quote:<HR>Originally posted by Skitzo:
I didn't even bother posting last week because of an embarrasing 0 miles run

Hope these missed runs don't come back to haunt me later on.

<HR>

Not to rain on your parade, but they will. This unfortunately comes from "been there done that" experience. In the marathon there is no substitute in your preparations for overall mileage. Some here are really putting in the miles, and they will reap the benefits-- I'm seeing goals of 3:20, 3:10, 3:15 and 90 mpw totals. If these people stay healthy and build their tempo run distances to 6-7 miles, they will crush their time goals.

You sound naturally talented and will benefit from that, but mile 18+ will be unforgiving if you haven't put in the overall mileage. I'm not trying to put a downer on you, because I know all too well where you're coming from. But I would give you one piece of advice I finally came up with that will serve you well...

"Something is better than nothing". I repeat that to myself every evening when I haven't gotten a run in and I'm tired and want to blow it off. You will hear about junk miles, whether they exist or not, whether they're worth it, etc. Any mileage is better than nothing, especially when training for a marathon. If you just strap on the shoes and get out the door, I've gotten a lot of 4, 5, 6, or 8 mile runs in when I had almost done nothing because of that mantra. An easy 4 mile run done 15x over the next 3 months instead of a 0 will add up and help you past mile 18.

Hopefully this will come across as it is intended, as helpful advice rather than as chastisement. And I admit I am by no means Mr. runner or super high mileage guy like some stars here, but I've been where you're at (and sometimes continue to be as work, family, church, fishing, skiing, soccer, TV, coolrunning.com tempt me to not just get out and run) and it won't serve you well for marathon preparation.

For a first marathon, consistent build-up is key, you can't "make up" missed mileage or you'll get injured.

Good luck, you still have time and I think you can take down 3:20!

quote:<HR>Originally posted by TD Runner:
Sorry, trust me, you acclimate to the Florida heat just like you acclimate to the cold. I was in upstate NY and it was 42 degrees and I thought I was gonna die. Yet 92 works just fine for me. LOL! Keep it up everyone.

Where you at in FL joplus?<HR>

I'm in Tampa. I'm about as acclimated as I'm gonna get, but it's still kind of brutal sometimes.

It was a good training week for me. I ran 42 miles again, this time 3/4 of it was on the road, not treadmill.

Saturday I ran a 14 mile long run in the heat. It was hot for me, 85 degrees and sun. I should just about be used to the heat by September when it cools off again.

My other runs were 7miles and 10 miles on the road /
7miles and 4 miles on the treadmill. I contiune to show improvement in pace at low heart rate.

If things continue to progress I may think about knocking a few minutes off from my marathon goal time.


Nice running everyone, all of you are very encouraging to me...

Another poor week.

32.5 total

Peachtree Road Race-Gun Time 45:13
Chip Time 43:51

Taking it easy until I recover.

Great running, everyone. You certainly keep me motivated! I had a pretty demoralizing week with worn out shoes (ouch) and heat, but I am chugging (literally) along. Hopefully things will come together better this week. I am still in the early stages so I am hoping to improve soon.

M - Rest/core
T- 5K (7:25) - PR - 4th woman overall
W - 5 (9:29)
R - 10 (9:40)
F - rest/core
S - 15 (9:53) - hot, bad run
Su - rest (should have done 4)

34.2

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Me[/URL" target="_blank">

2nd week of base building

M am 8easy + striders // pm 4 easy
T am 14 Track work out (Leg speed lots of 200s - up to a few 800s)
W am 20 easy // pm 5 recovery
TH am 12easy with a Fast Finish (FF) last mile // pm 4 recovery
F am 8 easy // pm 4 easy
SA am 12easy with 6.2 @ T
Su am 15 easy // pm 10 easy (I would have run more in the morning - but I could not get my butt out of bed early enough to get the miles in before my 7:04 T-Time.

Total 116 running with another 21 cross training

Felt strong - Ran 2-3 of the easy or recovery runs way to fast - I need to work on remembering the purpose of each work out.

Good running to all

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Skitzo:
Thanks Johnny J.

I am taking your post as I'm sure it was intended. I find your words motivating and encouraging. Training alone (no running partners) doesn't always get you the 'suck it up and get back to work' type encouragement that is sometimes needed to put oneself back on track, and I really appreciate it (especially taking the time to word it a little nicer than that)

I've got a question for you (or anyone else that would care to reply):

I have my traing schedule broken down into three major chunks (base building, stamina building, and speed building), pretty much in that order. There of course is some overlap for the workout types, but that is how the focus will basically go. The question is, if I miss a week or two of training, and have to modify the schedule, which area would be the best to shave those runs out of? Equally from all three? Just the speed work? From the base building stage?

Thanks.

<HR>

This is my opinion so take it for what it's worth. But I would say the speed building would be the least important of those three phases. The key runs for marathon training are the long run and tempo runs. I also have found for me personally I fare better over time trying to get a good medium long run in during the week. For example, I would do much better with a 17 miler and a 13 miler mid-week rather than a 9 mile mid-week run and a 21 mile long run on the weekend. I just find if your long run becomes too big a percentage of your overall weekly mileage, it takes too long to recover from and you don't get in a good quality tempo run, which I think is key if you can do 3-4 miles at tempo pace during a 6-10 mile run each week and gradually build the time up you can hold that "comfortably hard" until it is 6-7 miles of tempo running. Personally I've found I really only need a few weeks or sessions of interval training to sharpen up the turnover for a marathon. That of course would be different for shorter races.

This is unconventional, but something else to consider. If you live near a YMCA or other pool, if you run short on speed training time and are still working on your lactate threshold (tempo runs), you can try pool running intervals. They can be added on to improve your VO2 without hammering your legs and could be done in addition to tempo running. Something like 3-5 min. on followed by 1-1:30 off x 30-45 minutes. Be sure to do them hard to get your HR up (it tends to run 10-15% lower than an equivalent HR running). Then just add in some short hill sprints and/or strides (70-100 yd dashes) once a week to improve your running economy without getting hurt and you're good to go for the marathon.

I just find if your long run becomes too big a percentage of your overall weekly mileage, it takes too long to recover from and you don't get in a good quality tempo run, which I think is key if you can do 3-4 miles at tempo pace during a 6-10 mile run each week and gradually build the time up you can hold that "comfortably hard" until it is 6-7 miles of tempo running.

Johnny,
Can you give us your definition of tempo run(pace)?

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Clay