Chug-along-chica!

At this point I would just work on getting comfortable with running 3 miles a day at an easy pace, and once you are used to that, go to 4 miles a day. No need for tempo runs as of yet. You should get as much growth as possible out of easy running in larger and larger volume before you start pushing the pace, and you normally do not max it out until you run 8-10 miles a day.

WOW!! 3 A.M. I would step into a pot hole and fall a sleep after I crashed onto the cold hard asphalt! I need to have my beauty sleep! Otherwise The ugly in me tends to over come me for the rest of the day! Mr. Grinch! Be careful. Even in a well lit area, that early in the morning not many people are out and about. Many female runners carry pepper spray. And cell phone. Do you have a dog?

Sasha, I feel like I need to figure out what my goal pace feels like so I don't do the same thing I did last time in the race. Just 2 tempo runs--1 a week then my race on July 4th. Approve? Is the concern that I will get injured, or just that I might not optimize my training for 1 day?

Bull, thanks for the concern. Very protective. I promise I will pick up some pepper spray tonight. No dog, unfortunately.

I think you'll get more out of your training by patiently jogging and using the race to find out your fitness. Also, running at 3 AM will not give you a good indicator of your fitness. One time I happened to be awake at 4:00 AM and decided to do a run. In the middle of it I decided to do a couple of quarters at what felt like an aggressive 5 K pace. I was certain I was hitting at least 1:15 - it was 1:19, and it felt hard.

When racing, at this point I would recommend forgetting your splits and running by feel. I think in the last race you would have run about 40 seconds faster had you not seen the 8:00 mile split in the first mile, or had you not allowed it to make you think you were going out too fast.

Lybi, I didn't know you and James would be at the Provo ten miler. I would have talked my wife into going. Hum, I remember, sleep is my friend, good luck with 3 a.m. I know what you mean, I was in Phoneix for two weeks during the summer and had to run at 1 a.m. and it was still 95 degrees. Good luck. take something with you to drink. I have talked to Sasha at several races and met Army runner at a 1/2 marathon.

B of BS Rools out

OK, got the pepper spray - why don't you go ahead and run at 5 am, and I will run in the evening tomorrow? I think the 5 am time will probably be closer to the time when you need your body to be awake for the upcoming 5K anyways. Maybe what you should shoot for is a 2 mile tempo at 5k pace next week, after a good 20-mile week this week, just to give you an indicator of what you feel like you can do in the actual 5K - maybe around 8:30/mile or so, which would put you on track for a 26:20 5K. I understand the desire to test your fitness and be prepared, but I don't think you have to worry about lowering your time - the lower temperatures will help with that, plus the added fitness you have gained through consistent training. Love ya! PS, I will probably be cheering you on in the July 4 5K, although I might run it as well - we will have to see.

Sorry I don't blog here Lybi. I put my milage and stuff on coolrunning.com and it has some pretty cool features (graphs, shoe tracker, list of routes) which I like. This is a better place for a literary person like you though. Your blogs are so fun to read.

Thanks for the complements about my speed.

I'm going to disagree with Sasha's comments about pace. He and I have different training philosophies. He's a high mileage guy and I'm a high intensity guy. My experience suggests that high intensity is more important. When I trained for the marathon I did was many training plans called for: I ran slow on long runs. These plans claim you can go faster in the actual race. I did the recommended training paces for my goal pace and I certainly did enough distance but I found I couldn't keep up the goal pace. In fact I tried a goal pace run before the marathon and couldn't even keep up the goal pace for 17 miles. I was used to running 18 to 20 every Saturday but that goal pace workout caused really bad pain in my legs that lasted for days. It wasn't any lack of mileage. It was a lack of training at my goal pace.

You can see why this makes sense. Your body responds to the stimulus you give it. Your body's sytems operate differently at different speeds. So if you want to race a x min/mile you must train at x min/mile. In fact my overall marathon pace ended up about the same pace as my 22 mile run a few weeks earlier, despite trying really hard to do better. My legs just weren't up to it.

A friend of mine did all his training for his second marathon at goal pace and just made his long run longer and longer until he was up to 22 miles at goal pace. He had no trouble achieving his goal and he said the race was so much more enjoyable than his first marathon where he trained slow.

Now I do all intervals all the time. Long runs are just 3 very long intervals at marathon goal pace with 3 or 4 minute breaks in between. My tempo runs are 3x2mile repeats at 10k goal pace with 3 minute breaks, etc. I never run slow except to warm up.

Heber

Heber:

It is very possible that your goal pace was too fast for your level of fitness, while your friend's goal pace was too slow. Training properly does not mean you will reach your goal - it only means you will maximize your potential within your current constraints - natural talent, time to train, time to rest, availability of nutrition, etc. Failure to reach a particular goal, as well as success in reaching a particular goal do not say much without knowing what the goal was, as well as some other important parameters.

A common mistake of a marathoner is to overestimate his goal pace. This frequently leads to a very unpleasant experience. Marathons tend to be overzealous cops, they will give you a $200 speeding ticket for being 10 seconds per mile over the limit in the first half, while the same mistake in a 5 K does not even get you pulled over. On the other hand, somebody underestimating his goal and starting out a lot slower may not even hit the wall. E.g. my most pleasant marathon last year was Moab. It was also my slowest. I was running it as a training run. I believe I was no more than 5 minutes slower that what I could have done on that course going all out, but that made a whole lot of difference in the experience.

Running long and slow done to an extreme can be detrimental, and where it hurts the most is in the overextending the length of the long run for your level of fitness. E.g somebody who runs no more than 6 miles a day should not be doing 20 mile long runs at any pace.

High intensity is a very important aspect of training, but it is safe to do, and most productive when you are fit for it. You get fit for it by building a base. In my experience, the base has to be at least 40 miles a week before high intensity becomes meaningful. A fast and shorter long run is indeed more productive for building marathon endurance, though, than long slow run. But you have to be fit to do it!

You guys are both so awesome! Thanks for the concern with my training. I'm sure you are both on the same page when you get right down to it. Too bad we can't get you guys together to settle this over a friendly arm wrestle, though! Joke joke. I am always very happy to see comments from either of you two on my blog.