After finishing two marathons in about the same time, I think that it is time to change things around and incorporate a new training plan for my third marathon. I have committed to running the Surf City Marathon on February 5, 2012. Yes, it falls on Super Bowl Sunday but I should be done and home in time to watch the game and eat a bunch of junk food!
Up until now, my training has mainly been 90% running and 10% cross training. I go to spin class once in a while, I lift weights once in a while, I do some push-ups here and there but no real set schedule or commitment. I definitely need to start doing some speed work and incorporating more long runs! I know that Boston is a long ways away for me but I have consulted with the McMillan Running website to see what I should be capable of doing before I can even imagine that running Boston is going to happen for me in this lifetime!
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After reading these numbers I realized that I have some work to do. In some distances, I am close but in others it's a long shot! In order to prepare myself to realistically finish a marathon in 3:45, these are the equivalent race times:
5K: Current PR is 24:16 and I need to be able to run a 23:05.
10K: I have never ran a 10K and I need to able to run a 47:57. I guess I better sign up for one soon!
Half Marathon: Current PR is 1:47:43 and I need to be able to run a 1:46:41.
Marathon: Current PR is 4:05:16 and I would love to qualify for Boston with a 3:45 or better...one day before I die!
My new training plan starts this week since I am, as of yesterday, 16 weeks away from my next marathon. I have a ton of small races from now until then to keep me busy but I need to conquer this darn 4:05 marathon finishing time!! I am running most of my races for the rest of the year for fun but will be incorporating them as part of my training whenever possible.
Besides losing another toenail and running my first 5K, I put in an additional five miles the following morning to ease the guilt before heading to IHOP to take advantage of the "Never Ending Pancake" promo.
My husband finally put my medal hanger up that he gave me for my birthday. I didn't allow him to hang it up until I had a few medals to display! It is placed on a wall that is clearly visible when I go upstairs so it reminds me to keep striving for my goals! I love it!! (Thank You Honey!) My son hung his first medal up along with mine. His is the one with the little octopus.
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| What am I going to do with Buster? |
Buster's owner has yet to come forward and claim him! He is just getting more and more comfortable as you can see. Tomorrow marks two weeks since he ran home with me.
Now it's time for a Q&A session from all of you wonderful and talented people who pull off PR's without even really trying! Your feedback is really appreciated!
1. Does anybody have any tips on how they have shaved some major minutes off of their finishing times?
2. What have you incorporated into your training that has paid off for you?
3. What about hiring a running coach? What are the benefits?
For me I learned that I can only do really 3-4 runs a week. I started doing a training plan similar to (if not identical to) run less, run faster with 1 day of serious speedwork, 1 tempo run, and 1 long run a week and I supplement the other days with easier cardio and easy weight training and yoga and that seems to have worked really well for me so far, i just took a little over 2 minutes off my 10k PR time... you're gonna kill the next marathon :)
ReplyDeleteWow 3:45...that's a crazy (Yet awesome) goal to aim for!
ReplyDeleteNever had a running coach but have heard great things! I just wish I had more time to dedicate to running AND crosstraining. I fit it in but am so envious of people with more flexible schedules!
I feel like I'm still relatively new to running, but speed work has definitely made me faster. I think high mileage allows me to be complacent with speeds, but more focused, intense work gets me faster!
ReplyDeleteChange is indeed good :) Congrats on your next goal!
ReplyDeleteOMG, I love your medal hanger!!!
I have only done my 5k race but I found that speed training really helped my body get used to the added stress (it's mainly oxygen stress) so do more hills and more track sessions to get faster!!!!
ReplyDeletelove all your medals good for you! and I think your current PR's are great but BQ'n would be awesome!!!
I think you just need to push yourself harder once a week in a major speed work out and you'll do just fine!
Your times are good and you're not too far away! I think mixing up your weekly runs is key and the trick to getting faster is to add things like speed work and hills. Like your hanger says - it's always earned :)
ReplyDeleteThat medal hanger is awesome!!! Agreed that sometimes a few changes in your training program will reap huge benefits. You WILL see that 3:45, I just know it!!!
ReplyDeleteI think speed work is important, I agree with Vanessa.
ReplyDeleteYou are TOTALLY going to get that 3:45 before you know it. You have the two most important ingredients to becoming a faster runner-- which is motivation and dedication!
Thank you everyone for responding and sharing your training ideas with me. I really appreciate it and from your responses, I think I need to incorporate some speed work!!
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