tried the Emergen-C packets? I usually down two a day when I feel a cold coming on. Way to go reviving beautiful magic number 7!! :)

Andy,

I posed this question to Rhett the other day, but wondered if you've discussed Tinman training with Paul Peterson, Cody and others. Seems they've had good success. Wondering if you have considered his 3 big workouts and corresponding paces.

I know this is long, but here are some of his thoughts taken from his posts at http://forum.therunzone.com/forumdisplay.php?s=37c4c6a1edbd13a48020d0c7186bf398

Let's put it this way, if you aren't running at least 2 hours with marathon pace included every 10 days you are risking the bonk-effect in the last 10k of a marathon race. It doesn't matter one iota if you have high VO2 max if you bonk!

A 3 hour mararathon runner should do a 16 mile Big Workout regularly. That means that he or she will run 16 miles and have 1/3rd to 1/2 of it at half-marathon pace to mareathon pace. That's not an easy workout. But, it is repeatable often.

Also, a 3 hour marathon runner can do longer easy runs of 21 miles every weekend or every other weekend during the marathon prep phase. All other runs between those two are personal. One runner likes to do 60 miles per week, so perhaps his or her runs between workouts are 4 - 6 each day, if run 5 days or 5-7 if run 4 days. THe next runner might choose 80 miles per week and then do 8-10 milers most of the days between the Big Workouts. A third runner, covering 100 miles per week, may run 12-13 miles for each of the runs or each of the days between the Big Workouts. Can you see why having a good coach is helpful?

I've mention many times Big Workouts, which do exactly that: tire out all types of fiber because distance and intensity are combined. I've mentioned Big Days in which you run a fair amount in two runs: example, 1.5 hours in the morning and evening, both including MP running or slightly faster if one is fit enough. You certainly can do Big Weekends - what I've always called "Bunch Training," which works well when you are fit and if you happen to be a busy person during the work week.

There's a gal that won the Olympic Trials one year, from Alaska, a physician, who basically Bunch Trained. She worked a lot during the week and then did as much solid training as she could on the weekend. She averaged just 70 miles per week (most of it on the treadmill), but she really worked her endurance and strength on the weekends.

One thing that is necessary for marathon running, besides working on fuel management, is improving capacity to deal with shock. When you run thousands of steps in a row, you better have great ability to absorb shock and keep your stride length going. Big Workouts, in wich you combine longish running and faster pace runing do that. So does Big Days and Big Weekends!

Six of one, half a dozen of another! One thing I will say, when you run far and fast in one training session it will improve your confidence. That's one thing that does help a runner significantly, I think.

CV running = 5k pace plus 8-12 seconds per km. A 16 minute 5k runner needs about 4 miles of CV running, on average, but no more than 5 miles per workout. Thus a 7-8 x 1k at CV pace (jog 200m recoveries) is about right.

Do striders twice per week (example 6-10 x 100m at 5k down to 1 mile or slightly faster pace)(jog 100m recoveries). Never strain!

***

IN truth, most people don't vary much in terms of racing capacity UNLESS they are doing stupid things like stringing together too many days that are hard ...or hardish.

If you follow my rules about training (only two hard / extended fast running workouts per week...and a modest paced longer run -when you aren't training for marathons) you won't have huge variances in your racing capacity. If you run the same race-course at full effort on Wednesday as the previous Saturday your 5k performance won't be greatly different - unless you pushed the pace between those two days - which would go AGAINST my training recommendations.

Don't give me the "my heart rate varies from day-to-day" argument to justify that you must switch training paces. You can have a 150 heart rate one day at run at 70% of VO2 max and the next day you can run 145 heart rate and it will also be 70% of VO2 max. Just because your heart rate changes doesn't mean your performance capacity has changed. If you were tested in a lab on both days using gas-analysis equipment I'd prove it to you easily. That's where some of you guys get hung up - thinking heart rate variance equals performance capacity variance. It's exactly why using heart rate as you main measure of training is wrong. It can only guide you in a general sense!

If you train smart and don't burn up your adaptive reserves then training by pace, with some common sense, is quite solid. Yes, use common sense! If the temperature at Saturday's race was 65 degrees F when you ran 18:13 but today in training it is 100 degrees F then adjust the paces (slower). Note; I've given you guys a temperature chart in the Articles section on the HOME page to figure out how much slower you should go when the temperature is different. If it is windy on a given training day and it wasn't during the 5k race on Saturday, then obviously you'll have to make some training-pace adjustments. If you are running on hilly courses, trails or grass in training that is slow-going it's a must that you slow your pace relative to what you could have run on a a flat, fast course (on a previous race-day).

Use common sense!

Anyone who has been trained by me for awhile can tell you that if the training-day weather and terrain are about the same as on the race-day the paces are very good to use. The paces are logically developed and they FEEL right too!

When you focus on training at optimal paces in the short term, relative to your racing ability for a given day, you quickly become much better at "reading" your body. That is, you KNOW and you FEEL what is the ideal pace because of previous practice at linking targeted pace to performance capacity (ability).

Sorry, couple of more:

Each week during the "off season" - meaning when you are not racing or not much, do the following:

1) CV Fartlek - 50-60 minutes, including 20 minutes of pickups at CV effort. Example, 10 x 2 minutes at CV pace (effort), jog 1-2 minutes between pickups. Do 4 x 30 seconds, too, at about 1-mile pace (effort), jogging 90 seconds between each pickup.

2) Long Tempo (a.k.a. Tinman Tempo) - 15 minutes EZ, 30-40 minutes at about 3k to 5k pace plus 1 minute per mile, 10 minutes cool down.

3) Long Run - on the weekend, run 90-120 minutes, EZ. If you feel good, pick up the pace over the last 2-3 miles to about Long Tempo (Tinman Tempo) pace.

2-3 times per week, do 4-6 x 100m at about 1-mile pace. THe first one or two might be slower, until your muscle are relaxed. Don't sprint and don't force the speed. Let it come to you! Jog about 200m between each strider.

4) 3-4 times per week run 30-40 minutes, Slow and Relaxed.

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During Racing Season, do CV intervals instead of CV fartlek. Shoot for 5-6 km of reps. Example, 5-6 x 1k at CV pace (roughly 10 seconds per km over 5k race pace), jog 1 minute between reps. I recommend that you do the reps on grass, if possible. Afterward, choose between 30 second hill charges (about 4- 6 of them) at about 2-mile race-pace (go by effort), 200m reps on the flats at 1-mile pace (about 4-6 of them), jogging 200m between each, or 100m reps at 800m pace (about 4-6 of them), jogging 100m between each.

During Racing season:

You should do an intense session or race every 2-3 weeks. An example of a race substitue might be 6 x 800m at 5k pace, jog 400m recvoeries.

When you compete during a given week skip the Long Tempo workout. Still do the CVs and the Long Run! But, you may have to run slower during your Long Run because your legs might be sore from racing.

If you don't run a race during a given week, do the Tinman Long Tempo Run but add hill charges or 200s at 1-mile pace, afterward. Try 4-6 reps.

His stuff is here (sorry for another post):

http://www.therunzone.com/ntrz/?page_id=3

and on the forums there http://forum.therunzone.com/