The beauty of being on a program is that it is already done and all you have to do is: “Do it!” If you started our program on January 2 then you should know by now if it’s working for you. We’ve been through one full cycle now. The workouts will start to look and feel familiar. We add on a bit as we go throughout the program. If you prepared yourself properly, you should be feeling pretty good after your shorter long run last week. Last week was an active rest long run for everyone. We call it active rest because you are still working out, but there is allowance for physical recovery. Some people see these lesser distance runs as almost a waste of time because they seem too short. But, in the case of the advanced marathon training programs, 13 miles is still a long way to go. It’s funny how people forget that it wasn’t too long ago that the thought of running a 10KM run seemed like marathon proportions. The big rule of thumb here is to never underestimate the distance of your long run. If you do, it will not be as an enjoyable experience as your longer ones. It’s amazing how many people come off their recovery long run and say how hard it was. When they look back at it, they realize they didn’t prepare themselves as well restfully, nutritionally, or mentally. They just thought they’d go out there and do it and it felt like it took all their energy to do it as well.
The other problem is sometimes with the pacing of the shorter long runs. People still think if they run them faster, they will get greater benefits. No… by running the long runs faster, no matter what the length, you are racing or instead of doing a slow, easy long run, you are doing a long tempo workout. This will take longer to recover from and may even cut into the performance of your next workout. If you go into your next workout fatigued, you will not fully benefit from it and you may also get injured. Just because a long run is shorter in distance does not mean you can pick up the pace. That’s what some of your mid-week days are for. Again, the beauty of the program is… it’s all worked out for you and all you have to do is follow it according to your fitness level. Remember, this is all about your fitness level and not the group’s fitness level. The worst thing you can do for yourself is to try and keep up with anyone else. Going into a running program, you should have some idea of what you are currently capable of racing your goal event at. Note we said, “currently”. This is not necessarily your goal race pace, but rather the pace based on what you can do either now at a given distance or have accomplished within the last 3 months.
TRAINING PACE CHART BASED ON MOST CURRENT 10KM EVENT
| Current 10Km Race Time | Equivalent 1/2 Marathon Time | Equivalent Marathon Time |
| 50:43 (8:09min/mi) | 1:52:51 (8:37min/mi) | 3:58:00 (9:06min/mi) |
| Long Run Training Pace | Tempo Run Pace | Steady State Pace |
| 10:36-11:06min/mi | 8:16-8:37min/mi | 8:37-8:52min/mi |
All the above information is gathered from the running tables at McMillan Running *Our secret formula, which has garnished so much success, has been to slow down the long runs to a similar pace to the recovery runs. Note the slower than suggested paces. This way, by the end of the program you will be running as long or slightly longer than your equivalent racing time. This is very important for people around 3-hours or more. Most novice runners run their long runs too fast and never fully develop their endurance muscles. They end up crashing somewhere between 18 – 22 miles of a marathon and hanging on until the end. It also happens to some people around the 10-mile mark of a half marathon. We also start with the slower ends of all the tables. As the program develops, we not only add to the volume of the workout, the paces are also gradually increased. There is no point in running fast in the beginning because we want you to have a solid endurance foundation as we add onto your program.
Unfortunately some people have to experience discomfort before they listen to the voice of reason. So for those that weren’t hearing this vital advice at the beginning of the clinic listen now. Slow your long runs down! Chances are you can easily make the necessary pace adjustments in your training schedule before you cause injury.
This same rule applies to your running warm-up, workout and cool down. Most novice runners approach the warm-up as a waste of time. They just want to get to the “good stuff”. Instead of taking the time to gradually warm up and prepare the muscles, they race through their warm up like it is part of the workout session. For a lot of runners there seems to be “one gear”… race pace! The thinking seems to go, “If I am not running hard, I’m not going to get faster”. You must understand that the benefits you get from training are during your recovery. What we try to teach is that there are layers of fitness, which have to be built up over time, and this will not be accomplished in one or two 5 month sessions. Instead it takes a period of years. You simply just have to develop patience and think of it like building a house, then you will enjoy the experience a lot more.
The last point of this week’s sermon is that you have to run your own paces. Many people are so used to playing “follow the leader” that they forget that come race day, they are going to be out there on their own so they better develop self-focus now. It’s one thing to have a leader run the intervals at a certain pace and it’s totally another that it’s the pace you should be running. That’s why it’s so important to know as closely as possible what your training paces are and if you haven’t raced in a while, then an immediate 5KM race or time-trial is in order. And, for all of you in our program… that would be this Wednesday. We have a nice relatively flat and fast looping course planned out so you can pace yourself and see if you are actually in the correct group. Just remember, like in accounting, “figures don’t lie, liars figure”. We’ll be providing splits and finishing times at the end of the run. So, we’ll see you at the starting line…
Have a great running week!
Russ & Lorne
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